Competitive Strategy Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-16 11:54:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael E. Porter
- ISBN：0743260880
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Summary
Electrifying in its simplicity - like all great breakthroughs - COMPETITIVE STRATEGY captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces。 Author Michael Porter introduces one of the most powerful competitive tools yet developed: his three generic strategies - lowest cost， differentiation， and focus - which bring structure to the task of strategic positioning。 He shows how competitive advantage can be defined in terms of relative cost and relative prices， thus linking it directly to profitability， and presents a whole new perspective on how profit is created and divided。
More than a million managers in both large and small companies， investment analysts， consultants， students， and scholars throughout the world have internalised Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries， understand competitors and choose competitive positions。 COMPETITIVE STRATEGY has filled a void in management thinking。 It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built。
Porter's rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century。
Additional Information:
More than a million managers in both large and small companies， investment analysts， consultants， students， and scholars throughout the world have internalised Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries， understand competitors and choose competitive positions。 COMPETITIVE STRATEGY has filled a void in management thinking。 It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built。
Porter's rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century。
Additional Information:
Reviews
Matt
，
Great info but it is super dry
Andrew Carr
，
This is very much a business book， though Porter has a rich strategic mindset。 In the first half especially， there is a clear sighted attempt to focus on analyzing the other actors， the structure and trends of the environment and the way different approaches may play out， some in non-obvious ways。There's not much here for military/political strategists， though the way Porter organises his approach could be adapted in a Net Assessment style endeavor。 The second half becomes much more condition-sp This is very much a business book， though Porter has a rich strategic mindset。 In the first half especially， there is a clear sighted attempt to focus on analyzing the other actors， the structure and trends of the environment and the way different approaches may play out， some in non-obvious ways。There's not much here for military/political strategists， though the way Porter organises his approach could be adapted in a Net Assessment style endeavor。 The second half becomes much more condition-specific， such as how to think about acquisitions， or in-house trading relations。I can't say I learned anything specifically， but you get the 'vibe' of a clear strategic mind at work， and seeing them break down the issues and discuss ways of approaching the details is always illuminating。 。。。more
Amin Mo
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The book provides great insight regarding competitive analysis of markets， which are hard to come-by in other books as this books specializes on this particular sphere。 There is conclusive information about types of markets， enter-barriers， retaliation and strategies for dealing with competition。However， despite that this book was overwhelmed with data， its structuring was ineffective。 One thing that I strongly dislike from the book， is that it gives too much information。 What is meant here， is The book provides great insight regarding competitive analysis of markets， which are hard to come-by in other books as this books specializes on this particular sphere。 There is conclusive information about types of markets， enter-barriers， retaliation and strategies for dealing with competition。However， despite that this book was overwhelmed with data， its structuring was ineffective。 One thing that I strongly dislike from the book， is that it gives too much information。 What is meant here， is that when mentioning benefits， it was not uncommon to find twenty plus benefits in various aspects of the business。 The problem with this is that it is not effective; too much insight to the point where the insight is either ignored or not absorbed by the reader。 In many situation the book could have provided a satisfying conclusive coverage of competition， but because of the excess in information， it failed in providing the optimal benefit。What I like about this book， is that it is pretty conclusive - despite providing way too much data。 You do not find that many books that talk as comprehensively about competition in the industry。 。。。more
Crawford
，
There are good reasons why you've heard of this book。 I anticipate that the frameworks presented in this work will help me make sense of general news and other literature。 There are good reasons why you've heard of this book。 I anticipate that the frameworks presented in this work will help me make sense of general news and other literature。 。。。more
Ivan
，
Competitive Strategy remains a business classic and I can finally said that I read all of it。 Porter's fundamental ideas， originally published in 1980， remain true today。 What's dated about the book are examples of industries that have become obsolete since the 1970s （there are SO MANY mentions of the technology behind your 1970s television set）。 I'm guessing that is the main reason this book is not read in business schools today。 Additionally， many chapters are repetitive and with better editin Competitive Strategy remains a business classic and I can finally said that I read all of it。 Porter's fundamental ideas， originally published in 1980， remain true today。 What's dated about the book are examples of industries that have become obsolete since the 1970s （there are SO MANY mentions of the technology behind your 1970s television set）。 I'm guessing that is the main reason this book is not read in business schools today。 Additionally， many chapters are repetitive and with better editing the book could have been cut down by a third from its near 400 page run。 。。。more
Connor Van Ooyen
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I still prefer reading summaries for this kind of thing， but very good
Zhou Fang
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I had low expectations for this book as I find most "business analysis" books to be mostly conjecture with little analytical rigor。 However， after reading it I can see why it's a classic。 Although Porter's Five Forces are well known throughout the business world， and there does not seem to be much empirical evidence for their usefulness， what this book provides is an exhaustive checklist of ways to think about and analyze a business。 If thought of as research manual， it is useful （albeit quite l I had low expectations for this book as I find most "business analysis" books to be mostly conjecture with little analytical rigor。 However， after reading it I can see why it's a classic。 Although Porter's Five Forces are well known throughout the business world， and there does not seem to be much empirical evidence for their usefulness， what this book provides is an exhaustive checklist of ways to think about and analyze a business。 If thought of as research manual， it is useful （albeit quite long and dry）。 The book is also sprinkled with various business strategy examples， which are perhaps the best parts。 Key takeaways for me are:FIVE FORCES1。 Threat of entry - affected by1） barriers to entry such as a） economies of scale b） product differentiation c） capital requirements d） switching costs e） distribution access f） cost disadvantages by incumbents unrelated to scale （such as proprietary knowledge， favorable access to raw materials/locations， etc。）2） government policy 3） entry-deterring price （risk/reward of entry based on expected profits vs。 retaliation of existing firms） 4） other entry barriers such as a） change in barriers b） strategic decisions which change barriers c） existing skills which may help overcome those barriers 5） scale and experience （may have tradeoffs with innovation， flexibility， differentiation perception） 2。 Intensity of rivalry among existing firms - generally certain characteristics lead to higher rivalry:1） Important to remember rivalry may leave entire industry better off （price competition） or worse off （ads raising awareness of the industry as a whole）2） High # of equal competitors means （fragmented AND equal market share）3） Slow industry growth （less of a growing pie for people to collect as the rising tide which lifted all boats now slowing）4） High fixed/storage costs （since incremental units matter a lot and fixed costs can't be taken out， more pressure to lower price and raise sales to recoup）5） Lack of differentiation/switching costs 6） Capacity has to be added in large increments （high commitment， big supply influx all at once）7） Diverse competitors with different operational setups （hard to read intentions of each other）8） High strategic stakes （profit my not be near or intermediate goal）9） High exit barriers （supply never gets taken out）3。 Pressures from substitute products - limits the ability to capture excess profits in boom times because supply response is quick and copycats arise。 Most especially have to pay attention to substitute products that 1） trending towards higher price-performance 2） produced by industries earning high profits4。 Bargaining power of customers/buyers - high bargaining power from customers/buyers arise in situations where1） The buyer represents significant % of seller sales2） The product represents a significant % of buyer costs （small components which represent small % of overall product price more resistant since putting price pressure on these doesn't do as much for the buyer's overall profits）3） The product is undifferentiated4） Buyer has few switching costs （related to 3）5） Buyer generates low profits （less margin to go around in the supply chain）6） Buyer pose credible threat of backward vertical integration （GM/Ford could do this themselves）7） The product is unimportant to the quality of the buyer's product8） The buyer has full informationImportant to also consider industry trends for the buyer （for example， as retailers became concentrated to department stores， the buying power of the downstream increased substantially）5。 Bargaining power of suppliers - similar in many ways to the buyers。 Bargaining power high among suppliers if:1） Suppliers are concentrated and industry is dominated by few players2） No substitutes 3） Your industry not a meaningful % of supplier business4） Supplier's product is important to your business5） Supplier's product is differentiated or has switching costs6） Supplier can forward integrate vertically （move into distribution， storefronts）Labor is a supplier as well 。。。more
Claudio de Giovanni
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I'm sorry for Mr Porter but this is no longer the best on strategy and competitive positioning。 Out dated。 I am sure it was seminal at its time。 I'm sorry for Mr Porter but this is no longer the best on strategy and competitive positioning。 Out dated。 I am sure it was seminal at its time。 。。。more
Zondo Will
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Competitive Strategy made simple indeed what is and what is not
Camilo Puello
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Interesante para entender los fundamentos de la competitividad y como medirse en el mercado para poder tener decisiones conscientes
Victor Volpe
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I’ve always had this book on my list but had a bit of fear to start it。 Always seemed too technical and dense。 Because of quarantine and the shortage of options on my library， I decided to finally face it。And it was exactly what I expected: a very thoughtful and detailed book， yet very dense and hard to read。 I’d say it is needed for people that are in business， but not a fun experience。Why is it needed？ This book is the birth of nowadays business competitive strategy。 Pretty much everything aft I’ve always had this book on my list but had a bit of fear to start it。 Always seemed too technical and dense。 Because of quarantine and the shortage of options on my library， I decided to finally face it。And it was exactly what I expected: a very thoughtful and detailed book， yet very dense and hard to read。 I’d say it is needed for people that are in business， but not a fun experience。Why is it needed？ This book is the birth of nowadays business competitive strategy。 Pretty much everything after it comes either to build upon its concepts or refute them。 And if a book can live long enough as this one did， certainly there is some awesome content to be found on its pages。After reading Sun Tzu last year I can easily say that this is the business analog。 Porter teaches you how to “win the war” on a given industry and achieve better than average returns。 And the cherry on the cake is the very easy to follow and apply framework of the 5 forces。 Although everything he writes seems obvious， the way he writes it and simplifies is what probably made this book a classic。 Kudos also to his impeccable way of dividing the sections: first starting with the technique， secondly expanding on some common industry types and finishing it off with common strategic movements。 And why is it hard to read？Too much detail， a lot of technical concepts and long chapters。 Porter goes detail by detail and sometimes even repeats himself multiple times to make a point。 I personally had a hard time to accomplish more than 20 pages per day。 Each page seems to weight a ton and the reading doesn’t progress as easy as other books。 Definitely not a book to spare some time; if you’re not committed to it that’s certainly going to turn you off。 And finally: do I recommend it？If you already have the habit of reading daily and have a business （or works for a company in a business related position/area）: yes。 This will open your eyes to some new thinking， even if you already know Porter’s theory。If you are not part of the description above I would advise you to read something else。 Probably the length and scope of this book will cause you to stop on the first pages。 。。。more
Sergey Dudko
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The goal of competitive strategy: to find a position in the industry where the company can best defend itself against competitive forces or can influence themCustomers， suppliers， substitutes， and entrants are all “competitors” to firms in the industryBeing the lowest cost producer and being truly differentiated are rarely compatible。 Becoming “stuck in the middle is a recipe for disaster
Okan Kocabıyık
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Şirket sahibi olanların ilk okuması gereken kitap
Nick Rauer
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Felt like a roller coaster - some chapters were good while others blah。 Reminded me more of a textbook than modern biz book。But in fairness - I did learn a lot。
Jaan Liitmäe
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Could be absolute thriller if somebody dared to update this concept;-）
Yixing J
，
Really good book which gives a comprehensive overview of strategies for competition;Some of which are directly applicable to what I’m working on;It’s also important to think about the competition landscape before you start companies， how would you build a company that can be a monopoly over time？
Rob Mills
，
It all seems very obvious today but remains a great read。 The book walks through， in detail， how to conduct a reasonable competitive analysis。 It's a good checklist and I would re-read it if ever tasked with competive research or strategy work， while it all seems common knowledge now， it's easy to forget this or that angle when you're in the fray。 The bit about signalling rang very true to me as I had just gotten off a Texas Instruments conference call where they warned [ADI &al] yet again that It all seems very obvious today but remains a great read。 The book walks through， in detail， how to conduct a reasonable competitive analysis。 It's a good checklist and I would re-read it if ever tasked with competive research or strategy work， while it all seems common knowledge now， it's easy to forget this or that angle when you're in the fray。 The bit about signalling rang very true to me as I had just gotten off a Texas Instruments conference call where they warned [ADI &al] yet again that they're building a massive shell of a building and they'll fill it with equipment if they have to gosh darn it！ Old school company with classic threats right out of the book。 。。。more
Viktor O。
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Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors is all about the strategy。 It covers a big number of topics in the modern strategy science。 Everyone will certainly benefit from the book reading！！！
Pavel Annenkov
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Вечная классика на тему стратегии。 Книга актуальна до сих пор。
Abhi Yerra
，
This book is dense and takes a while to read because it is so full of information on the strategy of a business。 Essentially there are four strategies of a business to optimize for profits and if you are outside of these four strategies you end up being stuck in the middle a place where you don’t have any strategic advantage。 However， to practice these four strategies: broad market cost advantage， focused market cost advantage， broad market differentiation and focused market differentiation mean This book is dense and takes a while to read because it is so full of information on the strategy of a business。 Essentially there are four strategies of a business to optimize for profits and if you are outside of these four strategies you end up being stuck in the middle a place where you don’t have any strategic advantage。 However， to practice these four strategies: broad market cost advantage， focused market cost advantage， broad market differentiation and focused market differentiation means attaining different skills。 Each strategy has a completely different realm of focus in terms of organizational skills and developing the wrong skills can lead to being stuck in the middle where you end up not being able to maneuver as the industry and competition changes。 I’d highly recommend this book as the first 5 books to read when starting a new business to get an idea of what to do in terms of business strategy。 。。。more
Javad Amiri
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Best book for strategy。。。
Scott Wozniak
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This is one of the greatest books on corporate strategy that's ever been written--and there have been many， many books on that topic。The starting idea is that it's not just about being good in isolation。 It's about offering something better than your competitors can。 Many people who have never read the book have heard of Porter's Five Forces: Current Competitors， Bargaining Power of the Buyers， Bargaining Power of the Suppliers， New Entrants into the Market， Availability of Alternative Products/ This is one of the greatest books on corporate strategy that's ever been written--and there have been many， many books on that topic。The starting idea is that it's not just about being good in isolation。 It's about offering something better than your competitors can。 Many people who have never read the book have heard of Porter's Five Forces: Current Competitors， Bargaining Power of the Buyers， Bargaining Power of the Suppliers， New Entrants into the Market， Availability of Alternative Products/Services。Ironically， I give this book four stars because there's too much in the book。 Every page is packed with big ideas， specific formulas， and decisions to make。 Most chapters have more actionable content than most books on strategy。 And there are a lot of chapters。I think it's because this book was written after Porter had written most of these ideas as articles， so it's a compilation of all his biggest and best strategic methods。 But it's just too much packed together to be a truly great reading experience。 。。。more
Ken Murphy
，
An excellent book that clearly lays out the different competitive forces within industries and how to analysis them。 The book is 20 years old but the basics don't change much。 An excellent book that clearly lays out the different competitive forces within industries and how to analysis them。 The book is 20 years old but the basics don't change much。 。。。more
Frsaal
，
I liked it。
Audrey
，
I liked it！ I could relate to much of the writing angst and decisions about stepping away from the novel writing。 Not sure I’d recommend it for non-writers though。
Mostafasaber
，
It is so useful for strategy students who wants to know more about strategic management in industry and also it can help all strategy lovers to know more about classic strategic environments in business world。
Rohan Panse
，
A must read for anyone in management or leadership roles anywhere。
Igor Gorchakov
，
На самом деле я прочитал учебное пособие в 2-х частях о конкурентной разведке: http://globec。usue。ru/sobytiya/359-vy。。。 Его просто не удалось найти здесь и правильно забить в прочитанные。 Учебник свежий: просто ， доступно и концентрированно。 Советую изучение этой темы начинать именно с него， а дальше уже идти к мировым классикам в данном вопросе， расширяя вопрос ， собственно， до Конкурентной Стратегии。 На самом деле я прочитал учебное пособие в 2-х частях о конкурентной разведке: http://globec。usue。ru/sobytiya/359-vy。。。 Его просто не удалось найти здесь и правильно забить в прочитанные。 Учебник свежий: просто ， доступно и концентрированно。 Советую изучение этой темы начинать именно с него， а дальше уже идти к мировым классикам в данном вопросе， расширяя вопрос ， собственно， до Конкурентной Стратегии。 。。。more
Augusto Restrepo
，
A fantastic book that never gets old！This book is a great tool to start getting deep knowledge n Competitive strategy。 The concepts and the way it approaches the competitive issues never seem to get old。 Reads fresh and easy to follow。
James
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