CULTURE AND SOCIETY, WATER, ENERGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Understanding Porter's Five Forces
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The Evolution of Strategic Management at
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Understanding Porter's Five Forces
When Porter's article was published, strategic models loved acronyms (SWOT, PEST, PESTEL, BCG Matrix, ETPS, etc.) and focused on the internal dynamics of individual companies.2
Jovo Ateljević et al. "Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage: A Reinterpretation of Michael Porter's Work," Pages 55-80. Routledge, 2023.
But, they were vague in their exploration of the competitive business environment. For instance, the opportunities and threats of SWOT analysis were too macro for many dealing with specific industry challenges.
Porter's 1979 article was also a broadside against the theoretical models found in the curriculums of the major business schools, where future strategists dealt with a perfectly competitive market characterized by equilibrium and no specific firm influencing prices—a model they were unlikely to find in the real world.
