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The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
Michael E. Porter
Harvard Business Review
January 2008
Editor’s Note: In 1979,
Harvard Business Review published “How
Competitive Forces Shape Strategy” by a young economist and associate
professor, Michael E. Porter. It was his first HBR article, and it started a
revolution in the strategy field. In subsequent decades, Porter has brought
his signature economic rigor to the study of competitive strategy for
corporations, regions, nations, and, more recently, health care and
philanthropy. “Porter’s five forces” have shaped a generation of academic
research and business practice. With prodding and assistance from Harvard
Business School Professor Jan Rivkin and longtime colleague Joan Magretta,
Porter here reaffirms, updates, and extends the classic work. He also
addresses common misunderstandings, provides practical guidance for users of
the framework, and offers a deeper view of its implications for strategy
today.
summary, video interviews: (1),
(2),
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"What is Strategy?"
Michael E. Porter
Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996.
Today's dynamic markets and technologies have called into question the sustainability of competitive advantage. Under pressure to improve productivity,
quality, and speed, managers have embraced tools such as TQM, benchmarking, and reengineering. Dramatic operational improvements have resulted, but rarely have these gains translated into sustainable profitability. And gradually, the tools have taken the place of strategy. As managers push to improve on all fronts, they move
further away from viable competitive positions. Michael Porter argues that operational effectiveness, although necessary to superior performance, is not sufficient, because its techniques are easy to imitate. In contrast, the essence of strategy is choosing a
unique and valuable position rooted in systems of activities that are much more difficult to match.
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article at Harvard Business Online
“The Competitive Advantage of Corporate
Philanthropy”
Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer
Harvard Business Review,
December 2002
When it comes to philanthropy, executives increasingly see themselves as caught
between critics demanding ever higher levels of "corporate social
responsibility" and investors applying pressure to maximize short-term
profits. Increasingly, philanthropy is used as a form of public relations or
advertising, promoting a company's image through high-profile sponsorships. But
there is a more truly strategic way to think about philanthropy. Corporations
can use their charitable efforts to improve their competitive context--the
quality of the business environment in the locations where they operate. Using
philanthropy to enhance competitive context aligns social and economic goals and
improves a company's long-term business prospects. Addressing context enables a
company not only to give money but also leverage its capabilities and
relationships in support of charitable causes. Taking this new direction
requires fundamental changes in the way companies approach their contribution
programs. Adopting a context-focused approach requires a far more disciplined
approach than is prevalent today. But it can make a company's philanthropic
activities far more effective.
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article at Harvard Business Online
"The Importance of Being Strategic"
Michael E. Porter
Balanced Scorecard Report,
May 15, 2002
At the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative's recent North American Summit, Michael
E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence Professor at Harvard Business School,
addressed the question "Is the world changing too fast for companies to
have a long-term strategy?" "No," said Porter, a preeminent
strategy expert; in the wake of the dot-com shakeout, strategy is more important
than ever. See why he says this, and read the accompanying sidebar, "What
Strategy Isn't."
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article at Harvard Business Online
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