Porter's Five Forces

Competition is a given for any organisation and a consequence of the market driven society. The level and intensity can vary significantly, depending on the nature of the business, maturity of the industry and where the organisation finds itself within the industry. One of the guiding lights on competitive strategy, Professor Michael Porter from Harvard University stated:

“Every firm competing in an industry has a competitive strategy, whether explicit or implicit.” (Porter 1980).

While competitive strategy is primarily the domain of the executive of an organisation, significant insights can be obtained from other stakeholder groups as to their views on the five forces than Porter has introduced and which to this day is the mainstay of the development of a competitive strategy for the organisation.