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Description of Competitive Strategy

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.

Title Information

ISBN:

9780743260886

Pages:

416 pages

Format:

Paperback

Product Code:

18630

Publisher:

Free Press

Published:

19/01/2004

Edition:

New edition

Press and Industry Reviews

"A very important body of thought on the analysis of industry structure and competitors. Financial analysts will find this book indispensable."
- Michael A. M. Keehner, VP, Kidder Peabody & Company

"This landmark work brings a new dimension to strategic planning, hitting hard on the need to understand both the industry structure and competitors' behaviour within the structure.This will be required reading for our general management."
- Donald Taylor, President Rexnord

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About Michael E. Porter

Michael E. Porter, one of the world's leading authorities on competitive strategy and international competitiveness, is Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is the author of fourteen books, among them COMPETITIVE STRATEGY, THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF NATIONS, and CASES IN COMPETITIVE STRATEGY.

Contents of Competitive Strategy

Part I General Analytical Techniques

1. The structural analysis of industries
2. Generic comparative strategies
3. A framework for competitive analysis
4. Market signals
5. Competitive moves
6. Strategy towards buyers and suppliers
7. Structural analysis
8. Industry evolution

Part II Generic Industry Environments

9. Competitive strategy in fragmented industries
10. Competitive strategy in emerging industries
11. The transition to industry maturity
12. Competitive strategy in declining industries
13. Competition in global industries

Part III Strategic Decisions

14. The strategic analysis of vertical integration
15. Capacity expansion
16. Entry into new business

Appendix A Portfolio Techniques in Competitor Analysis
Appendix B How To Conduct An Industry Analysis