Main Aspects of Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
The original competitive forces model, as proposed by Porter, identified five forces which would impact on an organization’s behaviour in a competitive market. These include the following:
• The rivalry between existing sellers in the market.
• The power exerted by the customers in the market.
• The impact of the suppliers on the sellers.
• The potential threat of new sellers entering the market.
• The threat of substitute products becoming available in the market.
Understanding the nature of each of these forces gives organizations the necessary insights to enable them to formulate the appropriate strategies to be successful in their market (Thurlby, 1998).
Force 1: The Degree of Rivalry
The intensity of rivalry, which is the most obvious of the five forces in an industry, helps determine the extent to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through head-to-head competition. The most valuable contribution of Porter's “five forces” framework in this issue may be its suggestion that rivalry, while important, is only one of several forces that determine industry attractiveness.
• This force is located at the centre of the diagram;
• Is most likely to be high in those industries where there is a threat of substitute products; and existing power of suppliers and buyers in the market.
Force 2: The Threat of Entry
Both potential and existing competitors influence average industry profitability. The threat of new entrants is usually based on the market entry barriers. They can take diverse forms and are used to pre ...