Company and Industry Research

Porter’s Five Forces was developed by Harvard professor Michael E. Porter and first appeared in 1979 in the Harvard Business Review.  It is used to understand how competitive forces can drive or undermine profitability in an industry (Porter, 2008). 

Porter’s Five Forces are:

1. Threat of entry
2. Power of suppliers
3. Power of buyers
4. Threat of substitutes
5. Rivalry among existing competitors

Sources: Porter, M. E. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78–93.