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The Competitive Advantage
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Winner of the "Academy of Management's 1986 George R. Terry Book Award".

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction

Preface

Chapter 1 Competitive Strategy: The Core Concepts

THE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIES

Industry Structure and Buyer Needs

Industry Structure and the Supply/Demand Balance

GENERIC COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES

Cost Leadership

Differentiation

Focus

Stuck in the Middle

Pursuit of More Than One Generic Strategy

Sustainability

Generic Strategies and Industry Evolution

Generic Strategies and Organizational Structure

Generic Strategies and the Strategic Planning Process

OVERVIEW OF THIS BOOK

PART I PRINCIPLES OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Chapter 2 The Value Chain and Competitive Advantage

THE VALUE CHAIN

Identifying Value Activities

Defining the Value Chain

Linkages within The Value Chain

Vertical Linkages

The Buyer's Value Chain

COMPETITIVE SCOPE AND THE VALUE CHAIN

Segment Scope

Vertical Scope

Geographic Scope

Industry Scope

Coalitions and Scope

Competitive Scope and Business Definition

The Value Chain and Industry Structure

THE VALUE CHAIN AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Chapter 3 Cost Advantage

THE VALUE CHAIN AND COST ANALYSIS

Defining the Value Chain for Cost Analysis
Assigning Costs and Assets

First Cut Analysis of Costs

COST BEHAVIOR

Cost Drivers

The Cost of Purchased Inputs

Segment Cost Behavior

Cost Dynamics

COST ADVANTAGE

Determining the Relative Cost of Competitors

Gaining Cost Advantage

Sustainability of Cost Advantage

Implementation and Cost Advantage

Pitfalls in Cost Leadership Strategies

STEPS IN STRATEGIC COST ANALYSIS

Chapter 4 Differentiation

SOURCES OF DIFFERENTIATION

Differentiation and The Value Chain

Drivers of Uniqueness

THE COST OF DIFFERENTIATION

BUYER VALUE AND DIFFERENTIATION

Buyer Value

The Value Chain and Buyer Value

Lowering Buyer Cost

Raising Buyer Performance

Buyer Perception of Value
Buyer Value and the Real Buyer

Buyer Purchase Criteria

Identifying Purchase Criteria

DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY

Routes to Differentiation

The Sustainability of Differentiation

Pitfalls in Differentiation

STEPS IN DIFFERENTIATION

Chapter 5 Technology and Competitive Advantage

TECHNOLOGY AND COMPETITION

Technology and The Value Chain

Technology and Competitive Advantage

Technology and Industry Structure

TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

The Choice of Technologies to Develop

Technological Leadership or Followership

Licensing of Technology

TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

Continuous Versus Discontinuous Technological Evolution

Forecasting Technological Evolution

FORMULATING TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGY

Chapter 6 Competitor Selection

THE STRATEGIC BENEFITS OF COMPETITORS

Increasing Competitive Advantage

Improving Current Industry Structure

Aiding Market Development

Deterring Entry

WHAT MAKES A "GOOD" COMPETITOR?

Tests of a Good Competitor

"Good" Market Leaders

Diagnosing Good Competitors

INFLUENCING THE PATTERN OF COMPETITORS

Damaging Good Competitors in Battling Bad Ones

Changing Bad Competitors into Good Ones

THE OPTIMAL MARKET CONFIGURATION

The Optimal Competitor Configuration

Maintaining Competitor Viability

Moving toward the Ideal Competitor Configuration

Maintaining Industry Stability

PITFALLS IN COMPETITOR SELECTION

PART II COMPETITIVE SCOPE WITHIN AN INDUSTRY

Chapter 7 Industry Segmentation and Competitive Advantage

BASES FOR INDUSTRY SEGMENTATION

Structural Bases For Segmentation

Segmentation Variables

Finding New Segments

THE INDUSTRY SEGMENTATION MATRIX

Relationships Among Segmentation Variables

Combining Segmentation Matrices

INDUSTRY SEGMENTATION AND COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

The Attractiveness of a Segment

Segment Interrelationships

Segment Interrelationships and Broadly-Targeted Strategies

The Choice of Focus

The Feasibility of New Segments to Focus On

The Sustainability of a Focus Strategy

Pitfalls and Opportunities for Focusers and Broadly-Targeted Competitors

INDUSTRY SEGMENTATION AND INDUSTRY

DEFINITION

Chapter 8 Substitution

IDENTIFYING SUBSTITUTES

THE ECONOMICS OF SUBSTITUTION

Relative Value/Price

Switching Costs

Buyer Propensity to Substitute

Segmentation and Substitution

CHANGES IN THE SUBSTITUTION THREAT

Substitution and Overall Industry Demand

Substitution and Industry Structure

THE PATH OF SUBSTITUTION

Segmentation and the Substitution Path

Substitution Forecasting Models

SUBSTITUTION AND COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Promoting Substitution

Defense Against Substitutes

Industry Versus Firm Substitution Strategy

Pitfalls in Strategy Against Substitutes

PART III CORPORATE STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Chapter 9 Interrelationships among Business Units

THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF HORIZONTAL STRATEGY

INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG BUSINESS UNITS

TANGIBLE INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Sharing and Competitive Advantage

The Costs of Sharing

Difficulty of Matching

Identifying Tangible Interrelationships

INTANGIBLE INTERRELATIONSHIPS

COMPETITOR INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Multipoint Competitors in Unrelated Industries

Multipoint Competition in Related Industries

Competitors with Different Patterns of Interrelationships

Forecasting Potential Competitors

Chapter 10 Horizontal Strategy

THE NEED FOR EXPLICIT HORIZONTAL STRATEGY

Formulating Horizontal Strategy

INTERRELATIONSHIPS AND DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY

Diversification Based on Tangible Interrelationships

Diversification Through Beachheads

Diversification and Corporate Resources

PITFALLS IN HORIZONTAL STRATEGY

Pitfalls in Ignoring Interrelationships

Pitfalls in Pursuing Interrelationships

Chapter 11 Achieving Interrelationships

IMPEDIMENTS TO ACHIEVING INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Sources of Impediments

Interrelationships and Equity

Differences in Impediments among Firms

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS FOR ACHIEVING

INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Horizontal Structure

Horizontal Systems

Horizontal Human Resource Practices

Horizontal Conflict Resolution Processes

The Corporate Role in Facilitating Interrelationships

Interrelationships and the Mode of Diversification

MANAGING HORIZONTAL ORGANIZATION

Promising Examples

Japanese Firms and Interrelationships

A New Organizational Form

Chapter 12 Complementary Products and Competitive Advantage

CONTROL OVER COMPLEMENTARY PRODUCTS

Competitive Advantages From Controlling Complements

Problems of Controlling Complements

Control Over Complements and Industry Evolution

Identifying Strategically Important Complements

BUNDLING

Competitive Advantages of Bundling

Risks of Bundling

Bundled Versus Unbundled Strategies

Bundling and Industry Evolution

Strategic Implications of Bundling

CROSS SUBSIDIZATION

Conditions Favoring Cross Subsidization

Risks of Cross Subsidization

Cross Subsidization and Industry Evolution

Strategic Implications of Cross Subsidization

COMPLEMENTS AND COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

PART IV IMPLICATIONS FOR OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

Chapter 13 Industry Scenarios and Competitive Strategy under Uncertainty

Scenarios as a Planning Tool

Industry Scenarios

CONSTRUCTING INDUSTRY SCENARIOS

Identifying Industry Uncertainties

Independent Versus Dependent Uncertainties

Identifying a Set of Scenarios

Consistency of Assumptions

Analyzing Scenarios

Introducing Competitor Behavior into Scenarios

The Number of Scenarios To Analyze

Attaching Probabilities to Scenarios

Summary Characteristics of Industry Scenarios

INDUSTRY SCENARIOS AND COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

Strategic Approaches Under Scenarios

Combined and Sequenced Strategies

The Choice of Strategy Under Industry Scenarios

Scenario Variables and Market Intelligence

SCENARIOS AND THE PLANNING PROCESS

Corporate Role in Constructing Industry Scenarios

Industry Scenarios and Creativity

Chapter 14 Defensive Strategy

THE PROCESS OF ENTRY OR REPOSITIONING

DEFENSIVE TACTICS

Raising Structural Barriers
Increasing Expected Retaliation

Lowering the Inducement for Attack

EVALUATING DEFENSIVE TACTICS

DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

Deterrence

Response

Response to Price Cutting

Defense or Disinvest

Pitfalls in Defense

Chapter 15 Attacking an Industry Leader

CONDITIONS FOR ATTACKING A LEADER

AVENUES FOR ATTACKING LEADERS

Reconfiguration

Redefinition

Pure Spending

Alliances To Attack Leaders

IMPEDIMENTS To LEADER RETALIATION

SIGNALS OF LEADER VULNERABILITY

Industry Signals

Leader Signals

ATTACKING LEADERS AND INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

About the Author

Michael E. Porter, one of the world's leading authorities on competitive strategy and international competitiveness, is the C. Roland Christensen Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. In 1983, Professor Porter was appointed to President Reagan's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, the initiative that triggered the competitiveness debate in America. He serves as an advisor to heads of state, governors, mayors, and CEOs throughout the world. The recipient of the Wells Prize in Economics, the Adam Smith Award, three McKinsey Awards, and honorary doctorates from the Stockholm School of Economics and six other universities, Porter is the author of fourteen books, among them Competitive Strategy, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, and Cases in Competitive Strategy, all published by The Free Press. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Financial Times The most influential management book of the past quarter century....A veritable goldmine of analytical concepts and tools to help companies get a much clearer grasp of how they can create and sustain competitive advantage.

Philip Kotler S.C. Johnson & Son, Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Northwestern University Michael Porter has done it again. Having defined the 'what' and 'why' of competitive strategy in his earlier book, he now defines the 'how' in Competitive Advantage.

Newsday A sharp, aggressive and cogently reasoned book about competition that your smarter rivals will try to get to first.

The Washington Post A brilliant structural analysis of what competitive advantage might mean....

Antitrust Law & Economics Review A superb guide for business managers but also necessary background study for judges, antitrust agency officials, and economic experts in antitrust cases.

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