Though the cases in Cases in Competitive Strategy may be informative when studied on their own, they are designed to be read and analyzed in combination with the companion volume, Competitive Strategy. The conceptual materials and the cases are designed to reinforce each other, showing the connection between the theory and the practice of competitive strategy formulation.

Presents the comprehensive framework of analytical techniques to help a firm analyze its industry as a whole and predict the industry's future evolution, to understand its competitors and its own position ...

Now nearing its sixtieth printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity—like all great breakthroughs—Porter’s analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces. 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. In the almost two decades since publication, Porter's framework for predicting competitor behavior has transformed the way in which companies look at their rivals and has given rise to the new discipline of competitor assessment. More than a million managers in both large and small companies, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world have internalized Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries, understand competitors, and choose competitive positions. The ideas in the book address the underlying fundamentals of competition in a way that is independent of the specifics of the ways companies go about competing. 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. By bringing a disciplined structure to the question of how firms achieve superior profitability, Porter’s rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century.

Presenting the most recent developments in research and strategy, this text applies these theories and illustrates their implementation in business cases.

Now beyond its eleventh printing and translated into twelve languages, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations has changed completely our conception of how prosperity is created and sustained in the modern global economy. Porter’s groundbreaking study of international competitiveness has shaped national policy in countries around the world. It has also transformed thinking and action in states, cities, companies, and even entire regions such as Central America. Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter’s “diamond,” a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of “clusters,” or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy. Even before publication of the book, Porter’s theory had guided national reassessments in New Zealand and elsewhere. His ideas and personal involvement have shaped strategy in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and India, and regions such as Massachusetts, California, and the Basque country. Hundreds of cluster initiatives have flourished throughout the world. In an era of intensifying global competition, this pathbreaking book on the new wealth of nations has become the standard by which all future work must be measured.

How should firms’ control systems be designed and used to formulate and implement strategies that will contribute to competitive advantage and sustained high performance? This book offers some thought-provoking suggestions. It contains empirical studies of such diverse manufacturing enterprises as Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Saab, Scania, SCA Packing and Volvo, as well as an insurance company and two chamber orchestras. All firms and organizations presented offer interesting and exciting insights, each in a specific way and each with a fascinating history. The book presents research on the relationship between strategy, control and competitive advantage over extended periods and at several strategic levels, while also taking into account the existence of multiple control systems in a single firm or other organization. Readers are offered an in-depth look into how changes in the environment lead to adjustments in strategies and control systems. It is shown, in addition, how difficult and challenging it can be to implement these changes, and why such efforts are not always successful. But perhaps most importantly, the book conveys an in-depth understanding of how strategies and control systems affect competitive advantage and performance. In both its coverage and focus, the book is unique. Not only does it provide valuable contributions to the research field of strategy and management control; it also represents a substantial commitment in terms of resources and involvement over an extended period. The book is highly recommended to researchers, practitioners, graduate students and all others interested in this area.

The focus of this book is on competitive strategies, which assumes an all-important role in the wake of competition. Without competition, strategy has no relevance. However, as the ecology and landscape of competition are not similar across countries and