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Competitive Strategy
Book

Competitive Strategy

Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

Free Press, 1980 more...


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

This seminal book is a classic and ought to be read by anyone in business. Michael E. Porter's ideas on competitiveness have lost little relevance despite the fact that he first advanced them in this book in 1980. They have now become so much a part of business practice and business language that one reads the book more with a sense of recognition than a sense of discovery. His prose style is clear and straightforward, albeit somewhat plodding, and the book can tend to repeat itself. However, Porter's clarity is a welcome change from the murk you encounter in many other books on business strategy, and his repetition serves a useful pedagogical purpose. getAbstract highly recommends this excellent book. If you're in business, it's relevant.

Take-Aways

  • A sound competitive strategy rests on a solid grasp of the industry environment.
  • Disparate industries share common structural traits and are open to comparison.
  • Competition will reduce returns to the sum of the risk-free rate of return plus the risk of capital loss.

About the Author

Michael E. Porter is the C. Roland Christensen Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He has received the Wells Prize in Economics, the Adam Smith Award, three McKinsey Awards and numerous other honors.


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    J. M. 5 months ago
    Great
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    P. O. 2 years ago
    I recall this book 20+ years ago as part of my Business degree and its always stuck with me. Great resource.
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    R. T. 3 years ago
    Amazing read. As you say, this is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.

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