Porter’s Five Forces Company Analysis

All papers must comply with the following format.

1. Submitted papers must be created in MS Word, Times New Roman, 12 font size.
2. All pages should have 1-inch margins with a maximum number of 50 pages. It means that it
can be less than this number.
3. Use appropriate headings and number each page. Include a table of contents page.
4. Grammar and organization count. Don’t submit a poorly-constructed paper.
5. Clear writing reflects clear thinking. Keep your language simple and concise.
6. Adhere to the APA format. Especially in in-text citation and referencing.
7. Don't wait until the last minute to develop your paper. Submitting a paper late because of
internet connectivity problems is not an acceptable excuse because you are given one month for
this output.

Format and Content Requirements

Below are some of the areas that you can look into. The contents will be based on the availability of
data/information that you can source out from the internet. You are not required to do all the areas
but it is an advantage if you can cover most of them. It may look long but you will only discuss this
briefly but clear in the paper.

1. Introduction – Introduce your company and the industry where it belongs in 3 – 4

paragraphs. This will frame your paper and define not only what you will be analyzing, but
also what you will not be analyzing.

2. The Company’s Dominant Economic Features

This section must include:

 Market size
 Scope of rivalry
 Growth rate and what stage of the life cycle is the company in
 Number of rivals and their relative size
 Prevalence of forward/backwards integration, channels of distribution, and product
technology change
 Whether products in the industry are highly differentiated or very similar
 To what extent are economies of scale in purchasing, distribution, advertising, etc.
important
 To what extent do learning curves exist
 Are high rates of capacity utilization important for profitability
 What are the historical levels of profitability

3. Porter's Five Forces

For each of the five forces:

  What are the issues that represent high or low power.
 Determine whether or not, collectively, the force affects the attractiveness of the
industry.
 After you have gone through all five forces, be sure to include a summary of your
analysis and what it means for the industry.
 If the industry is segmented, be sure to include a brief discussion of that fact and how
the forces might differ across the different segments.

4. The Drivers of Change in the Company and Impact They Will Have

The drivers of change section must include:

 Long-term growth rate
 Who buys the product and how they use it
 Significance of product innovation and technological change
 Marketing innovation
 Entry/exits of major firms
 Diffusion of technological know-how
 Extent of Globalization
 Changes in costs and efficiencies
 Emerging buyer preferences (shift towards differentiation or commodity)
 Regulatory influences
 Changes in societal concerns, attitudes, lifestyles
 Reductions in uncertainty and risk in the industry over time.

5. Strongest/Weakest Positions

 Discuss how the company has positioned, or tried to position, themselves, in the
industry.
 What strategies do each of these rivals pursue?
 Identify characteristics that differentiate the company from other companies
o quality/price
o geographic coverage
o vertical integration
o product line breadth
o distribution, or service

6. Key Success Factors (KSF) for Competitive Success

 What are the 3-4 key industry issues/factors that have the strongest relationship with
success and profitability?
 How are these KSFs likely to vary over time?
 What are the implications of this evolution?

7. Company’s Attractiveness and Prospects for Long-Term Profitability

 Growth potential
 Driving forces that increase/decrease profitability,
 Company’s strategic behavior in pricing, promotion, etc.
  Degree of uncertainty and severity of problems

8. Summary and Implications

9. References