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Porter's Five Forces (2024): The Definitive Overview (+ Examples)

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Article by 
Tefi Alonso
  —  Published 
December 5, 2023
March 21, 2024

Every business strives to prevent its competitors from stealing its profits. With today's fierce competition in almost every industry, it's not a question of if, but it’s a matter of how...

Porter’s 5 Forces is a straightforward strategic framework that can help you answer these questions and reduce the share of profit leaking to your rivals:

  • What forces beyond direct competitors shape your industry?
  • What makes your industry profitable?
  • Where can you find a position amongst your competitors that is profitable and difficult to attack?

You can use Porter’s Five Forces Model to take a step back, analyze and fully understand your competitive environment before you make any strategic decisions.

In this article, we will give you an overview of Porter’s Five Forces competitive analysis framework, explain key pitfalls you need to avoid during industry analysis, give you examples of the model in real-world, and show you possible strategies you can undertake to create a winning position in your industry and among your competition.

🎁 Bonus! We will also provide you with free templates to help you implement this framework to strengthen your business strategy.

⚠️ Avoid Porter's Pitfall! This framework is a strategic compass, but true value comes from action. Cascade Strategy Execution Platform bridges the gap, turning Porter's insights into actionable plans. Book a call with a strategy expert and see real results from your Porter analysis.
Free Template Download our free Porter 5 Forces Template Download this template

TL;DR

  • Porter’s Five Forces are Threat of new entrants, Bargaining power of buyers, Bargaining power of suppliers, Threat of new substitutes, and Competitive rivalry.
  • This framework helps strategists understand what makes an industry profitable and provides insights needed to make strategic choices.
  • It’s applicable to any industry and company size.
  • Pros: A strategic tool that gives you a complete picture of what drives profitability and helps you identify disruptive trends early on.
  • Cons: This tool is outside-in and requires a great deal of research and analysis to uncover new information.

What Are Porter's 5 Forces?

Porter's Five Forces model is a strategic framework that helps to identify and analyze five forces that affect a company’s profitability in any given industry. These five forces are:

porters 5 five forces diagram Cascade
Porter's Five Forces Diagram
  1. Threat of new entrants
  2. Bargaining power of suppliers
  3. Bargaining power of buyers (customers)
  4. Threat of substitutes
  5. Competitive rivalry

Porter’s Five Forces model is a critical element of strategic analysis that helps companies decide how to shape the balance of competitive forces to maximize profitability.

Based on the framework, companies should position themselves where forces are weakest, exploit changes in the forces, and design those forces to their advantage (Porter, 2008).

Advantages Of Porter’s Five Forces Model

The advantages of Porter’s 5 Forces model are:

  • Organizations can learn how profit is divided among the five forces.
  • It enables organizations to identify which players are in control and set rules.
  • It provides company strategists with insight and a baseline to evaluate the company's strengths and weaknesses.
  • It provides a holistic overview of any industry and helps strategists identify the most important factors that can affect their position in the industry.
  • It helps strategists to think more comprehensively about the industry structure and discover non-obvious opportunities that can also attract higher investments and affect the company’s future growth.

Porter's 5 Forces: In-Depth Overview

An analysis of all five competitive forces gives you a comprehensive view of the factors affecting profitability in your industry. When you understand each force, you can formulate a strategy that will allow the company to better cope with competitive forces and increase profit potential. Let's take a closer look at each force:

1. Threat of New Entrants

When an industry starts becoming profitable, it will entice new entrants. If the barriers to entry are low, new entrants can easily capture market share and threaten profitability.

New entrants undercut prices and offer valuable alternatives to what your industry currently provides.

A practical example of a new entry and high threat to existing players is Apple’s entrance into the music distribution industry with the iPod. Apple entered into a new market, stole market share from existing players, and completely changed the way we consume music and audio content today.

On the other hand, if barriers to entry are high, it’s much harder for new entrants to threaten your industry’s profitability.

According to Porter, there are 7 main sources that influence the height of entry barriers:

  1. Supply-side economies of scale: Production at higher volumes and low costs per unit force new entrants to come in on a large scale or at a cost disadvantage.
  2. Network effect: Buyer’s willingness to pay increases as the number of buyers or sellers for the business grows. Customer loyalty or a buyer's preference for a bigger "network" discourages new entrants by limiting buyers’ willingness to buy from someone new.
  3. Switching costs: The higher prices/costs a customer has to pay to switch from one supplier to another, the higher the entry barrier will be.  
  4. Capital requirement: The entry barrier can be significant for new entrants on account of the hefty financial investment required. However, investors can provide new entrants with the required capital if the industry returns are high and lower the entry barrier.  
  5. Unfair advantage: Industry leaders have cost or quality advantages derived from resources that are hard to copy. An example would be patent technology, exclusive access to raw materials sources, a strong brand identity, or a favorable geographical location.
  6. Unequal access to distribution channels: Considering the power of existing players, it might be difficult for new competitors to break into existing distribution channels. As an alternative, companies typically bypass traditional distribution channels or create new ones. An example is low-cost airlines that started selling tickets on their own websites.
  7. Government policy: Government policy can lower or increase entry barriers for new entrants. Licensing requirements, for example, can increase entry barriers. In contrast, subsidies can make entry easier.  

Questions you can use during analysis:

  • How expensive would it be, and how long would it take a new competitor or startup to enter your market?
  • Is there strong customer loyalty in your industry? Would it be difficult for a new competitor to woo customers away from your products or services?
  • Are there any additional barriers to entry a new player could encounter (e.g. regulation, intellectual property, access to distribution channels, etc.)?
  • What’s your industry structure like? How strictly is it regulated?
  • Is your key technology protected?

2. Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Suppliers offer your industry the needed inputs to operate (e.g. components, materials, and services). When the bargaining power of suppliers is high, there’s a strong chance your suppliers could set higher prices for those inputs or reduce quality without retaliation.

If you have a number of suppliers to choose from, their bargaining power is likely low, so you will not have a problem switching suppliers if needed.

As an example, let's take a look at the automotive industry.

Volkswagen Group's suppliers have limited bargaining power due to VW's global presence with suppliers scattered around the globe. On top of that, Volkswagen has at least 1 or 2 backup suppliers for each part and can shift demand between them.

On the contrary, many automotive suppliers manufacture only a specific part and are heavily dependent on the industry. These dynamics of the automotive industry put Volkswagen in a superior position while its suppliers have relatively low bargaining power.

If you don’t have the option to choose between a number of suppliers, there is no substitute for what the supplier provides, or the switching cost of suppliers is high, they will have stronger bargaining power, and you will have to rethink your business strategy.

Questions you can use during analysis:

  • Who are your key suppliers?
  • How many competent suppliers does your company have to choose from?
  • How many alternative suppliers can you find?
  • How difficult or expensive would it be to change your suppliers?

3. Bargaining Power of Buyers

In Porter's Five Forces model, buyers are your customers. At the expense of industry profitability, strong buyer power can lower prices, pit rivals against each other, and demand higher quality or service.

The power of customers is higher when they are few in number and have many sellers to choose from. Beyond this, if a large portion of a seller’s revenue is determined by a handful of buyers, those buyers will have more leverage.

Switching costs should also be considered when determining the buyers' bargaining power.

Questions you can use during analysis:

  • How many potential buyers are in your industry compared to the number of sellers?
  • Does a handful of buyers make up the majority of your revenue?
  • What is the size of the orders you receive?
  • How easy would it be for your buyer to switch from one seller to another?

4. Threat of Substitute Products or Services

All firms in an industry are competing with other industries that make substitute products or services. An example is a messaging app that is a substitute for e-mail. Or an airline website replacing travel agents with its own ticket booking system.  

If buyers can satisfy their needs with a different product or service from an alternative industry, that will put a lid on how high your industry can set its price.

The more attractive a substitute, the firmer the lid on industry profits. If there are many substitutes that can perform a similar function as your product or service, then the threat of substitutes is high.

If there are few substitutes that provide the same function as your product or service, the threat of substitution is low.

Questions you can use during analysis:

  • How many substitute products/services are in your industry?
  • How similar are those products/services from a functional standpoint?
  • What differentiates your products/services from those substitutes?
  • Are those products/services affordable?
  • What is the buyer’s cost of switching to a substitute product? Is it low-cost or high-cost?
  • Are you able to offer a new product or service that can become a substitute for a market leader? If so, what is it?

5. Competitive Rivalry

Although rivals are subject to the same industry forces as yourself, the force of competitive rivalry is often the largest determinant of an attractive industry since it is affected by the four previous forces. In order to capture their share of the market, rivals will compete on price, quality, service, marketing spend, etc.

Competitive intensity is the highest when your buyers have plenty of alternatives, there is little service or product differentiation between rivals, and when industry growth is slowing. If the buyer can choose from a fair number of competitors, the buyer can start bidding wars and reduce profits.

When there is little differentiation between rivals, your product or service will be perceived as a commodity, and the buyer will purchase solely on price.

If an industry’s growth is slowing, the existing firms will be in a fight to maintain their piece of the market share. We've written extensively about VRIO Analysis that can help you find your competitive advantage and then turn that into a sustainable competitive advantage.

Questions you can use during analysis:

  • What is the number of competitors in your industry?
  • Who is your biggest competition?
  • What makes your product/service different from your rivals?
  • Are there any barriers that would prevent your customers from switching providers? If so, what are they?
  • Is your industry shrinking or growing?
Free Template Download our free Porter 5 Forces Template Download this template

Porter’s 5 Forces Examples

The following examples illustrate how Porter’s Five Forces Analysis might be applied in practice.

Five Forces Analysis in higher education

The following is an example of Porter's Five Forces Analysis applied to higher education:

Porter Five Forces analysis in higher education
(Image source)

Under each force, you should evaluate the threat, ranging from low to high. As shown in this example, the most important threats, in this case, are: bargaining power of buyers, threats of substitutes, and competitive rivalry.

Five Forces Analysis in the airline industry

Here’s an example of an analysis for the airline industry that was developed and framed for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) by Michael E. Porter himself:

Porter's Five Forces analysis in the airline industry
(Image source)

As you can see in this example, there are times when you will need to prioritize and make a decision. If you detect high threats in all 5 forces, think about where you need to focus to make the most impact.

Five Forces Analysis in the music industry

Spotify has completely disrupted how the music industry functions and how people consume music. But, as we signaled before, the competitive environment is dynamic, and you need to iterate on your Porter Five Forces Analysis to understand changes in your position.

porters 5 forces analysis spotify example
Source.

In Spotify’s example, the highest threats are:

  • Bargaining power of suppliers: music labels and artists hold significant control over licensing agreements and royalty rates.
  • Competitive rivalry: streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Amazon Music intensify the pressure on Spotify to differentiate its offerings and retain subscribers.

Five Forces Analysis in retail: Walmart

In today's dynamic business landscape, the retail industry experiences constant changes in market dynamics and consumer preferences. Even for a dominant player like Walmart, these changes bring both new threats and opportunities.

porters five forces analysis walmart example
Source.

Walmart operates in an industry characterized by intense competitive rivalry, as it faces strong competition from both traditional retailers and e-commerce giants such as Amazon. This rivalry puts pressure on Walmart to continuously innovate, offer competitive prices, and provide a superior shopping experience to maintain its market share.

Five Forces Analysis in transportation: Uber

Uber, the trailblazer in the transportation industry, has revolutionized the way people get around and explore cities. As the industry continues to evolve, it presents a dynamic mix of challenges and opportunities for Uber's growth and success.

porters five forces analysis uber example
Source.

Uber faces threats from the bargaining power of buyers (riders). With strong competition from ride-hailing alternatives, traditional taxis, and high car ownership, riders have numerous options to choose from, giving them significant influence over pricing and service quality.

Uber also encounters fierce competitive rivalry, along with the rise of numerous locally-focused new entrants. This dual challenge has the potential to weaken Uber's financial standing and allow regional players to capture market share in their specific areas.

Weaknesses Of Porter’s Five Forces Model  

These are some possible limitations and pitfalls, as noted by Michael E. Porter himself and other experts:

  • Not putting in enough effort to discover and understand the ‘why’ behind observations.
  • Lack of engagement with stakeholders during the competitive analysis can result in obstacles that could be prevented from the get-go.
  • Not understanding the goal of Porter’s Five Forces Framework. The goal is to use insights to formulate a business strategy, not to declare whether the industry is attractive or not.
  • Strategies fail because managers and strategists define the industry in which the competition takes place too broadly or too narrowly. On top of that, strategists shouldn’t ignore the possibility of shifting industry boundaries.
  • Some authors and sources say that innovation should be considered one of the forces that drive industry competition. However, Porter argues that technology and innovations are fleeting factors that are not enough to make an industry attractive or unattractive.

There are also many resources criticizing that the 5 Forces model is a static tool. The main argument is that the framework gives a snapshot of competitive forces at a single point in time. However, Porter never stated that these five forces remain unchanged. Strategists have to periodically reassess five forces as well as keep an eye out for creative approaches taken by their existing or new competitors.

TIP: Porter’s 5 Forces model is an outside-in-facing tool that analyzes only external factors that impact a company’s profitability. You can do a comprehensive strategic analysis using additional tools and frameworks, like SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Blue ocean strategy, or Value chain analysis.

📚 Recommended read: 6 Competitive Analysis Frameworks: How to Leave Your Competition In the Dust

How To Apply Porter’s Five Forces Analysis?

Using Porter's 5 Forces, you should start to understand the forces that shape your industry. The next step is to identify how your company is going to compete and formulate a competitive strategy.

Ideally, you want to sit in a position where you can balance the 5 Forces and maximize your profit. The key question to answer here is how you are going to achieve a competitive advantage that will put your organization in a winning position.

Porter developed three generic strategies that can be used to create a defendable position and outperform competitors. These strategies are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus on a particular niche.

table showing the Relationship between Porter’s 5 Forces and generic strategies
Relationship between Porter’s 5 Forces and generic strategies. (Image source)

Here’s a quick overview of each:

Cost Leadership Strategy

Cost leadership is a strategy that focuses on reducing the costs involved in providing a product or service. By running a lean operation and reducing costs across different departments, you’ll maintain healthy margins and profits.

Differentiation Strategy

A differentiation strategy focuses on providing a product or service that is perceived as being unique and hard to replicate. Buyers won’t find anything like your product or service in the market allowing you to charge higher prices.

Focus Strategy

A focus strategy looks at serving a specific target market better than anyone else in this industry. By acquiring a deep understanding of your specific customer, you’ll be able to serve your customers more effectively and efficiently than the competitors who are working across the entire industry.

Don't Get Stuck In The Middle

Which strategy is your organization working towards? It’s not uncommon for organizations to successfully pursue more than one strategy, especially if your industry is growing and profitable.

However, as industries mature, the companies that are unclear about their strategy often see their profits dwindle. When companies fail to focus their efforts on any one of these 3 strategies they are, as Porter calls it, “stuck in the middle”.

Companies that are stuck in the middle lack the investment and resolve needed to be a cost leader, the unique product offering to pursue differentiation, and the attention required to pursue focus… in the long run, it’s a losing strategy.

If you are stuck in the middle, it’s important to start aligning your company with one of these strategies. Not sure which strategy to pick? Choose a strategy that is hardest to replicate and that is best suited for your company's strengths.

If you’re interested in easy-to-follow methods for identifying your strengths, check out our internal analysis article that covers different tools that can help you in the process.

Interestingly, the idea of focusing on a strategy is omnipresent in the realm of strategic planning.

Whether you’re reading Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy, Stephen Covey’s 4 Disciplines of strategic execution (BHAG), or Jim Collins’ Good to Great (Hedgehog Concept), keeping an acute focus on one strategy is vital for success.

👉🏻 Get the insights and learnings of your Porter 5 Forces analysis into an execution-ready strategic plan. See how Cascade can help you achieve tangible results.

Porter’s 5 Forces Template

To streamline your analysis, we’ve created templates that’ll help you use Porter’s 5 Forces Model very easily.

Cascade Template

This free template is easy to use and comes pre-filled with examples to inspire your analysis, but it can be tailored to fit your organization’s needs.

porter 5 forces template cascade strategy execution platform

The best part is that once you implement Porter’s Five Forces Framework with this template in Cascade, you’ll be able to follow up on your objectives and goals distilled from the analysis in the same platform to ensure you’re on track. No need to switch between multiple tools and risk the possibility of losing context!

👉🏻How to use it? Just click on this link and create a free forever account in Cascade. That’s it!

PDF Template

Although we highly recommend the Cascade Template, we know there are some PDF lovers out there. If you’re one of those, we have a PDF Porter’s 5 Forces Template just for you!

porters 5 forces template cascade PDF format

As you can see, this is the typical template that is used for this framework. You can download it here and add your organization’s information.

Focus + Strategy Execution = 🏆

Once you’ve gone through analyzing your company’s position with Porter’s Five Forces Model, it’s time to take those learnings and insights and put them into action!

But wait! Before going into formulating your strategic plan, think about the metrics that you want to achieve and start building your plan backward from there. We call this “reverse engineering your business,” and the best part of this approach is that it ensures you’re focused on the metrics that matter.

Once you know those metrics, start crafting the KPIs, projects, objectives, and focus areas that you’ll need to work on to get to those key metrics you set. This is basically the process of creating your strategic plan.

📚 Check out our detailed guide that will take you step-by-step into writing a successful strategic plan!

💡Pro tip: To prevent being “stuck in the middle,” remember to keep your strategy top-of-mind at all times. For example, if you’re looking to pursue a cost leadership position, make sure you create goals focused on cost reduction and growing market share.

One final recommendation from our team of strategy experts: know that you cannot do this alone. Change requires buy-in from your people. Aligning your strategy across your organization can be difficult - it’s even more difficult for everyone to keep strategy top-of-mind.

With Cascade, you can create and execute your strategy rooted in reality to ensure the implementation of your Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis findings and initiatives is successful. You can invite your teams to collaborate and ensure company-wide alignment like never before. You can also leverage integrations to import data from multiple business tools.

Cascade allows you to connect your metrics, initiatives, and investments to your business performance and make better decisions, faster.  

Sign up today for a free forever plan or book a guided 1:1 tour with one of our Cascade in-house strategy execution experts.

Free Template Download our free Porter 5 Forces Template Download this template

FAQs About Porter’s Five Forces

What are the 5 elements in Porter’s 5 Forces? 

The 5 elements in Porter’s 5 Forces are the Threat of new entrants, Bargaining power of buyers, Bargaining power of suppliers, Threat of new substitutes, and Competitive rivalry.

Is Porter’s Five Forces model still relevant today? 

Porter’s Five Forces model remains relevant despite being on the scene for more than 40 years. It has its own limitations and can’t be used as a standalone tool but it’s an evergreen strategic tool that helps strategists make better decisions.

Who developed the model?

Porter’s 5 Forces model was developed and published by Michael E. Porter in 1979. The model was later updated by the author itself in 2008 and published in Harvard Business Review.

What is the difference between Porter's Five Forces and SWOT Analysis?

The main difference between Porter's Five Forces and SWOT Analysis is the fact that Porter's model analyzes only external forces, while SWOT Analysis takes into account both internal and external factors.

Resources:

Porter, M. E. "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy." Harvard Business Review 57, no. 2 (March–April 1979): 137–145.

Porter, Michael E. "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy." Special Issue on HBS Centennial. Harvard Business Review 86, no. 1 (January 2008): 78–93. 

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