According to Michael Porter*, "The intensity of competition in an industry is neither a matter of conincidence nor bad luck. Rather, competition in an industry is rooted in its underlying economic structure, and goes well beyond the behavior of current competitors. The state of competition in an industry depends on five basic competitive forces..." (Porter, p.3)
Those forces are:
Constructing a Five Forces Analysis requires researching the industry at hand, related industries, and companies within industry. The resources presented here can help you find this information.
*Porter, Michael E. 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. The Free Press. New York.
Industry Competitors and Potential Entrants can often be found in industry profiles under such headings as Major Companies or Industry Leaders. You can also find key players in the industry by conducting a search in Business Insights: Global (link below) and selecting rankings from the left-side navigation menu.
Some information on supply chain can be acquired through industry analysis and reports. Supply chain information for US companies may also be accessed through IBISWorld (link below.) When looking at an industry report in IBISWorld, a box titled "See the Full Content" appears in the left sidebar. This box contains links to a Context Diagram for the industry, links to similar industries, and links to up and down stream industries.
