Competitive Strategy
by Michael E. Porter
The 1980 textbook: five forces, three generic strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, focus), industry analysis, and competitor analysis. Dense, foundational and still taught.
Read it if…
you want the source text of industry analysis.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want readability; see Magretta.
Try instead: Competitive Advantage →
Three things you will actually use
- Five forces set industry profitability.
- Pick one generic strategy; avoid the middle.
- Analyse competitors' assumptions.
Do this first
Run the five forces on your industry.
Our verdict
The source text.
See the book →
Compare with other Entrepreneurship books
Managing the Professional Service Firm
David H. Maister · Entrepreneurship
The service-firm text.
CLICK TO SEE
Browse all Entrepreneurship book reviews or get the free Reality Code Cheat Sheet.
As an Amazon Associate, WisdomDeck earns from qualifying purchases. Links marked “Click to see” go to Amazon. We are not paid for opinions, prices and availability are not shown here and change on Amazon, and we never see your purchase details. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice.