Framework Explorer

An Interactive Guide to Foundational Frameworks

Porter's Five Forces

Learn about Porter's Five Forces, a model that identifies and analyzes five competitive forces that shape every industry and helps determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths.

Key Features

Why developers choose Porter's Five Forces.

Competitive Rivalry

This force examines how intense the competition is in the market. It is determined by the number of existing competitors and what each competitor is capable of doing.

Threat of New Entrants

This force considers how easy or difficult it is for competitors to join the marketplace in the industry being examined. The easier it is for a new company to enter an industry, the more competitive the industry will be.

Threat of Substitutes

This force studies how easy it is for consumers to switch from a business's product or service to that of a competitor. It looks at the number of competitors, the price of their products, and the quality of their products.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

This force analyzes how much power a business's supplier has and how much control it has over the potential to raise its prices, which, in turn, would lower a business's profitability.

Bargaining Power of Customers

This force examines the power of the consumer to affect pricing and quality. Consumers have power when there aren't many of them, but lots of sellers, and when it is easy to switch from one business's product or service to another.

Implementation & Strategy

Costs, timelines, and strategic considerations for adopting Porter's Five Forces.

Estimated Project Costs

Porter's Five Forces is a strategic planning tool, so it doesn't have a direct cost. However, there are costs associated with the time and resources that you dedicate to the process. These costs can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, depending on the size and complexity of the organization.

Implementation Strategy

A typical Porter's Five Forces analysis starts with a brainstorming session to identify the five forces in your industry. From there, you can analyze each force to determine its strength and its impact on your business. The final step is to develop a strategic plan to address the issues that were identified.