19 Posts found for Author: Michael E. Porter

Competitive strategy involves positioning a business to maximize the value of the capabilities that distinguish it from its competitors. It follows that a central aspect of strategy formulation is perceptive competitor analysis.

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Subjects: Competitive Intelligence, Strategy

Efforts to grow blur uniqueness, create compromises, reduce fit, and ultimately undermine competitive advantage. In fact, the growth imperative is hazardous to strategy.

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Growth, Strategy

Paradoxically, the enduring competitive advantages in a global economy lie increasingly in local things—knowledge, relationships, and motivation that distant rivals cannot match.

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Competition, International, Management, Strategy

Many companies want to engage in philanthropic efforts because it will improve their reputation. It is easy to agree that we ought to be doing something good, and that we should contribute to doing ‘the right thing’ for society. No one will disagree with this noble ambition. For me, however, that is not the interesting question. Although there is a lot of feeling that ‘we … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Social Responsibility (ESG)

I believe we in the business world need to be more offensive. Right now we are apologizing for the company. We are defensive, and businesses are engaging in corporate philanthropy to avoid scandals and to be liked. That is a dangerous route. Companies need to move away from defensive actions into a proactive integration of social initiatives into business competitive strategy. Basically I think that … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Social Responsibility (ESG)

The highest compliment, I’ve come to understand, is, ‘Oh, that’s obvious.’ “I used to get really mad about that, but now I understand that’s the goal — to take a complex problem and make it seem really clear and obvious.

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: FORTUNE | Subjects: Communication, Problems / Solutions, Trends / Analysis

The short-term cost savings of outsourcing were very apparent, very attractive, and very seductive to companies [that] were desperately trying to improve their earnings per share quarter to quarter. But when you outsource something, you tend to make it more generic. You tend to lose control over it. You tend to pass a lot of the technology, particularly on the manufacturing or service delivery side, … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: BusinessWeek | Subject: Outsourcing / BPO

The granddaddy of all mistakes is competing to be the best, going down the same path as everybody else and thinking that somehow you can achieve better results. This is a hard race to win. So many managers confuse operational effectiveness with strategy. Another common mistake is confusing marketing with strategy. It’s natural for strategy to arise from a focus on customers and their needs. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Strategy

In a new book, Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy, Joan Magretta distills Porter’s core concepts and frameworks into a concise guide for business practitioners. In this excerpt, Porter discusses common strategy mistakes.

Content: Article | Authors: Joan Magretta, Michael E. Porter | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Strategy

The concept of shared value—which focuses on the connections between societal and economic progress—has the power to unleash the next wave of global growth.

There are three key ways that companies can create shared value opportunities:
– By reconceiving products and markets
– By redefining productivity in the value chain
– By enabling local cluster development

Every firm should look at decisions and opportunities through the lens … [ Read more ]

Content: Multimedia Content | Authors: Mark R. Kramer, Michael E. Porter | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Strategy

Charlie Rose interviews strategy Guru Michael Porter of Harvard Business School on his PBS show.

Editor’s Note: The Porter interview comes after an interview with Henry Kissinger…

Content: Multimedia Content | Authors: Charlie Rose, Michael E. Porter | Source: PBS | Subjects: People, Strategy

Michael Porter published an article in the January 2008 Harvard Business Review updating his famous five forces model. Here is an interview with him (12:57 minutes) on the relevance of the 5 Forces in today’s world.

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) | Subjects: People, Strategy

Errors in corporate strategy are often self-inflicted, and a singular focus on shareholder value is the “Bermuda Triangle” of strategy, according to Michael E. Porter, director of Harvard’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. Porter, who recently spoke at Wharton as part of the school’s SEI Center Distinguished Lecture Series, challenged managers to stop trying to be the best company in their industry and instead deliver … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: People, Strategy

Executive summary of a presentation on reforming health care made by Professor Michael Porter at a Harvard Business School Publishing Virtual Seminar.

Content: Case Study | Authors: Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, Michael E. Porter, Thomas A. Stewart | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Industry Specific | Industry: Healthcare

Michael Porter is perhaps the management ‘guru’ most listened to and respected by corporate boards and executives worldwide. But his keynote speech on the role of corporate philanthropy at The European Academy of Business in Society’s 2nd Colloquium at Copenhagen Business School in September 2003 provoked strong reactions from an audience of mainly European academics and business managers. Here Mette Morsing, associate professor and director … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Social Responsibility (ESG)

The Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, led by Michael Porter, studies competition and its implications for company strategy; the competitiveness of nations, regions and cities; and solutions to social problems. Based at Harvard Business School, the Institute is dedicated to extending the research pioneered by Professor Porter and disseminating it to scholars and practitioners.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out the Publications, Speeches … [ Read more ]

Content: Online Resource | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) | Subject: Strategy

Content: Book | Author: Michael E. Porter | Subjects: Competitive Intelligence, Strategy

Not long ago, Japan was considered a competitive powerhouse with exemplary business practices that were admired and often copied, particularly in the West. What went wrong? In a new book, HBS professor Michael Porter and two coauthors take a closer look.

Editor’s Note: read an interview with Porter about this book at
Content: Book | Authors: Hirotaka Takeuchi, Mariko Sakakibara, Michael E. Porter | Subject: International – Asia

Content: Book | Author: Michael E. Porter | Subject: Strategy