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The cosmetic industry is a very lucrative, innovative, and fast paced industry where product innovation is the key to success. The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed analytical (qualitative) study of cosmetic industry in the global marketplace with a focus on the four market leaders in this industry relative to their business and innovation strategies.

Business analyses include Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT), Porter's value chain and five forces, and financial applied to the four industry leaders.

Each of these cosmetic companies is unique. They each offer something different to the industry; selling method, marketing strategy, product line, and distribution channel.

The industry trends indicate that the future of cosmetics may move towards more joint ventures between drug companies, cosmetic companies and nutritional/food companies as cosmetic companies look for new ways to be innovative.

The research provides an in‐depth business analyses of cosmetic industry using SWOT, Porter's value chain and five forces and financial with results obtained that are generalizable to the entire cosmetic industry. Projections on the future of cosmetic industry are also presented.

The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion with Joan Magretta about her new book, Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy with two veteran S&L contributing editors.

Based on her long editorial relationship with Porter while she was strategy editor of the Harvard Business Review, she suggests some key lessons about applying his concepts that practitioners should take to heart.

The paper reveals that Magretta believes that too many managers get their Porter second hand and what they usually end up getting is both inadequate and inaccurate. She seeks to rectify the most common misconceptions about strategy and Porter's work.

Some key practical lessons are: keep a direct line of sight between your strategy and your financial performance – if strategy is to have any meaning at all, it must link directly to a company's results; a distinctive value proposition is essential for strategy, but don't confuse strategy with marketing (the demand side); the supply side must be linked; meaningful strategy makes it clear what the organization will not do – making trade‐offs is the linchpin that makes competitive advantage possible and sustainable; do not feel you have to “delight” every possible customer. The sign of a good strategy is that it deliberately makes some customers unhappy.

Magretta, who gained front‐line experience as a consultant at Bain, reviews Porter's groundbreaking strategy work and makes it relevant to today's managers

This chapter introduces the reader to the meaning of competitive advantage and posits that a firm’s strategy is defined as the managers’ theory about how to gain and sustain competitive advantage. The author demonstrates how a firm creates its competitive advantage by creating more economic value than its rivals, and explains that profitability depends upon value, price, and costs. The relationship among these factors is explored in the context of high-technology consumer goods – laptop computers and cars. Next, the chapter explains the SWOT [s(trengths) w(eaknesses) o(pportunities) t(hreats)] analysis. Examining the interplay of firm resources, capabilities, and competencies, the chapter emphasizes that both must be present to possess core competencies essential to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage through strategy. Next, the chapter describes the value chain by which a firm transforms inputs into outputs, adding value at each stage through the primary activities of research, development, production, marketing and sales, and customer service, which in turn rely upon essential support activities that add value indirectly. After describing the PEST [p(olitical) e(conomic) s(ocial) t(echnological)] Model for assessing a firm’s general external environment, the chapter explains Porter’s Five Forces Model. The chapter then describes the strategic group model and illustrates that model by reference to the pharmaceutical industry. The author notes that opportunities and threats to a company differ based upon the strategic group to which that firm belongs within an industry. Finally, the chapter explores the importance of strategy in technology-intensive industries and emphasizes that sustained competitive advantage can be accomplished only through continued innovation.

This paper aims to empirically investigate competition within the non-governmental organization (NGO) sector, and presents some strategic approaches to managing it. Porter’s five forces (1980) model was used as a theoretical framework to understand and quantify competition in the NGO sector, as well as to explore the differences between NGOs’ budget sizes. Traditional strategic management often fails to meet NGOs’ needs. While economization is prevalent within the NGO sector, little is known about how NGOs address competition.

An online global survey was conducted between November 2010 and May 2011. Data were collected from 1,211 NGOs that either function as consultants or work in association with the United Nations (UN). The key informants were leaders and executive managers of NGOs. The respondents’ fields of work varied from international advocacy and development (38 per cent), education and research (14 per cent), community and neighborhood (8 per cent), health (8 per cent), environment (8 per cent) and social services (7 per cent) to civil liberty (6 per cent), labor (6 per cent), culture (3 per cent), philanthropy (2 per cent) and religion (1 per cent).

The findings suggest that the NGO sector is becoming increasingly competitive. However, the data suggest that the lower and upper budget classes have different priorities and perceptions. Small NGOs (with budgets <USD250,000 and especially <USD10,000) compete more aggressively for funding, as they have less bargaining power over donors and large foundations, and face stronger competition from social entrepreneurship. This results in income reductions. Large NGOs (with budgets >USD250,000 USD and especially >USD1 million) experience increased pressure for accountability.

This research is aimed at a wide range of NGOs. The findings are based on an empirical and open survey that was held among NGOs in association with the UN. Future research should survey NGOs that are not associated with the UN to generalize the results. This may lead to contradictory or more varied results.

The findings can help NGOs adapt their strategy to cope more effectively with increasing competition in the sector. Large NGOs seem to prioritize fundraising measures and their positioning (uniqueness) through specialized knowledge. Small NGOs, on the other hand, seem to consider sharing resources, co-operation with other NGOs and co-operation with the private sector slightly more important. To enhance their competitive position, small NGOs are advised to improve their potential by concentrating on developing specific skills that are hard to imitate and to improve their fundraising measures. Finally, large NGOs could benefit from pooling their resources and collaborating with other NGOs and private organizations.

NGOs have to pursue their missions under increasing competitive pressure. This paper comprehensively assesses competition, analyzes the various facets thereof and tests these aspects’ relevance to NGOs. It furthermore proposes strategies that are more appropriate for NGOs of different sizes to cope with this competition.

Knowledge‐intensive firms are growing in importance yet there are few tools to help managers to analyze and improve their performance, which this paper aims to describe.

This paper builds on Michael Porter's strategic frameworks for industrial firms. It outlines how his frameworks, in particular the five forces and value chain, need to be modified if they are to be effectively applied to knowledge‐intensive firms.

Managers of knowledge‐intensive firms need to use the old tools in new ways, if they are to improve their business models and ultimately increase their profitability.

The paper outlines ways for managers of knowledge‐intensive firms to improve their firm's performance. First, managers using a revised five forces can improve their value capture by reducing bargaining power of its experts, making outsourcing of expert services more attractive, or improving their reputational status. Second, the paper outlines a continuum of business models and suggests that the appropriate choice of business model depends on the firm's problem‐solving expertise, its target clients, desired risk level and aspirations. The paper elaborates on the business model by examining choices surrounding the scope of the firm's problem‐solving activities, suggesting that these allow the firm to find profitable niches.

This is one of the first attempts to develop strategic tools that managers of knowledge‐intensive firms can used to increase their firm's profitability.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the online retail banking industry and determine if there is evidence that online banking will be a dominant player in the financial services retail marketplace.

An analysis of 22 banks is conducted and it is determined that the barriers to entry that are identified may not be enough to prohibit a substantial number of entrants into the marketplace.

Using Porter's five‐force model to conduct the industry analysis; online banking is still in its infancy, although with great potential. According to FDIC, while approximately 40 percent of the 10,623 banks and thrifts in the US market have a website, only 376 offer transactional internet banking at the time of the study. About 30 internet‐only banks or a pure‐play format operate in the USA. All of the web‐only banks in the USA combined have about 250,000 depositors, out of the nearly six million customers who have stated that they do significant banking activities over the internet.

Owing to the different types of potential suppliers, the suppliers in the online‐banking industry do not appear to have as big a bargaining power in this industry as they would in another industry. Buyers, however, hold the keys to success in the online‐banking industry. Buyers do not need the product that is offered due to the many substitute products available in the market.

In the end, the rivalries among banks lead them to differentiating their internet banking products which is what will afford one bank to have a competitive advantage over the rest of the market.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges that small firms in the UK clothing manufacturing sector encounter. It has been suggested that small manufacturers' main problems are based on an inadequate information‐sharing structure. This research will explore the strategic significance of information to effective supply chain decisions in small garment‐manufacturing firms.

The paper is designed to employ Porter's five forces to explain the key factors influencing competition in the UK garment manufacturing industry and the relationship of information technology as a facilitator of shared information. In‐depth interviews and observations are conducted in a multiple case approach.

Empirical evidence shows that the slow and inefficient reaction of small garment manufacturers to competitive pressures is associated with inaccurate and untimely information sharing among trading partners.

The methodological approach justified the particularity, the specificity, and the boundedness required in case studies and demonstrates the depth of thoroughness and authentic explanations. It might, however, be useful to obtain a broader and wider sampling frame in any future research.

A successful supply chain will have implications for the upstream and downstream managers, who need to integrate their supply chains as part of a team that creates and adds value to the garments that end up in the hands of the consumers.

This paper has been able to stimulate concerns and interests in owner/managers of small garment manufacturers with special reference to their information needs. The evidence obtained demonstrated the overriding need for structured information strategies that will encourage the efficient flow of accurate and timely information across their supply chains.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of two external factors – the “generalized” competition an organization faces, and the strategy it follows in response to its external environment – on the business value generated by its ICT investment.

For achieving these research objectives econometric models of output are constructed, using firm‐level data from Greek companies, which have been collected through a survey through a structured questionnaire. These econometric models are based on the microeconomic production theory (Cobb Douglas production function). For operationalizing the “generalized competition” an organization faces are used the five dimensions of the generalized competition of M. Porter's “five forces framework”.

Concerning the above generalized competition dimensions it is concluded that higher level of bargaining power of suppliers results in higher ICT business value generation. Also, concerning strategy it is concluded that in organizations following a strategy of frequent introduction of new innovative products and services is generated higher ICT business value.

This paper investigates the effect of external environment related factors on the business value generated by ICT investment. The conclusions constitute of first evidence that there are external conditions that result in higher business value from ICT investment by necessitating a more efficient and effective use of ICT.

In an ever‐increasingly market‐oriented world, higher education institutions need to have an institutional strategy concerned with the management of quality. Perhaps this should begin with the quality of teaching and learning provision, but the focus has to be wider. Considers such a wider focus in discussing: Michael Porter′s “Five Forces Model of Competition” and his “Drivers of Cost Model”; quality assurance and quality control mechanisms; how a quality strategy can be used to gain competitive advantage. Concludes by offering a series of recommendations as an agenda for action.

This paper views the phenomenon of offering/user interface complexity as having competitive strategy-related consequences. Porter’s conception of generic management strategy was created in the 1980s. It is not well adapted to industries which have proliferated in the Internet age. Accordingly, the conception presented in this article offers a modified version of Porter’s generic strategy framework. The new view incorporates the dimension of complexity alongside the original dimensions of “target market” and “type of advantage”. The article uses an analysis of the contemporary Canadian Telco sector to prosecute its case.

The project uses an analysis of the stated competitive positioning orientations of firms operating in the contemporary Canadian Telecommunications sector to build a case about the changed nature of generic strategy in the digital age. It uses inductive reasoning to generalise findings about the Telco sector to other recently emerged (digital-age) industries.

A revised view of Porter’s generic strategy grid is presented and defended.

The study analyses only one sector, but draws many broad conclusions. It uses inductive reasoning which is limited by the extent to which the exemplar case (telecommunications) may be compared to other cases within the same category (other digital age industries). The study does not use an extensive analysis of strategic planning documents of individual firms; however, this is not a limitation unless and until a critique challenges the claims made about generic strategies being pursued.

The new conceptualisation may be used as a planning tool for digital-age firms.

The project is a genuinely new attempt to update Porter’s view of generic strategy. It overcomes the problems which have been associated with previous attempts at such revision.