Reading_Analyzing Drivers of Change

MGMT 475 MODULE 3 Part B Reading Identifying Changes in the Competitive Environment Your analysis of the five competitive forces helped you identify the key success factors for an industry. That is, you identified the underlying barriers superior performance all producers face in the external environment and converted those into statements about what producers must do to overcome those barriers in order to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. But the environment is always changing! So, it is critical that you are also aware of how changes in the environment might impact the quality of your firm’s competitive strategy. Drivers of Change The external environment is not static; the factors that are important for success today may be quite different in a few years. We thus must understand any broad (not industry-specific) issues that are causing, or are likely to cause, change in how our industry performs. We call these drivers of change. These are trends and developments that are or may change the level or way the buyers buy or how the producers produce. That is, these are issues with significant implications for the focal industry DEMAND and/