I think Porter’s model is right as far as it goes (Industry forces), but that it doesn’t go far enough (”extra-industry” forces.) We’re working on a model that integrates the two, which I’ll go public with shortly.

Your Thomson example is a textbook illustration of what I mean. Thomson and Eastman Kodak were both once undisputed leaders in their markets — printed financial information and photographic film, respectively. Then digital came along. Thomson has made the switch to digital in time. Kodak has not.

Thomson is still a leader. Kodak is a “fallen angel”; they may recover, they may not.

This technology change came from outside those industries and affected all players in each of those industries. Porter’s five forces model does not account for this, unless you twist it beyond all recognition.

This begs the question, why do some market leaders manage this kind of change successfully, and others do not?

And more to the point, if you are facing that kind of change — as many companies are, facing a variety of competitive forces, both “intra-industry” and “extra-industry” — how can you manage it successfully? It’s a complex answer, and for now I’ll leave it at that. See the writings of Clayton Christensen for more on this.

And yes – the new look and feel of your site is excellent. Great work.

It seems we share the same goal of understanding the massive economic shifts that we are now experiencing worldwide, although we analyze those shifts from totally different perspectives.

I (and the rest of the eCompetitors Research Team) like to analyze each of the top 10,000 global industries using Porter’s five forces model because each industry has its own unique story to tell.

We like your holistic perspective and views on long-wave trends too, because it adds a great macro view of the whole economy.

BTW – if you’ll allow me to somewhat defend Porter, in the proverbial once-profitable “buggy whip” industry, if the companies each performed a good industry analysis, such as a Porter five forces analysis which includes a sharp eye on substitutes and not just a focus on competitors – some companies may have been in better shape.

(For example, in a recent HBR article, it talks about Thomson, now Thomson Reuters, which has switched in the past ten years from providing 80% printed information to 80% digital information.)
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