Lesson 8 - Industry Analysis and Competitive Dynamics: Tools and Frameworks for Strategic Planning

This lecture explores how firms analyze their external environment and industry structure to support strategic decisions. It introduces macro-environmental analysis through the PEST framework, highlighting political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological factors that shape business opportunities and threats. It then explains how to define an industry and assess its key economic characteristics, such as market size, competition, and innovation. Finally, the document presents Porter’s Five Forces model to evaluate competitive dynamics and profitability, emphasizing how industry structure influences firm performance and strategic positioning.