The Value Chain and Competitive Advantage

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The Value Chain and Competitive Advantage Students name: Student’s grade: University name: Tutor: Date: Introduction According to Michael Porter, there are various strategies through which firms, businesses and industries can create and sustain a competitive advantage in their enterprises. Porter tries to look at two aspects of a firm; the first one is how attractive an industry is structurally and secondly the firm’s relative position in the industry. These two aspects are influenced by competitor behavior and are also shaped by the actions of the firm. This article provides a broader perspective on value chain and competitive advantage. After gaining a comprehensive understanding of these two business concepts, the article examines how IT affects them. In addition, the article examines some value chain and competitive forces when a business responds to sustainability. The value chain To have an understanding of firm activities that yields competitive advantage while resulting in shareholder value creation, the business system should importantly be separated into a series of value generatiogn activities that are reffered to as value chain. The generic value chain model introduces by Michael Porter comprises of a series of activities. Therefore for a company to make profit five competitive forces must be put into considerations. These forces include; (1) The threat of new entrants, (2) The threat of substitute products or services, (3) The bargaining power of suppliers, (4) The bargaining power of buyers and, (5) The intensity of the rivalry among existing competitors (Porter, 1996). These forces are the basis for evaluating the firm’s competitive advantage and its relative position in the industry. The sustained average profitability competitor varies from one industry to another. Every industry therefore struggles to rise above its
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