University of Canberra


Introduction to Management


Assignment 2 – Essay


A critical examination of the central contributions of Michael Porter to the development of management thought


Kylie McAvoy

Student ID: 913232

Tutor: Alan Wheeley

Tutorial: Tuesday 18:30 – 19:30


A critical examination of the central contributions of Michael Porter to the development of management thought.


Michael Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard. He is seen by many as a leading authority on strategic management and competitiveness. Throughout the western world universities, chief executive officers of billion dollar corporations and governments have used his principles on competitive strategy. Porter's major contribution has been to detail carefully how management can create and sustain a competitive advantage that will achieve profitability above the industry average (Robbins, 1997, p. 260). Evidence of his work in management thought is highlighted by his expansive writing. Porter has written 16 books and 75 articles to the area of strategic management. Three of his major contributions in strategic management have been the books 'Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (1980)' which is now in it's 53rd printing, 'Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (1985)' and 'The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990)'.


These three texts are concerned primarily with structure-conduct-performance theory (O'Shannassy, 1999, p.1) where economics had an important role in the management context. From these theories Porter devised three main frameworks: (the five forces analysis, the value chain and the diamond model). Within his writings these became valuable tools in the management world.


Although it is widely accepted that Michael Porter has made a huge contribution in the field of strategic management he is not without his critics. For instance, people such as Mintzberg and O'Shannesy believe that Porter's scientific approach does not pay enough attention to the firm itself or management intuition. Other studies suggest that Porter's one generic strategy model...