2
The External Environment:
Opportunities, Threats,
Industry Competition, and
Competitor Analysis
Studying this chapter should provide
you with the strategic management
knowledge needed to:2-1 Explain the importance of
analyzing and understanding the
firm’s external environment.
2-2 Define and describe the general
environment and the industry
environment.
2-3 Discuss the four parts of the
external environmental analysis
process.
2-4 Name and describe the general
environment’s seven segments.
2-5 Identify the five competitive forces
and explain how they determine
an industry’s profitability potential.
2-6 Define strategic groups and
describe their influence on firms.
2-7 Describe what firms need to
know about their competitors
and different methods (including
ethical standards) used to collect
intelligence about them.© RomanOkopny/Getty Images