INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSStrategic management ICritical reflection on the concept of Porter's five forcesIndex1. Executive Summary 12. Explanation of Porter's Five Forces framework 13. Analysis of Porter's Five Forces concept 23.1. Advantages of Porter's Five Forces concept, 23.2. Limitations of Porter's Five Forces concept 34. Conclusion 4Bibliography 5Appendix………………………………………………………………………………...71. Executive SummaryIn a world of free trade, increasing competition and accessibility to foreign markets, the need for methodical market analysis and hypotheses is constantly increasing in today's business environment. It is simply normal thinking to have the primary intention of eliminating the financial sector before entering a new and foreign market. This suggests that companies need to develop a comprehensive strategy for their business in order to gain competitive advantage and consequently market share. In the words of Michael E. Porter, professor at Harvard University and leading authority on competitive strategy, this desirable market success is indirectly linked to the individual structure of a market. The unique structure of a single market influences strategic behavior and the development of a competitive strategy within a company. Competitive strategy ultimately decides whether a company operates successfully in the market or not. Referring to this interpretation of business success, M.E. Porter established his Five Forces framework which allows directives to gather useful information about the business environment and competitive forces in industries. Using this structured analysis, companies can more easily assess the attractiveness of an industry and obtain a comprehensive overview of all relevant competitive factors that need to be considered in the establishment process. It helps to better understand the current market structure and evaluate external threats and opportunities accordingly. Unfortunately, the analysis established by Porter is not a guarantee of success and above all it is often accused of limitations, lack of considerations and inoperative results. The non-compliance of collaborative economic behavior and government influence, the inflexibility of the model and also the lack of application to rapidly changing market conditions are the main limitations that need to be considered.2. Porter's Five Forces Model ExplainedPorter's Five Forces Model (see Appendix 1) as an external analysis tool was established by Michael E. Porter and first announced in his book "Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors" in 1980. The main idea of ​​Porter's five forces concept is that the attractiveness of a market depends on the characteristics of the five competitive forces that impact a company (see Appendix 2).