For example, Porter (1979) identifies five
major competitive forces that firms wishing to
gain competitive advantages should consider
the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power
of customers, the bargaining power of suppliers,
the threat of substitute products or
services, and the maneuvering among current
contestants. With this understanding, 1ST can be
used to implement one of the three generic competitive
strategies as defined by Porter (overall
cost leadership, product differentiation, and special
market focus).