Introduction to Porter’s Three Tests | Lucidity (2024)

If you’re looking to diversify, check out these three tests to see if you’ll succeed…🙋

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Introduction to Porter’s Three Tests | Lucidity (1)

Porter’s Three Tests are checks that you can do to ensure your diversification strategy is likely to succeed in creating value for the business.

Let’s take a look in more detail…

Contents

  • 1 What are Porter’s Three Tests?
  • 2 What is The Attractiveness Test?
  • 3 What is the Cost of Entry Test
  • 4 What is the Better Off Test?
  • 5 What are the advantages of Porter’s Three Tests?
  • 6 What are the disadvantages of Porter’s Three Tests?
  • 7 What tools should be used with Porter’s Three Tests?
  • 8 Who invented Porter’s Three Tests?

What are Porter’s Three Tests?

Michael Porter devised three tests for a company to perform in order to validate if diversification will be successful in creating shareholder value.

The three tests are:

  • The Attractiveness Test: How attractive is the new market?
  • The Cost of Entry Test: How expensive is it to enter the market?
  • The Better Off Test: How will the company be in a better position?

Introduction to Porter’s Three Tests | Lucidity (2)

If your diversification cannot pass the above tests then you should consider if it is a viable strategy that will help your business.

What is The Attractiveness Test?

The Attractiveness Test addresses if the new market is appealing for the company to enter in the first place.

It’s an important question because diversification is only capable of generating value for the business if the new market being entered is capable of generating revenues greater than the cost of entering.

Ideally, diversification should give you the capability of generating greater revenues than your current market opportunity.

Some considerations about attractive markets:

  • They not need to be at peak growth in order to be attractive to enter
  • There are benefits in entering a market early on in the lifecycle
  • They do need to be able to support long term, viable growth for your business
  • Attractive does not mean there is necessarily a low cost of entry
  • Attractive does not mean there is necessarily similarities between it and your current market

What is the Cost of Entry Test

The Cost of Entry Test evaluates if the potential profitability of the market is greater or lower than the cost of entering. If it’s lower, then you shouldn’t be looking to enter the market.

This test requires some research into your new market in order to establish all the costs you’d incur from operating the new venture. Consider the existing competitors, who already have scale and experience, and how much you’d spend when you compete against them.

If you’re unsure then a MVP or proof of concept test might be a way to minimise the cost of entry while gathering enough feedback to decide if it’s worth aggressively going for the new market.

Some considerations about cost of entry:

  • You could acquire a business or unit rather than create a new product or service
  • You should be using other tools such as Five Forces in an attempt to understand the market
  • Make sure you evaluate competitor activity from their team sizes (use LinkedIn) to their published accounts and news

What is the Better Off Test?

The Better Off Test looks to establish if the company or new unit will be better off from the diversification and thus gain some form of competitive advantage. In order to pass the test, there has to be some tangible benefit to either the existing company, acquired company, or new business unit.

The benefit could come in many forms, such as increased capabilities or access to new market channels, but to be successful in the long term this has to be in place.

Some considerations for the Better Off Test:

  • Benefits should be ongoing rather than one off
  • Look across your business operations to evaluate each one against the diversification
  • Ensure you have the right skills in the business to implement the wins of diversification
  • Evaluate the Better Off test after diversification has happened to ensure you are achieving all the benefits

What are the advantages of Porter’s Three Tests?

The advantages to using Porter’s Three Tests include:

  • A higher chance of diversification success
  • They are simple tests to challenge thinking
  • They can be split up and allocated to specialists on the team
  • They are mutually exclusive and if done sequentially can save time on ideas that won’t work

What are the disadvantages of Porter’s Three Tests?

Some disadvantages to the Porter’s Three Tests include:

  • It requires other frameworks to evaluate the marketplace
  • It is subjective to answer some of the questions
  • There is an element of ambiguity in two of the three tests

Porter’s Three Tests work well when used in conjunction with other frameworks. Porter’s Five Forces or the Six Forces model are a great way to establish attractiveness by looking at the dynamics within the potential market, whilst the Ansoff Matrix is a commonly used tool when looking at diversification in general. Finally, read through Porter’s Generic Strategies to establish alternative options to diversification.

Who invented Porter’s Three Tests?

Michael Porter developed the three tests for successful diversification in 1987, in “From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy”. He’s the same Michael Porter who developed Five Forces, Generics Strategies and Four Corner Analysis. He’s responsible for a lot of thinking in strategy!

Introduction to Porter’s Three Tests | Lucidity (3)

Introduction to Porter’s Three Tests | Lucidity (2024)

FAQs

What are the three tests of winning strategy? ›

A winning strategy must staisfy 3 criteria to be a good strategy . These 3 tests are fit test, performance test and competitive advantage test.

What are the three tests for determining whether diversification into a new business is likely to build shareholder value? ›

If diversification is to create shareholder value, it must meet three tests: The Attractiveness Test, The Cost of Entry Test, The Better-Off Test. Diversification must be directed towards attractive industries (or have the potential to become attractive). The cost of entry must not capitalize all future profits.

What tests are used to determine if a diversification move will benefit shareholders? ›

The industry attractiveness test, the competitive strength test, and the shareholder value test are the three criteria that should be evaluated in order to determine whether or not a specific move to diversify into a new business may provide additional long-term economic value for shareholders.

What are three 3 basic strategies describe by Porter? ›

The two basic types of competitive advantage combined with the scope of activities for which a firm seeks to achieve them, lead to three generic strategies for achieving above average performance in an industry: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.

What is the 3 Porter five forces model designed to analyze? ›

Porter's Five Forces Model is an important tool for understanding the main competitive forces at work in an industry. This can help you to assess the attractiveness of an industry, and pinpoint areas where you can adjust your strategy to improve profitability.

What are the 3 C's of a strategic action? ›

In order to achieve the goals and objectives within the plan, you have to implement, what I call, the three C's of strategic planning: Communication, Connection and Commitment.

What are the 3 basic strategies? ›

According to Porter's Generic Strategies model, there are three basic strategic options available to organizations for gaining competitive advantage. These are: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus.

What are the 3 levels of strategy define each? ›

The three levels are corporate level strategy, business level strategy, and functional strategy. These different levels of strategy enable business leaders to set business goals from the highest corporate level to the bottom functional level.

What are the three 3 best indicators of how well a company's strategy is working? ›

The three best indicators of well your company's strategy is working are (1) whether your company is achieving its stated financial and strategic objectives, (2) whether your company's financial performance is above the industry average, and (3) whether it is gaining customers and increasing its market share.

What are the three tests of competitive advantage? ›

1. Three tests for any source of competitive advantage are align, differentiate, and add value.

What are the 3 diversification strategies? ›

There are three types of diversification techniques:
  • Concentric diversification. Concentric diversification involves adding similar products or services to the existing business. ...
  • Horizontal diversification. ...
  • Conglomerate diversification.
Jul 13, 2020

Which of the three tests of a winning strategy assesses how well a company's strategy matches the company's situation? ›

A: The three criteria for determining whether a company has a winning strategy are the following three tests:  The Fit Test (for both internal and external fit) – determines how well the strategy fits the company's present circ*mstances.

How do you measure diversification benefits? ›

The correlation coefficient is calculated by taking the covariance of the two assets divided by the product of the standard deviation of both assets. Correlation is essentially a statistical measure of diversification.

What are the 3 types of fit strategic positioning according to Porter requires? ›

According to Michael Porter, strategic positions can be derived in three ways. 1) variety-based positioning, 2) needs-based positioning, and 3) access-based positioning.

What are the Porter's 4 competitive strategies? ›

The four strategies are called:
  • Cost Leadership Strategy.
  • Differentiation Strategy.
  • Cost Focus Strategy.
  • Differentiation Focus Strategy.

What is Porter's five forces model briefly explain? ›

Porter's Five Forces are Threat of new entrants, Bargaining power of buyers, Bargaining power of suppliers, Threat of new substitutes, and Competitive rivalry. This framework helps strategists understand what makes an industry profitable and provides insights needed to make strategic choices.

What is Porter's 5 forces analysis example? ›

Five forces by porter are as follows: Competitors in the industry; Threat of new entrants; Bargaining power of suppliers; Bargaining power of buyers; Threat of substitutes. Competitors operating in the same industry may drive profit margins and revenue down for any given company.

What are the three 3 main characteristics of strategic decisions? ›

The three characteristics of strategic decisions are: Activities match the resource base. Operational decisions are affected. The magnitude of strategies and nature are affected.

What are the 3 characteristics of strategic decision making? ›

Strategic decision making (SDM) is of great and growing importance because of five characteristics of strategic decisions (SDs): (a) they are usually big, risky, and hard-to-reverse, with significant long-term effects, (b) they are the bridge between deliberate and emergent strategy, (c) they can be a major source of ...

What does the 3cs principle stands for? ›

This method has you focusing your analysis on the 3C's or strategic triangle: the customers, the competitors and the corporation. By analyzing these three elements, you will be able to find the key success factor (KSF) and create a viable marketing strategy.

What is Stage 3 of strategy formulation? ›

Here are the three levels of strategy: Corporate level: How you structure the organization and coordinate across business units. Business level: How you target and retain customers and compete with other organizations in your market. Functional level: How you plan to grow and improve the organization.

What are the 3 C's competitive analysis? ›

The 3 Cs of Brand Development: Customer, Company, and Competitors. There is only a handful of useful texts on strategy. Any MBA student will be familiar with these: Competitive Advantage and Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter.

What are 3 ways a firm can diversify its portfolio? ›

  • 7 strategies to diversify your portfolio.
  • Determine correlation. ...
  • Diversify across asset classes. ...
  • Diversity within asset classes. ...
  • Diversify by location. ...
  • Explore alternative investments. ...
  • Rebalance your portfolio regularly. ...
  • Consider your risk tolerance.

What are the three 3 reasons firms choose to diversify their operations? ›

There are four key reasons why businesses adopt a diversification strategy: The company wants more revenue. The company wants less economic risk. The company's core business is in decline.

What are the three 3 methods used in assessing an industry? ›

The three methods are:
  • Competitive Forces Model (Porter's 5 Forces)
  • Broad Factors Analysis (PEST Analysis)
  • SWOT Analysis.
Jul 8, 2020

What is the ownership test in strategy? ›

The Ownership Test: Do you have to own a business to create value from it? If you're considering an acquisition, would you be better off writing a contract to get the inputs you need without ownership? Do you actually have to own it within the corporate portfolio?

What is the best diversification strategy? ›

Focus on holding just one or two funds in each category and think about how different investments will interact with each other. You'll get the most diversification benefit by holding uncorrelated assets, or assets that move in opposite directions of each other.

What are the three tests of business plan? ›

Business plans need to pass three tests: A) the financial test, the market test, and the management test.

What are the three 3 competitive strategies that an organization should have to be competitive over its rivals? ›

Building a Competitive Advantage

Michael Porter, the famous Harvard Business School professor, identified three strategies for establishing a competitive advantage: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (which includes both cost focus and differentiation focus)[1].

What are the 3 factors that strategic decision makers should consider when deciding on strategy? ›

The strategist's challenge is to simultaneously manage three critical factors: values, opportunities and capabilities. In order to devise and execute a successful strategy, you need to analyze each of these factors to understand how your organization can create and sustain value.

What is a good diversification ratio? ›

A diversified portfolio should have a broad mix of investments. For years, many financial advisors recommended building a 60/40 portfolio, allocating 60% of capital to stocks and 40% to fixed-income investments such as bonds.

What is the key value of diversification? ›

Key Takeaways

Diversification reduces risk by investing in vehicles that span different financial instruments, industries, and other categories. Unsystematic risk can be mitigated through diversification, while systematic or market risk is generally unavoidable.

What are the different levels of diversification? ›

There are three types of diversification: concentric, horizontal, and conglomerate. In the concentric strategy, the business launches a similar product in the existing product line. In the horizontal strategy, the company launches an unrelated, new product in the product mix.

What are Porter's three tiers? ›

Michael Porter defines three strategy types that can attain a competitive advantage. These strategies are cost leadership, differentiation, and market segmentation (or focus).

What are the three tests for source of competitive advantage? ›

1. Three tests for any source of competitive advantage are align, differentiate, and add value.

What is meant by 3 tier approach? ›

Three-tier architecture is a well-established software application architecture that organizes applications into three logical and physical computing tiers: the presentation tier, or user interface; the application tier, where data is processed; and the data tier, where the data associated with the application is ...

What are Porter's four competitive strategies explain each? ›

Developed by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, the model outlines four primary strategies companies can use to remain competitive and succeed: cost leadership, cost focus, differentiation, and differentiation focus.

What is Porter's best value strategy? ›

Sometimes called “focused differentiation,” the best-value focus strategy aims to offer a niche group of customers the products or services that meet their tastes and requirements better than rivals' products do.

What are the 3 key elements of a positioning strategy? ›

There are three standard types of product positioning strategies brands should consider: comparative, differentiation, and segmentation. Through these strategies, brands can help their product stand out by targeting the right audiences with the best message.

What are the 3 C's strategic positioning? ›

Unless you do your research, your message to the market has almost no chance of getting through and hitting the mark. This article explains why you must understand the 3 Cs of successful positioning—your customer, channel, and competition—as well as you understand your B2B product, service, solution, or company.

What is strategy as per Porter? ›

However, Michael Porter defines strategy as a competitive position, “deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.” In other words, you need to understand your competitors and the market you've chosen to determine how your business should react.

What are the tests of competitive advantage? ›

The second type of test is called the Competitive Advantage Test. This type of test measures the lasting competitive advantages of businesses in the market space. The Competitive Advantage Test also enlightens managers on strategies that often fail to keep up a constant competitive advantage with rivals.

What are the three tests of a winning strategy quizlet? ›

Which of the following are the three tests that can be applied to determine whether a strategy is a winning strategy? The fit test, the competitive advantage test, and the performance test.

What is Porter's model of competitive advantage? ›

Porter's Five Forces is a model that identifies and analyzes five competitive forces that shape every industry and helps determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths. Five Forces analysis is frequently used to identify an industry's structure to determine corporate strategy.

What is Porter generic strategies model? ›

What are Porter's Generic Strategies? Porter's Generic Strategies is a group of four categories of competitive strategy: Differentiation, Cost Leadership, Focus (Cost), Focus (Differentiation).

What is generic strategy in simple words? ›

Generic strategy refers to three alternative methods for a firm to position itself competitively within an industry: cost leadership, differentiation and focus. The concept of generic strategy is first defined by Michael Porter in his book Competitive Advantage (1985).

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