5. Driving Forces Analysis

Description and Purpose

Driving forces analysis (DFA) is a way of understanding and accounting for change at the industry level. The drivers are clusters of trends that collectively influence changes to an industry’s structure and a rival’s competitive conduct. The term force suggests that the drivers can materially impact the firm’s future.

So what are driving forces (DFs)? Forces in every situation cause things to remain as they are or change. Forces that push toward change are called driving or helping forces. Forces that resist change are called restraining or hindering forces. When these forces are balanced vis-à-vis a focus, no change is likely to occur. When the net effect of these forces is altered and moves ...

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