Michael Porter identifies three principles underlying strategy: creating a "unique and valuable [market] position", making trade-offs by choosing "what not to do", and creating "fit" by aligning company activities with one another to support the chosen strategy.
Porter offers many frameworks for understanding and analysing competivitiveness for companies usually competing under three/four generic strategies, (1) lower cost, (2) differentiated, or (3) focus.
Porter´s Five Forces model may be regarded in light of the following:
The Five Forces Model is important because it helps one understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position you're considering moving into.