Competitive advantage

A second key topic in this chapter is the concept of strategic competitive advantage. In today’s world businesses compete on a global level. Even the small corner shops are affected by what happens around the world. Businesses are continually looking for some way to get an edge, an advantage over the competition. Porter provides a model of five forces that lead firms to attain competitive advantage. In addition to the forces discussed by Porter, another competitive factor is time. In order to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage, organizations must be able to respond quickly to changes in the environment, changes in the market, and changes implemented by competitors. Information systems can help organizations respond quickly to changes. Information systems can also help these same organizations anticipate change or even instigate change.