Michael Porter had a huge impact on business startegy with his classic books Competitive Strategy and Competitive Advantage.
I see both as must read books for anyone serious about developing a deep knowledge of strategy.
Michael Porter is also the author of the Competitive Advantage of Nations which I haven’t read yet but should to get new perspectives on differentiation by where.
Core competitive strategy concepts that Michael Porter has introduced include:
Generic strategies – a business must choose between differentiation, cost leadership or focus or risk being stuck in the middle.
The Five Forces of industry analysis
The value chain
Michael Porter has written a number of classic Harvard Business Review Articles and these are a much easier introduction to his thinking than the large, intellectual books.
How Global Companies Win Out by Thomas M. Hout, Michael E. Porter, Eileen Rudden in Sep 01, 1982
End-Game Strategies for Declining Industries by Kathryn Harrigan, Michael E. Porter in Jul 01, 1983
How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage by Michael E. Porter, Victor E. Millar in Jul 01, 1985
From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy by Michael E. Porter in May 01, 1987
Competitive Advantage of Nations by Michael E. Porter in Mar 01, 1990
Capital Disadvantage: America’s Failing Capital Investment System by Michael E. Porter in Sep 01, 1992
Making Competition in Health Care Work by Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, Michael E. Porter, Gregory B. Brown in Jul 01, 1994
Competitive Advantage of the Inner City by Michael E. Porter in May 01, 1995
Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate by Michael E. Porter, Claas Van Der Linde in Sep 01, 1995
What Is Strategy? by Michael E. Porter in Nov 01, 1996
Clusters and the New Economics of Competition nby Michael E. Porter in Nov 01, 1998
Philanthropy’s New Agenda: Creating Value by Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer in Nov 01, 1999
Strategy and the Internet by Michael E. Porter in Mar 01, 2001
Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy by Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer in Dec 01, 2002
Redefining Competition in Health Care by Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg in Jun 01, 2004
Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility by Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer in Dec 01, 2006
The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy by Michael E. Porter in Jan 01, 2008
Creating Shared Value by Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer in Jan 01, 2011
How to Solve the Cost Crisis in Health Care by Robert S. Kaplan, Michael E. Porter in Sep 01, 2011