Microeconomics for Business: Writing Assignments on Porter’s Five Competitive Forces

Groups of microeconomic principles students analyze the impact of Porter’s five competitive forces on an existing company. Five essays cover the forces: suppliers, substitutes, buyers, rivals, and new market entrants. Topics are tied to economic theory: production possibilities frontier, cross-price elasticity of demand, consumers, firms, and market structure. A sixth essay requires a comprehensive analysis of the five forces with which the company contends. Essays are graded using well-defined rubrics, and their short, uniform structure allows students to incorporate instructor feedback into future assignments. Students connect basic principles of economics to the functioning of a real firm.

James Staveley-O’Carroll II

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Staveley-O’Carroll II, J. (2023). Microeconomics for Business: Writing Assignments on Porter’s Five Competitive Forces. Available online at Journal of Economics Teaching, DOI: 10.58311/jeconteach/7f2952124a5d196ffe565032051e0f4fea71e17e