Rate My Professor Michael Porter

Michael E. Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School in the field of Business & Economics. His academic background includes a B.S.E. with high honors in aerospace and mechanical engineering from Princeton University in 1969, an M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Business School in 1971, and a Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard University in 1973. Porter joined Harvard Business School faculty, teaching his first course, “Industry and Competitive Analysis,” in 1978, and receiving tenure in 1982. In 2000, he was appointed University Professor, Harvard's highest faculty honor, and founded the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. He co-founded organizations including the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City in 1994, Center for Effective Philanthropy and FSG in 2000, and International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement in 2012. Porter served as advisor to businesses, governments, and social sectors, held positions on Fortune 500 boards, and collaborated with heads of state on economic development. He retired from the Harvard Business School faculty on November 30, 2023.

Porter pioneered the application of economic theory to industry competition and company strategy, defining the modern strategy field. Key publications include Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (1980), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (1985), The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990), On Competition (1998, first edition), Redefining Health Care with Elizabeth Teisberg (2006), and articles such as “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy” (1979), “What is Strategy?” (1996), “Creating Shared Value” with Mark R. Kramer (2011), and “How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition” with James Heppelmann (2014). He authored 19 books and over 130 articles. His research spans economic development and clusters via the Cluster Mapping Project, the Porter Hypothesis on environmental standards enhancing competitiveness (early 1990s), corporate roles in society through shared value, value-based health care delivery, and political competition via the Gehl-Porter Politics Industry Theory (2017 report with Katherine Gehl). Porter received seven McKinsey Awards for best Harvard Business Review articles, the Adam Smith Award (1997), John Kenneth Galbraith Medal (2005), Academy of Management Scholarly Contributions Award (2003), U.S. Department of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award in Economic Development (2008), and 24 honorary doctorates. As the most cited scholar in economics and business, his frameworks are taught globally and influence practitioners, policymakers, and academics.