The Value Chain was described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York, NY The Free Press. Coupled with his seminal work with the Five Forces Model, published in 1980, Competitive Strategy. New York, The Free Press, these thoughts have stood the text of time for nearly 3 decades.
a) What is the importance of the Porter model and why, as a consequence do many regard him as one of the giants in business theory?
b) Several academics are now casting doubt on the generality of the Porter model. What are their premises?