Cheers to Mead: A Serious In-Person Game Illustrating the Five Forces

Abstract

Porter’s five forces model is an important tool in strategic management. Strategy students use the five forces model to conduct industry analysis by evaluating the external conditions that impact firms in a given industry. The five forces model is deceptively simple, yet it encompasses important nuances that students sometimes struggle to fully understand. Cheers to Mead is an experiential exercise designed to illustrate the factors that contribute to the five forces and how the contributing factors affect industry profit potential. The Cheers to Mead game encourages students to grapple with difficult concepts while participating in an engaging activity.