External Factor
A factor outside a business that affects its performance and is beyond its control.
External factors fill the opportunities and threats half of a SWOT grid, and the framework points at the Five Forces reading, the PESTEL factors, customer preferences, and the size of the potential market as the places to look for them.
Often confused with
- Internal Factor
- External factors are outside the business's control; internal factors are inside it and can be changed directly.
- Market Factor
- Market factors are one kind of external factor, the ones about customers, competitors, and industry conditions; external factors also include regulation, weather, and technology.
Taught in
See also
4.4.C.2 · 4.4.D.2