PEST & PESTEL Analysis
PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis) describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. Some analysts added Legal and Environmental factors expanded it to PESTEL or PESTLE..[1]
The basic PEST analysis includes these factors:
- Political factors are basically to what degree the government intervenes in the economy. Specifically, political factors include areas such as tax policy, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include goods and services which the government wants to provide or be provided (merit goods) and those that the government does not want to be provided (demerit goods or merit bads). Furthermore, governments have great influence on the health, education, and infrastructure of a nation.
- Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions. For example, interest rates affect a firm's cost of capital and therefore to what extent a business grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and price of imported goods in an economy.
- Social factors include the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. Trends in social factors affect the demand for a company's products and how that company operates. For example, an aging population may imply a smaller and less-willing workforce (thus increasing the cost of labor). Furthermore, companies may change various management strategies to adapt to these social trends (such as recruiting older workers).
- Technological factors include technological aspects such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. They can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation.
>Expanding the analysis to PESTLE or PESTEL adds:
- Legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law. These factors can affect how a company operates, its costs, and the demand for its products.
- Environmental factors include ecological and environmental aspects such as weather, climate, and climate change, which may especially affect industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance. Furthermore, growing awareness of the potential impacts of climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer, both creating new markets and diminishing or destroying existing ones.
Other factors for the various offshoots include:
- Demographic factors include gender, age, ethnicity, knowledge of languages, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, religious belief or practice, and income level.
- Regulatory factors include acts of parliament and associated regulations, international and national standards, local government by-laws, and mechanisms to monitor and ensure compliance with these." (from the Wikipedia)
How to do a Pestel Analysis
Pest Market Analysis Tool
Strategic Management Insight
SWOT Analysis Vs PEST Analysis and When to Use Them
PEST and SWOT Analysis Research Guide
Other Links:
If you have questions or are encountering problems, please contact me.
Last Update: January 9, 2020
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by Jim Vileta |
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The views and opinions expressed on this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota. Send Comments to: libaskus@d.umn.edu |