PEST analysis

Business analysis framework

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Strategy

Analysis methods

* Strategy • Strategic management
* Military strategy • Strategic studies
* Strategic planning • Strategic thinking
* Decision theory • Game theory

Major thinkers

* Michael Porter • Rita Gunther McGrath
* Bruce Henderson • Gary Hamel
* Candace A. Yano • C. K. Prahalad
* Jim Collins • Liddell Hart
* Carl von Clausewitz • Sun Tzu
* Julian Corbett • Alfred Thayer Mahan
* J.C. Wylie • Adrian Slywotzky
* Sharon Oster • Chris Zook
* Henry Mintzberg

Concepts

* Business model • Competitive advantage
* Value chain • Performance effects
* Core competency • Generic strategies
* Mission statement

Frameworks and tools

* SWOT • Five forces
* Balanced scorecard • Ansoff matrix
* OGSM • Managerial grid model
* PEST analysis • Growth–share matrix
* STP • MECE principle
* Business Model Canvas • Kraljic matrix
* Strategic Grid Model • Strategy map • VRIO

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In business analysis, PEST analysis (political, economic, social and technological) is a framework of external macro-environmental factors used in strategic management and market research.

PEST analysis was developed in 1967 by Francis Aguilar as an environmental scanning framework for businesses to understand the external conditions and relations of a business in order to assist managers in strategic planning.[1] It has also been termed ETPS analysis.[1]

PEST analyses give an overview of the different macro-environmental factors to be considered by a business, indicating market growth or decline, business position, as well as the potential of and direction for operations.

## Components

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The basic PEST analysis includes four factors: political, economic, social, and technological.

### Political

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Political factors relate to how the governments intervene in economies.

Specifically, political factors comprise areas including tax policy, labour law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Other factors include what are considered merit goods and demerit goods by a government, and the impact of governments on health, education, and infrastructure of a nation.[2]

### Economic

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Economic factors include economic growth, exchange rates, inflation rate, and interest rates.[2]

### Social

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Social factors include cultural aspects and health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and safety emphasis. Trends in social factors affect the demand for a company's products and how that company operates. Through analysis of social factors, companies may adopt various management strategies to adapt to social trends.[citation needed]

### Technological

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Technological factors include R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. These can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence the outsourcing decisions. Technological shifts would also affect costs, quality, and innovation.[3]

## Variants

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Many similar frameworks have been constructed, with the addition of other components such as environment and law. These include PESTLE,[4] PMESII-PT,[5] STEPE,[6] STEEP,[7] STEEPLE,[8] STEER,[9] and TELOS.

### Legal and regulatory

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Legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law, which can affect how a company operates, its costs, and the demand for its products.[4] Regulatory factors have also been analysed as its own pillar.[9]

### Environment

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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.[4] Environmental analyses often use the PESTLE framework, which allow for the evaluation of factors affecting management decisions for coastal zone and freshwater resources,[10] development of sustainable buildings,[11][12] sustainable energy solutions,[13][14] and transportation.[15]

### Demographic

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Demographic factors have been considered in frameworks such as STEEPLED.[8] Factors include gender, age, ethnicity, knowledge of languages, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, religious belief or practice, culture and tradition, living standards and income level.

### Military

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Military analyses have used the PMESII-PT framework, which considers political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical environment and time aspects in a military context.[5]

### Operational

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The TELOS framework explores technical, economic, legal, operational, and scheduling factors.[16]

## Limitations

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PEST analysis can be helpful to explain market changes in the past, but it is not always suitable to predict or foresee upcoming market changes. The macro-environment is highly fluid, and factors can shift unpredictably.[17]

## See also

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* Enterprise planning systems
* Macromarketing
* SWOT analysis
* VRIO

## References

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1. ^ a b J., Aguilar, F. (1967). Scanning the business environment. Macmillan. OCLC 495475137.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. ^ a b Sammut-Bonnici, Tanya; Galea, David (2015-01-22). "Strategic Management". The Wiley Encyclopedia of Management. Vol. 12\. doi:10.1002/9781118785317.weom120113.
3. ^ Rastogi, Nitank; Trivedi, M.K. (2016). "PESTLE Technique – A Tool to Identify External Risks in Construction Projects". International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology. 3 (1): 384. ISSN 2395-0056. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
4. ^ a b c Nandonde, Felix Adamu (9 April 2019). "A PESTLE analysis of international retailing in the East African Community". Global Business and Organizational Excellence. 38 (4): 54–61\. doi:10.1002/JOE.21935. ISSN 1932-2054. Wikidata Q98854703.
5. ^ a b Walden J. (2011), Comparison of the STEEPLE Strategy Methodology and the Department of Defense’s PMESII-PT Methodology Archived 2022-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, Supply Chain Leadership Institute, accessed 10 February 2019
6. ^ Richardson, J. A Brief Intellectual History of the STEPE Model or Framework (i.e., the Social, Technical, Economic, Political, and Ecological), accessed 6 May 2019
7. ^ Wild, Dave (2023). Futurework - A Guidebook for The Future of Work. Aotearoa New Zealand: Smith & Wild. p. 218\. ISBN 978-0-473-66594-4.
8. ^ a b Mason, L. (2018), Contract Administration, Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, p. 116
9. ^ a b Carr, Lawrence P.; Nanni, Alfred J. Jr. (28 July 2009). Delivering Results: Managing What Matters. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 44\. ISBN 978-1-4419-0621-2.
10. ^ Sridhar, R.; Sachithanandam, V.; Mageswaran, T.; Purvaja, R.; Ramesh, R.; Vel, A. Senthil; Thirunavukkarasu, E. (2016-07-02). "A Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) approach for assessment of coastal zone management practice in India". International Review of Public Administration. 21 (3): 216–232\. doi:10.1080/12294659.2016.1237091. ISSN 1229-4659. S2CID 132405731.
11. ^ Dalirazar, Sadaf; Sabzi, Zahra (2020-12-12). "Strategic analysis of barriers and solutions to development of sustainable buildings using PESTLE technique". International Journal of Construction Management. 23: 167–181\. doi:10.1080/15623599.2020.1854931. ISSN 1562-3599. S2CID 234586813.
12. ^ Ulubeyli, Serdar; Kazanci, Oguzhan (2018-11-20). "Holistic sustainability assessment of green building industry in Turkey". Journal of Cleaner Production. 202: 197–212\. Bibcode:2018JCPro.202..197U. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.111. ISSN 0959-6526. S2CID 158121323.
13. ^ Islam, F. R.; Mamun, K. A. (2017), Islam, F.M. Rabiul; Mamun, Kabir Al; Amanullah, Maung Than Oo (eds.), "Possibilities and Challenges of Implementing Renewable Energy in the Light of PESTLE & SWOT Analyses for Island Countries", Smart Energy Grid Design for Island Countries: Challenges and Opportunities, Green Energy and Technology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–19, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-50197-0_1, ISBN 978-3-319-50197-0, retrieved 2021-03-24
14. ^ Achinas, Spyridon; Horjus, Johan; Achinas, Vasileios; Euverink, Gerrit Jan Willem (2019). "A PESTLE Analysis of Biofuels Energy Industry in Europe". Sustainability. 11 (21): 5981. Bibcode:2019Sust...11.5981A. doi:10.3390/su11215981.
15. ^ Guno, Charmaine Samala; Collera, Angelie Azcuna; Agaton, Casper Boongaling (2021). "Barriers and Drivers of Transition to Sustainable Public Transport in the Philippines". World Electric Vehicle Journal. 12 (1): 46. doi:10.3390/wevj12010046.
16. ^ McLeod, S. (2021, June 29). "Interrelated attributes of project feasibility: Visualizing the TELOS framework." [Journal Name]. doi:10.14293/s2199-1006.1.sor-
17. ^ Diaz Ruiz, Carlos A.; Baker, Jonathan J.; Mason, Katy; Tierney, Kieran (2020-06-15). "Market-scanning and market-shaping: why are firms blindsided by market-shaping acts?". Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 35 (9): 1389–1401\. doi:10.1108/JBIM-03-2019-0130. ISSN 0885-8624. S2CID 219736566.

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Strategic planning tools

* Ansoff matrix
* Balanced scorecard
* Bowman's Strategy Clock
* Business Model Canvas
* Competitor analysis
* Growth–share matrix
* Managerial grid model
* Market Opportunity Navigator
* MECE principle
* Mind map
* OGSM
* Pareto priority index
* PEST analysis
* Porter's five forces analysis
* Scenario planning
* Segmenting-targeting-positioning
* SWOT analysis
* Kraljic matrix
* Strategic grid model
* Strategy map
* Structure follows Strategy
* VRIO

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