Portfolio analysis is critically important in strategic planning, because allocation of resources across divisions is arguably the most important strategic decision facing multi-divisional firms each year. Two recent journal articles (listed below) merge the EFE and IFE matrices with the CPM (in Chapter 6) to propose a new External Competitive Profile Matrix (ECPM) and an Internal Competitive profile Matrix (ICPM). Then in the articles, Cassidy, et. al. develop a revised I-E Matrix based on the new ECPM and ICPM scores. Cassidy, et. al. contend that the new nine-cell matrix improves upon Fred David’s original I-E Matrix, first offered in the 1980’s and adapted from the GE Business Screen.

Cassidy, Christopher and Micahel Glissmeyer, and Charles Capps III (2013), “Mapping an Internal-External (I-E) Matrix Using Tradition and Extended Matrix Concepts,” Journal of Applied Business Research (September/October 2013, 29(5), 1523-1528.

Capps, Charles, and Michael Glissmeyer (2012), “Extending the Competitive Profile Matrix Using Internal Factor Evaluation and External Factor Evaluation Matrix Concepts, Journal of Applied Business Research, 28(5), 1059-1062.