Final answer:
When evaluating an industry's prospects for success and profitability, factors like the industry's growth potential and competitive pressures are essential to consider. The severity of macro-environment hurdles generally doesn't affect this internal industry assessment. Instead, understanding the market structure and competitive dynamics such as market power and product differentiation is crucial.
Step-by-step explanation:
In evaluating whether the industry and competitive environment presents sufficiently attractive prospects for both competitive success and attractive profits, the consideration of certain factors is essential. Factors typically evaluated include the industry's growth potential, whether competitive pressures will intensify or ease, if strong competitive forces are reducing industry profitability, and whether the industry will be favorably or unfavorably affected by the prevailing driving forces. However, the factor that usually does not need to be considered when evaluating industry-wide competitive success and profitability prospects is d) the severity of the macro-environment problems confronting the industry. This aspect is more related to external factors rather than the intrinsic competitive dynamics of the industry itself.
Understanding the market structure is crucial, as it determines how competition is conducted within an industry. This can be described through questions such as how much market power each firm in the industry possesses, how similar each firm's product is to the products of other firms, how difficult it is for new firms to enter the industry, and whether firms compete primarily on price, advertising, or other product differences. These aspects greatly influence a company's ability to succeed and maintain profitability in its market.