QUESTION 1
Macroenvironment forces
Macroenvironment forces can have a direct impact on the competitive nature of an industry, as well as Porter’s forces (Hill, Schilling, & Jones, 2016: 67). Macroenvironment forces consist of macroeconomic, global, technological, demographic, social, and political and legal forces. Macroeconomic forces include four forces which can affect the companies’ ability to earn a sufficient rate of return. These four forces are growth rate of the economy, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and inflation rate (68). Global forces include barriers to international trade and investment, which may make it harder or more difficult to enter emerging markets. Technological forces deal with the advancements and
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In terms of global forces, managers should consistently be analyzing the benefits from trade based on trade regulations. In today’s society, international trade is increasingly uncertain as many countries seem to be shifting more towards a mercantilist view of trade, in which they are focusing on putting the needs of their country before globalism. Managers may find that lobbying to government for free trade will help with the distribution of products worldwide, as well as improve the company’s bottom line (69).
Moving on, technological forces are another important force. A new technological development can suddenly and unexpectedly cause certain products to go obsolete. Technological innovation is constantly occurring, and if managers due not stay with the times, their company will be left behind in the dust. In addition, it is increasingly important to specialize products towards certain demographics. The younger generation is becoming increasingly tech-savvy and environmentally aware, which are important for social forces as well. Younger consumers tend to support companies that are socially responsible, and managers should keep this in mind.
First Movers
A first mover is defined as “a firm that pioneers a particular product category or feature by being first to offer it to market” (Hill et al., 2016: 220). If managed properly with a sound strategy, the first mover can continue to capture a strong market share
This article has started revolutionary thinking about what are the different forces in addition to direct competitors that affect competitive strategy of an organization and how better understanding of industry structure and these forces, also known as " Porter 's Five Forces", derive organization 's strategy to achieve sustainability and higher profitability. Author has explained the other factors that contribute for industry structure like industry growth rate, technology and innovation, external factors, government & regulations and complementary products and services. Industry structure changes while responding to changes in competitive forces. Author also discussed the framework to perform industry analysis and avoid common pitfall while conducting analysis. In this review I will summarize five competitive forces explained by Micheal E. Porter and their implication on organization 's strategy. Further, I will discuss the relevancy of Porter 's five forces framework in current scenario.
Which of these forces and factors are the most important to the corporation and to the industries in which it competes at the present time? Which will be important in the future?
This will definitely create a first mover advantage. To be the first one of a product will create this advantage and put you a head of competitors.
Identifying influencing factors of a company’s macro-environment helps in the strategic development and management within a company. The macro-environment outlines an industry and the competitive environment as seen in figure 3.1, (Gamble, Peteraf, Thompson, 39). Within the macro-environment there are the political factors, economic conditions, sociocultural forces, technological factors, environment forces, and legal/regulatory factors. All of these factors blanket the habitat an industry and its competition thrive in. Inside the industry and competitive environment there are five factors that influence an individual company. The five factors are suppliers, rival firms, new entrants, buyers, and substitute products. The biggest impact on a company are these five factors. For example, Under Armour focuses on their industry and competitive environment to survive and grow. Their strategy to win over the market share from Nike and Adidas consists of expanding a stable and original brand within record time, taking an innovative approach to their product line-up and brand-name appeal where the market seemed to be barren, and lastly, the company enters in the foreign market early on to establish its brand and influence markets outside of the US.
Countries are enabled by free international trade to specialise or to focus in the production of the goods in which they have a comparative advantage. Specialisation countries can take the benefit of efficiencies generated from increased output and economies of trade. The size of the firm’s market are increased by the international trade which results in lower average costs and increasing in productivity, as it ultimately leads to increase in production.
The biggest advantages of being a first mover is that this will give a company the opportunity to earn above average profits at an early stage in a certain industry/market (Lieberman & Montgomery, 1988).
The theory of comparative advantage explains the benefit of free trade. According to this theory by David Ricardo in the early 19th century, “Both countries will be better off if each specializes in the industry where it has a comparative advantage, and if the two trade with one another.” (Citation) International trade opens up markets to foreign supplier, and domestic companies need to improve their efficiency, boost productivity, and lower cost to increase competitiveness instead of enjoying monopolies or oligopolies that enabled them to keep prices well above marginal costs. On the other hand, international trade also offers domestic companies bigger demands and broader markets; therefore more jobs relevant to export have been created. Furthermore, jobs in the US supported by goods exports pay 13-18 percent more than the US national average (ustr.gov).
Free trade has long be seen by economists as being essential in promoting effective use of natural resources, employment, reduction of poverty and diversity of products for consumers. But the concept of free trade has had many barriers to over come. Including government practices by developed countries, under public and corporate pressures, to protect domestic firms from cheap foreign products. But as history has shown us time and time again is that protectionist measures imposed by governments has almost always had negative effects on the local and world economies. These protectionist measures also hurt developing countries trying to inter into the international trade markets.
As we all know, global trade is no easy, companies cannot just ship their products to another country and sell it in the foreign market, there are many factors need to be considered and analysis. In my point of view, the factor can be separate into internal and external factors.
Globalization has become one of the most influential forces in the twentieth century. International integration of world views, products, trade and ideas has caused a variety of states to blur the lines of their borders and be open to an international perspective. The merger of the Europeans Union, the ASEAN group in the Pacific and NAFTA in North America is reflective of the notion of globalized trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement was the largest free trade zone in the world at its conception and set an example for the future of liberalized trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement is coming into it's twentieth anniversary on January 1st, 2014. 1 NAFTA not only sought to enhance the trade of goods and services across
Throughout the years, there has been a constant controversy over whether the World Trade Organization should enforce global free trade. The primary idea is to establish in which all are happy. Although there are many advocates for trade liberalization, as well as many who oppose. I believe free trade may be advantageous for both large and small-industrialized countries, but it does not favor the smaller developing countries needs primarily.
Ever since the first involvement of government in international trade, many people have posed their opinion about what the role of government should be in it. Different factors are involved when it comes to deciding what this should be. It impacts a lot of people, so in order to do that, trade policy must be properly defined, identify what the roles of government currently are, and their involvement in it, and then analyse what should be their role. Trade policy is how a country carries out trade with other countries (Commercial Policy, n.d). Even though a lot of people support government intervention in international trade, countries would benefit a lot more if the government removes protectionism and promotes free trade instead.
For firms seeking to engage in international business, government intervention may increase both the risks and costs they undergo. With liberalised trade, firms
Competition, typically the most powerful external force, is increased by the advent of globalization. The number of companies and the number of countries where these companies operate and the way governments are dealing with the impacts of globalization is accelerating. The interaction of changes in government policy and business innovation has actually made globalization even faster. If a company does not become a global, it would simply be shut out of new markets. The reasons for the turmoil are numerous: a sputtering economy, increased global competition, the implementation of new technologies that displace jobs, the deregulation of certain industries, and the general
The international trade of goods across the world accounts for approximately 60% of the world Gross Domestic Product (The World Bank, 2014). A great proportion of goods transactions occur every second. The primary question is whether international trade benefits a country as an entirety, and, if so, why would a country implement protective trade policies to restrict particular exports? To address this question, this essay aims to explore the impact of trade on various economic stakeholders, including consumers, producers, labour and government and, furthermore, will compare models and theories with reality to ascertain the true winner/ loser in the international trade market.