Business Level and Corporate Level Strategies
Introduction
The industry that the following research will be based on is the telecommunications industry with the company of interest being Apple Inc. The industry has culminated in massive developments of technology such as in mobile devices and enhancement of communication on the global platform. Apple Inc. has been a leading innovator of various electronic gadgets, software, and even operating systems. It commenced its operations in 1976 and has its headquarters in California. It is in this regard, therefore, that the following article will conduct research about Apple Inc. It will analyze both its business and corporate level strategies, competitive environment and conduct a comparison of these strategies with its primary competitor.
Analysis of Apple’s business level strategy.
As a result of the uniqueness that each organization holds in its strategic approaches, companies often have customized actions that fit their industrial environment and circumstances. For Apple, its business level strategy is pegged on manufacturing only the best commodities. It is has put a lot of focus on innovation of new products while also conducting improvements on the existing ones. It utilizes the differentiation strategy that is responsible for the exclusivity and high-cost nature of Apple products. That means that not everyone has the capacity of buying Apple products.
The business-level strategy is also aligned with the company’s marketing concept that gives it an edge over its competitors. Its target market is clients willing to part with an extra amount of products that provide improved user experience. Its market is comprised of those who like having fun with technology, those working in the media industry and the music enthusiasts.
Innovation as a business level strategy is most important to the long-term success of Apple Inc. It is because innovation leads to the introduction of new products that are often positively taken up by the market. For instance, the company has focused on product improvement through the introduction of the latest cell in the iPhone series i.e. iPhone 7. The new products have been improved thus broadening its market share. In the long-run, the company will continue attaining a significant position over its competitors because of the positive image it has achieved over time. Therefore, the products from Apple optimally satisfy the needs of its customers translating in increased revenues as a result of the broad market it continues to command globally.
The corporate level strategy applied by Apple has been responsible for wielding massive competition between it and other firms in the industry. A primary strategy here for the product is the fact that its products incorporate same design techniques with them being put to use in multiple other products of the company without altering their formats. Its products such as Apple TV, iPhone and the iPad and several other software offerings have incorporated the similar designs which also makes them easily identifiable among other similar products in the market. That has enabled the company gain massive milestones of success. Bach (2007) notes that Apple’s preciseness in the manufacture of its products, as well as, its simplistic yet very powerful designs have contributed in building its reputation among other organizations and individuals (Beard & Dess, 2010, p. 675).
Another significant corporate level strategy of Apple is the fact that it forms part of the few computer companies having retail stores internationally. That has a major advantage especially because of their presence both online and offline. The company is thus enabled to satisfy their customers at a more advanced level. The strategy has succeeded in making the clients comfortable when doing purchases since they can do it at their own convenience at their homes, offices or any place. Also, it enables interlinking of the business processes. Therefore, the management can accurately monitor the sales and the movement of goods to and from these retail outlets.
The corporate level strategy that is most significant for the long-term success of Apple Inc. is it having stores located in every part of the world. That is an affirmation that the company has penetrated to several markets in the world despite the high costs associated with its products. It is crucial to its long-term success because the stores are responsible for meeting the needs of the customers on a one on one basis. The sales agents can also do massive marketing for the promotion of the available products. Generally, this expands the market share of Apple relative to its competitors that may not realize the economies of scale needed to set up stores on the international platform.
Apple’s competitive environment
The competitive environment of Apple Inc. is very dynamic. It is because new companies are continually entering this market while the already existing ones are introducing more innovative products. The latter aspect is considered as the most significant threat to the company. The changes in technology have made competition increasingly tough because of the innovative capacities of these new firms. Overtime, the companies regarded as Apple’s main competitors have been numerous. They include Samsung and Nokia in the mobile phone industry, Microsoft in the computer software industry among other firms. However, for this discussion, Samsung will be discussed as the major competitor of Apple because of its command of a significant portion of the market having similar products offerings.
Even though Apple has overtime dominated the American markets, Samsung has slowly gained ground in this and other markets. The competition has specifically been intensified in the smartphone industry. Samsung has been a preferred brand in developing markets because its products are deemed to be more affordable. Some of these markets include China and in African countries. From the competitive landscape, Lavu (2011) asserts that Apple has a lot to worry about because of the decreasing levels of sales of its products especially in the developing markets. These markets perceive the products as not being commensurate to the high prices thus opt for cheaper alternatives.
In order for Apple to mitigate against the threat of competitors such as Samsung and others alike, it is imperative for the company to increase its focus on the strategies for manufacturing of different commodities. That will be geared towards enhancing the responsiveness of the clients, and both the efficiency, as well as, quality of work. The efficiency of the products will assist the organization in lowering its associated costs. These strategies will help Apple Inc. in gaining a competitive edge over its competitors that are always innovating new products and moving into new markets.
Comparison of Apple’s and Samsung’s strategies
Both Apple and Samsung have for a long time now been in a globalized corporate battle because of the fact that they are the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the entire world. For Samsung, its business strategy is to manufacture products similar to those of other companies but make them better, faster and also more affordable. On the other hand, its corporate level strategy is undertaking a massive market research with a concurring execution. A comparison of the strategies of both firms points out the possibility of Samsung doing better than Apple in the future. That stems from the reliability and affordability that is associated with the products from Samsung. Besides, the company has been known to pivot and produce faster different devices. Through its vast market research, Samsung postulates what the market requires and responds by building on its successes while killing the failures. These aspects put Samsung at a better position of overtaking Apple in all their markets.
The difference in fast and slow cycle markets.
Fast cycle markets are those where the competitive advantages can be imitated while also happening faster and cheaply. Slow cycle markets, on the other hand, are the markets where the competitive advantages cannot be imitated as stipulated by the law. The imitation is also costly. The difference will mainly be experienced in the slow cycle market because of the limitation that has been put on the extent of imitation on both firms. In fact, it is because of this that Samsung suffered a huge setback when Apple won a case against it for imitating the designs of its products. The difference in this market also stems from the rivalry between these firms. They have put measures that ensure that either of them does not take up the other’s idea for purposes of gaining milestones in the markets (Bower & Hout, 2013, P. 2).
Conclusion
The above article has presented a discussion on Apple Inc. that is a primary player in the telecommunications industry. Apple Inc. was particularly of interest because of the significant contributions it has made to this industry. Both its business and corporate level strategies have been put into perspective. Its innovative capacity has been discussed as being the most important business-level strategy while having stores located in every place globally is its best corporate level strategy. The article has conducted an analysis of Apple's competitive environment with Samsung being the main competitor. Lastly, a comparison of the strategies above and the slow and fast cycle markets has been made.
References
Beard, D. & Dess, G. (2010). Corporate-Level Strategy, Business-Level Strategy, and Firm Performance. Academy Of Management Journal, 24(4), 663-688. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256169
Bach, B. (2007). Implications of enabling technologies for Apple Inc. (1st Ed.). München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.
Bower, J. & Hout, T. (2013). Fast-Cycle Capability for Competitive Power. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 27 January 2017, from https://hbr.org/1988/11/fast-cycle-capability-for-competitive-power
Lavu, B. (2011). Comparison of Apple v. Samsung decision in light of trade dress and design patents in U.S. and England (1st Ed.). New York: The Green Towers Publishing.
