Structural characteristics of the online retail industry
From Porter’s five competitive forces framework, online retail industries exemplify several structural characteristics. Threats to the entry of competitors (Juevicius, 2013). Capital and investment required to have technology that will be adequate to serve the various channels of online retail deter the majority of the industries. The brand reputation of some already established retailers such as Amazon and EBay will discourage startup companies to venture into the filed. Retailers such as Amazon have excellent shipping costs and fast delivery. They have already established itself in this manner, which would for any startup it would have to upscale to this level. Economies of scale which have already been established by pioneering industries would require significant investments and capital from startups to achieve economies of scale.
The supplier power within online retail industries is weak. There is a large number of suppliers and retail industries basically deal with the same products which are sold the same everywhere, such as in Target, Walmart, Aliexpress. Therefore, the suppliers won’t be unique in any way, maintaining the supply power low.
Unquestionably, the buyer power for online retail industries is durable. The majority of the customers are most who buy one item or a bunch. It is also easy for buyers to switch from one retail brand to another despite having the same products depending on the ease of navigating through the website and response and shipping after purchase. It also matters as to the quality of what they purchase. Some retails have established customer loyalty based on the customer service provided. Buyers are also price-sensitive, and therefore it will impact the retail company they opt to use. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
There is competitive rivalry within online retail industries. The competition is high as every business closes in to have their market share. Industries within this sector are also extensive, with such as Amazon has over 2,016 varieties of a camcorder, which is 14 times double that of Walmart. Therefore, precisely competition is high.
The threat of having a substitute online service industry is low at this moment, but what most of the online retail industries do find ways to manage and stay relevant to customers’ needs, which would mean seeking additional technology for the convenience of doing business. Any upcoming substitute would require to offer more convenience and effectiveness than the online retail offer.
Wal-Mart online strategy based on the resource-based framework
Identifying competency through strategic resources is one strategy for getting business on track. Both tangible and intangible resources are Walmart’s online strategy for maintaining competency among the competitors. Walmart is investing a large amount of capital currently to improve its use of the web. The development of Walmart Labs will, which is to be operated by e-commerce veterans, is to integrate social media and mobile apps to increase the efficiency of the web (Boyle & Macmillan, 2011). This also includes resourcing money transfer and payments on the phone to ease the level of doing business. Walmart also strategizes on increasing the variety of products to improve on product diversification on the web so that customers can have a diverse range of products to use. The business also seeks to outsource extensive customer data that will help Walmart understand the needs of their customers better for better delivery.
Walmart online strategy based on the perspective of competitive advantage framework
Walmart’s online competitive strategy relies mostly on cost leadership. This strategy is based on the low prices of the products. Walmart strives to have a diverse range of products for the lowest price. This strategy will also be complemented by improvements in assortment, process, and access. The focus will also be on improving customer service and experience and flexibility in shopping experience. The business will also utilize the differentiation focus strategy, where they will target a niche market (Dudovskiy, 2016). This includes an increasing range of organic groceries and fresh produce for the people who seek to use natural foods.
Structural characteristics of the banking industry in relation to the Porters five forces model
The rationale of Porter’s five forces in the structural characteristics of the banking industry can be defined in various ways, such as the power of suppliers. The two leading suppliers in the banking industry are from the deposits from the depositors and from employees who provide resource labor. The bargaining power for depositors and laborers is less, and therefore it is considerable. Increasing the bargaining power of the supplier can be achieved by attracting new clients to increase deposits and offering attractive salaries to attract competent employees.
Competition from rivals is a thing in the finance industry that has been going on for a long time. Therefore banks must contend to find customers even from other banks. Draw more clients is mostly done through offering higher services, higher rates, and lower financing. The banking sector being very viable, makes it more attributed to provide the best and speedy services.
The threat of substitutes in the banking sector has been increasing, especially not from opponent banks but growing non-monetary challengers (Adamkasi,2017). Specialized financial services such as insurance, salary securities, and joined finances were services mostly offered by the banks but are growing more to be provided by non-banking organizations.
The power of the buyer does not affect the banking industry as much. However, customers are influenced by the account needs or debt to change to another bank. But majority of the people are loyal to their bank.
The threat of entrants within the banking sector is quite low because of the immense capital that would be required to bring up a bank. Also, creating a bank identity from scratch takes time and a lot of effort. Also, there are immense government regulations that apply when operating a bank. Another obstacle of entry in the finance industry is trust.
Citibank strategy from the perspective of the BCG matrix framework
Applying the BCG matrix framework, Citibank should invest in the bank’s cash cow, which is investing in small business lending. The majority of the big banks are neglecting this area, and hence the bank should take advantage of that. The revenue gained should be invested in stars to support further growth. Question mark quadrants such as market penetration should be reviewed with closer consideration to ensure that they don’t bring more loss to the bank. Citibank is more cautious with investments that stagnate and do not grow to bring losses.
Citibank strategy from the perspective of Porters competitive advantage
Citibank is making use of niche focus by providing service delivery and banking to some of the groups in the society that other banks have not been investing in. The bank also recognizes diversity as one of its competitive advantages. It has also made us of differentiation by, for instance, exiting private deals. Cost leadership is also essential in maintaining moderate rates that will not discourage its depositors and clients.
Structural characteristics of the airline industry within the porters five framework
Analyzing the industry using Porter’s five forces model, it is right to say that barriers to entry in this industry are very high. This is due to the extremely high cost that is involved. To begin with, the cost of buying or leasing one aircraft is high since the cost of manufacturing such an aircraft is enormous as well. Then there the regulations in safety and security measures. Human labor for pilots, customer service, and aircraft maintenance employees is also very high. There are also high barriers of entry in brand identity since the majority of aircrafts on the route have been working for decades.
The power of supply within the airline industry is high because the significant suppliers in the industry, such as fuel, labor supply, and aircraft manufacturers, are affected by unstable environmental conditions (“Porter’s five forces”). Fuel prices fluctuate depending on the global market price. Labor supply also is subject to labor union demands and bargains. The aircraft supply is also dependent on two major manufacturers that is Boeing and airbus.
The power of the buyer, on the other hand, is moderate since the invention of distributing systems and online ticketing. Also, the rise of low-cost carriers has benefited customers a lot. They do not have to suffer anymore from agents and airlines as well as intermediaries in ticketing needs.
The threat of substitutes is exceptionally low in already developed countries but high in developing countries. In already developed countries, flying is the natural case for journeys, therefore, the impact of trains and buses is minimal. However, in the developing industry, the threat of substitutes is very high.
The competitive rivalry in the airline industry is also high primarily because of the entry of low-cost carriers. There is also the high regulations when it comes to safety and security. There is competition on every side for airlines trying to show the best services they can offer and cover as many roots as possible.
United-continental merger from the perspective of the acquisition integration framework
The acquisition integration approach offers guidance to mergers on choosing the optimal integration approach. The continental-united merger will create value through strategic interdependence that will be achieved through resource sharing in the aircrafts and labor, functional skills transfer done through sharing information and moving people as well as through combined benefits of leveraging borrowing capacity, greater market power, and higher purchasing power. This merger will also be successful by maintaining organizational autonomy as well. Absorption will require that the merger vision for the acquisition is successful. Preserving and nurturing the source of acquired benefits will be maintained. The symbiosis process should be gradual to ensure that employees’ organizational culture is simulated and permeated carefully. Finally, the value will be created through financial transfers and general management capability.
United-continental merger from the perspective of the competitive advantage framework
In the approach of competitive advantage, the merger between United and continental airlines takes a cost leadership strategy. This is achieved by increasing the market share for the merger by reducing costs. This will, in return, increase profits. This will also be achieved by having very efficient logistics and a low-cost base for facilities and labor. The differentiated strategy would also be a win for the merger by offering better and more services from the merger. High-quality products will be made to known to the market by effective sales and marketing for the merger.
REFERENCES
Jurevicius, ovidijus. 2013. Porter’s five forces. Retrieved from https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/porters-five-forces.html
Boyle Mathew and Macmillan Douglas, 2011. Wal-mart’s rocky path from bricks to clicks. Bloomberg business week. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-07-21/wal-mart-s-rocky-path-from-bricks-to-clicks
Dudovskiy John, 2016. Walmart business strategy and competitive advantage. Research methodology. Retrieved from https://research-methodology.net/walmart-business-strategy/
Adamkasi, 2017. Porter’s five forces analysis of banking industry. Porter analysis. Retrieved from https://www.porteranalysis.com/porter-five-forces-analysis-of-banking-industry/
Porter’s five forces analysis of the airlines industry in the United States. Management Study Guide (MSG). Retrieved from https://www.managementstudyguide.com/porters-five-forces-analysis-of-airlines-industry-in-united-states.htm