1. Remote Environment Economic Factors • Concern the nature and direction of economy in which a firm operates • Types of factors • • • • • • General availability of credit Level of disposable income Propensity of people to spend Prime interest rates Inflation rates Trends in growth of gross national product Social Factors • Beliefs, values, opinions, and lifestyles of people • Recent social trends • Entry of large numbers of women into labor market • Accelerating interest of consumers and employees in quality-of-life issues • Shift in age distribution of population Political Factors • Define legal and regulatory parameters within which firms must operate • Types of factors – – – – – – Free-trade agreements Antitrust laws Tax programs Minimum wage legislation Pollution and pricing policies Administrative jawboning Technological Factors • Focus on technological changes affecting industry • Types of changes • New products • Improvements in existing products • Manufacturing and marketing techniques • Role of technological forecasting • Foresees advancements and estimating their impact on organization’s operations • Alerts managers to impending challenges and promising opportunities Ecological Factors • Ecology refers to the relationships among human beings and other living things and air, soil, and water • Current concerns • Global warming • Loss of habitat and biodiversity • Air, water, and land pollution • Responsibilities of firms • Eliminating toxic by-products of current manufacturing processes • Cleaning up prior environmental damage 2. Industry Environment 1.企業本身與同業直接競爭者間的競爭強度 (Rivalry Determinants) 同產業的廠商數目同產業廠商間的市場佔有率同產業廠商間的市場成長率同產業廠商間產品的差異性同產業廠商間該產品的成本結構同產業廠商間該產品的轉換成本同產業廠商間該產品的品牌強度同產業廠商間該產品的利潤空間同產業廠商間該產品的客戶群結構該產業之產業集中度該產業之進入障礙 …… 2.來自供應商的議價能力 (Suppliers Bargaining Power) 只有一家是否為少數供應商是否為特殊規格關鍵性零件 … 5.替代性產品的威脅力 (Substitution Threat) 價值/價格比 … 4.來自潛在進入者的威脅力 Economies of scale Product differentiation Capital requirements Cost advantages independent of size Access to distribution channels Government policy 3.買主的議價能力 (Buyers Bargaining Power) 可分消費性消耗品與工業性可轉賣品產品特徵產品價格品牌強度價格對市場的敏感度買主的預算購買數量買主的喜好 … Competitive Force: Threat of Entry • Seriousness of threat depends on • Barriers to entry • Reaction of existing firms • Barriers to entry • • • • • Product differentiation Capital requirements Cost advantages Access to distribution channels Government policy Competitive Force: Suppliers • A supplier group is powerful if: • It is dominated by a few companies and is more concentrated than industry it sells to • Its product is unique, or differentiated, or has built up switching costs • It is not obliged to contend with other products for sale to industry • It poses a threat of integrating forward into industry’s business • Industry is not an important customer of supplier group Competitive Force: Buyers • A buyer group is powerful if: • It is concentrated or purchases in large volume • Products purchased from industry are standard or undifferentiated • Products purchased from industry form a component of its product, representing a significant fraction of its cost • It earns low profits, creating incentives to lower its costs • Industry’s product is unimportant to quality of buyers’ products or services • Industry’s product does not save buyer money • Buyer poses credible threat of integrating backward Competitive Force: Substitute Products • Relevance of substitutes • By placing a ceiling on prices charged, they limit profit potential of an industry • Substitutes deserving the most attention are those • Subject to trends improving their price-performance trade-off with the industry’s product • Produced by industries earning high profit What Causes Rivalry to be Intense? 競爭力越高,利潤被瓜分的越多 • Numerous competitors or they are roughly equal in size and power • Slow growth in industry • Product lacks differentiation or switching costs • High fixed costs or perishable product • Capacity normally augmented in large increments • High exit barriers • Rivals are diverse in strategies, origins, and “personalities” 3. Operating Environment The operating environment comprises factors in the competitive situation that affect a firm’s success in acquiring needed resources or in profitably marketing its goods and services Factors in the Operating Environment • • • • Firm’s competitive position The composition of its customers Its reputation among suppliers and creditors Its ability to attract capable employees Constructing competitor profiles • Market share • Breadth of product line • Effectiveness of sales distribution • Proprietary and key-account advantages • Price competitiveness • Advertising and promotion effectiveness • Location and age of facility • Capacity and productivity • Experience • Raw material costs • • • • • • • • • • Financial position Relative product quality R&D advantages position Caliber of personnel General images Customer profile Patents and copyrights Union relations Technological position Community reputation III. Internal Analysis • • • • Resource-based View of the Firm Value Chain Analysis SWOT Analysis Internal Analysis: Making Meaningful Comparisons What is the Resource-based View of the Firm? Firms differ in fundamental ways because each firm possesses a unique “bundle” of resources – tangible and intangible assets and organizational capabilities to make use of those assets. The Three Basic Resources • Tangible assets • Easiest to identify and often found on a firm’s balance sheet • Include physical and financial assets • Examples: production facilities, raw materials, financial resources • Intangible assets • Cannot be seen or touched • Often very critical in creating competitive advantage • Examples: brand names, company reputation, company morale • Organizational capabilities • Involve skills – ability to combine assets, people, and processes – used to transform inputs into outputs What Makes a Resource Valuable? • Competitive superiority: Does the resource help fulfill a customer’s need better than those of the firm’s competitors? • Resource scarcity: Is the resource in short supply? • Inimitability: Is the resource easily copied or acquired? • Appropriability: Who actually gets the profit created by a resource? • Durability: How rapidly will the resource depreciate? • Substitutability? Are other alternatives available? Isolating Mechanisms • Physically unique resources • Resources virtually impossible to imitate • E.g., one-of-a-kind real estate location, mineral rights, patents • Path-dependent resources – Resources that must be created over time in a manner that is often expensive and difficult to accelerate – E.g., Dell Computer’s system of direct sales of customized PCs via the Internet, Coca-Cola’s brand name, Gerber Baby Food’s reputation for quality Isolating Mechanisms • Causal ambiguity • Situations where it is difficult for competitors to understand how a firm has created its advantage • E.g., Southwest Airlines’ approach • Same plane, routes, gate procedures, number of attendants • Culture of fun, family, and frugal yet focused service • Economic deterrence • Involves large capital investments in capacity to produce products or services in a given market that are scale sensitive Resource Inimitability (Adapted) • Easy to imitate • Cash, commodities • Can be imitated (but may not be) • Capacity preemption, economies of scale • Difficult to imitate • Brand loyalty, employee satisfaction, reputation for fairness • Cannot be imitated • Patents, unique locations, unique assets Key Resources Across Functional Areas (Selected) • • • • • • • Marketing Firm’s products/services Concentration of sales in a few products or a few customers Ability to gather needed information about markets Market share Product-service mix and expansion potential Channels of distribution Effective sales organization • • • • • • • Financial and Accounting Ability to raise short-term and long-term capital; debtequity Corporate-level resources Cost of capital relative to competitors Tax considerations Relations with owners, investors, and stockholders Leverage position Cost of entry and barriers to entry (contd.) • • • • • • • Production, Operations, Technical Raw materials cost and availability, supplier relationships Inventory control systems Location, layout, and use of facilities Economies of scale Technical efficiency of facilities Effectiveness of subcontracting use Degree of vertical integration • • • • • • Personnel Management personnel Employees’ skills and morale Labor relations costs compared to competitors Efficiency and effectiveness of personnel policies Effectiveness of incentives used to motivate performance Ability to level peaks and valleys of employment (contd.) Quality Management • Relationships with suppliers, customers • Internal practices to enhance quality of products and services • Procedures for monitoring quality • • • • Information Systems Timeliness and accuracy of information about sales, operations, cash, and suppliers Relevance of information for tactical decisions Information to manage quality issues, customer service Ability of people to use information provided (contd.) • • • • • • • • • Organization and General Management Organizational structure Firm’s image and prestige Firm’s record in achieving objectives Organization of communication system Organizational climate and culture Use of systematic procedures in decision making Top management skills, capabilities, and interest Strategic planning system Intra-organizational synergy What is a Value Chain? The term value chain describes a way of looking at a business as a chain of activities that transform inputs into outputs that customers value 技術產品設製造行銷通路廣告服務