The Impact of External Business Forces on the Strategic Capabilities of Smart in Philippines

This case study explores the impact of external business forces on the strategic capabilities of Smart Communications in the Philippines. It examines the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental forces that affect the organization's operations and strategic capabilities.

Running hand: TASK 1
TASK 1
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Research Topic: The Impact of External Business forces on the strategic capabilities of the
business: A case study of Smart in Philippines
Overview
The external business environment is considerably dynamic in nature and in relation to
this, there are various external forces which have an influence on the performance of the firm
and affect the overall strategic capabilities of the business. These forces may comprise of the
Political forces, the Economic forces, the Social forces, the Technological forces, the Legal
forces and the Environmental forces. These forces although performing externally, can have a
sound impact on the internal capabilities of the organization. The primary reason why these
aspects are being considered is because they tend to affect the operations of the business and
sometimes either limit or support the overall capability of the business. The company which has
been chosen for the purpose of the business can be understood to be the Smart Communications
in the Philippines (Handoff et al. 2018). The organization has been performing well and it is with
respect to this that the firm has been looking out for expansion opportunities which will assist the
firm in gaining considerable access to the expansion opportunities and in addition to this, will
allow them to engage in gaining a competitive advantage in the long run. However, there are
various political and economic pressures which the firm is undergoing and with respect to this, it
is integral that the firm is able to engage in a strong relationship with the different forces and
agencies which would then allow it to perform well (Noe et al. 2017). The study will focus on
the manner in which the firm can manage these strategic forces and enhance its strategic
capability.
About the Firm

The SMART Communications can be ideally defined as the wholly owned wireless
communications and digital service subsidiary of the PLDT which is a telecommunications as
well as digital service provider which is based in Philippines. The company has a total of 58.3
million mobile subscribers and has a total of 3.8 million users under the Smart Bro and the Sun
wireless broadband. Additionally, the firm tends to offer a large collection of the wireless
services with the help of which, it is successfully able to deploy its services in various key areas
of Philippines. The company has also undertaken a research phase for the development and
research of the 5G services (Morden 2016). The company is being supported by the satellite
communication which as the tendency to serve the global maritime industry. Moreover, the
company has been trying its best to come up with various opportunities with the help of which it
will be able to enable Smart Money options which is an electronic wallet which assists in
ensuring that the firm is being recognized for the prepaid loading services which are popularly
known as the Smart Load. Moreover, the company also allows the transfer of the phone credits
from one account to another which can be thereby activated by the SMS services.
Research aim
The primary aim of the research is to be to find the impact of the various External
business forces on the strategic capabilities of the Smart Communications in Philippines.
Research Questions
The research questions have been selected as follows:
1. What is the concept of External business forces in the context of Philippines?

2. What are the strategic capabilities of Smart Communications in Philippines?
3. What is the impact of the external business forces on the strategic capabilities of the
firm?
4. What is the relationship between the external business forces and the internal capabilities
of the firm?
5. What recommendations can be provided to the organization which would assist them in
understanding the manner in which the firm can perform well in the long run?
Research Objectives
The research objectives have been stated to be as follows:
 To understand the concept of External business forces in the context of Philippines.
 To examine the strategic capabilities of Smart Communications in Philippines
 To analyze the impact of the external business forces on the strategic capabilities of the
firm.
 To find the relationship between the external business forces and the internal capabilities
of the firm.
 To provide recommendations to the organization which would assist those in
understanding the manner in which the firm can perform well in the long run.
Research Strategy

The research strategy is the plan which is generally formulated by the firm in order to
ensure that the researcher is successfully able to outline the ways in which the research
procedure would be essentially carried out for the purpose of the firm (Moutinho and Vargas-
Sanchez 2018). Hence, the research strategy which has been selected for the study can be
understood to be the Mixed Qualitative analysis whereby the case of the Smart Communications
have been adopted in order to understand the different strategic forces which impact the overall
operations of the firm and have an impact on their strategic capabilities (Lasserre 2017). The
secondary sources of Data collection will be adopted to collect the data for the research and in
line with this, the qualitative analysis using the Case study as a medium will be chosen to engage
in the strategic analysis of the company`s performance. Moreover, primary data in form of the
interviews will also be collected from various industry experts to ensure that a wholesome view
can be applied accordingly.
Research Rationale
The reason why the research is being carried out can be largely contributed to the fact
that, the external environment of the business can be understood to be very dynamic in nature
and it is with respect to this fact that it often becomes very difficult for the business to ensure
that it will successfully be able to carry out the research on a comprehensive manner which
would assist in finding the manner in which the external forces either support or limit the
strategic capabilities of the organization (Hitt and Duane Ireland 2017). In regard to this, it can be
considered crucial to understand that various aspects like the Political, technological and the
economic forces often tend to act as a barrier in front of the organization and limit its overall
tendency to growth. Therefore, the study has been designed with the focus of examining the
various ways in which the forces impact the business. As discussed earlier, the data for the

research will be carried out with the help of the means of secondary data relating to various
theoretical frameworks and the primary data using the opinions of various company and
industrial experts (Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes 2015).
Structure of the Paper
The research will be following the given structure:
Chapters Content
Introduction The first chapter of the paper will throw light
on the overall background of the topic and
related information regarding the company
along with providing information on the
research question and objectives which have
been set out for the paper.
Literature Review The review of Literature will discuss the
different theories related to the external
environmental forces and in line of this, help in
understanding how the external environmental
forces affect the strategic capabilities of the
firm.
Research Methodology The research methodology will set out the
various research techniques which can be
adopted for the study and in line with this
explain the manner in which the research will

be carried out.
Findings and Analysis This chapter will present the findings of the
research and present the results of the study.
Recommendations This chapter will summarize the study and
provide recommendations based on the same.
Gantt chart
Activity Months
Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Wee
k 7
Finalizing the topic of the research
paper

Collection of the data from secondary
sources
 
Formation of the data layout 
Conducting the Literature review   
Formation of the research plan  
Selection of the appropriate research
methodologies
 
Collection of data from primary
sources
 
Analysis of the collected data sets  
Interpretation of the collected data
sets

Conclusion 
Designing of rough draft  

Submitting the Final Work to the
University
 