Global Business Environment Analysis: Apple's Competitive Issues

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Apple's global business environment, focusing on the challenges of international competitiveness. It identifies key issues such as technological innovation, competition from rival products like Amazon's Kindle, and economic challenges due to high prices and differentiated products. The report outlines strategic outcomes Apple should pursue, including increased research and development, market expansion, and diversified product offerings. Recommendations include utilizing smart devices, disruptive business models, international expansion, and price diversification. The conclusion emphasizes the need for Apple to strategize sustainable resource use to effectively compete in the international market. The report includes references to support the analysis.

Running head: GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Global Business Environment
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Introduction
In the context of Global Business Environment (GBE) international competitiveness
forms one of the major issues for any firm operating at the international level [1]. International
competitiveness refers to the concept of firms utilising their ability to provide goods to different
countries overseas at a better value as compared to their competitors and rivals [2]. At the
international level every firm has the identical goal of maintaining quality and improving the
amounts of technological innovation to provide for the changing demand trends of the customers.
It is the firm’s goal to provide the community in which it is operating with an increased standard
of living. Along with their own increase in the amount of outputs and wealth. Apple also
operates in the international space that requires competitive strategies. The major issues related
to the international competitiveness which are discussed in this report. Further, the outcomes that
the firm is trying to reach in relation to the issues facing and the recommendations for the same
are mentioned and discussed in detail.
Issues faced by the firm
Although Apple is well known and is one of the biggest brads in the world solely popular
for its brand value, the firm mainly is known for being one of the costliest brands in the word.
This causes arousal of international competitive concern for the brand [3]. The key issues faced
by Apple based on this cause of concern are as follows:
Firstly, the firm faces issues technologically in the sense that it continuously has to
improvise and use the best technological innovations to keep up to the changing demand trends
of demand of the consumers [4]. It continuously has to carry out extensive research with the help

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of reinvestment of the revenue generations. It has to produce and launch its products in such a
way that the improvisation is only marginal over the preceding model of gadget launched by the
company. Further, the firm also faces the problem of designing the technology in a user friendly
way so that it is accessible on the part of the consumers.
Secondly, the firm faces the problem of different horizons of competition as it produces
products of numerous kinds including phones, applications, iPads and even laptops. In general,
any potential rivals do not threaten the firm. However, the launch of a few products has
essentially proven to affect the firm adversely. The firm has faced huge challenges for two of its
products including the iPhone and the iPad. Amazon’s launch of the Kindle in a new version for
reading which is being expected to pose challenges for Apple [5]. Even though Apple has higher
brand value android phones are increasingly providing increasing number of features at the same
cost. This is why the market for smart phones is acquired for 43% by android phones and 28%
by iPhones.
The third issue faced by the firm in the context of international competition includes the
economic challenges faced by the firm in various continents. Because of the high brand value
and prices, the demand for the firm’s products do not vary in relation to the supply [6]. This has
caused the firm to face higher competition in the sense that the other competitors are able to
quickly switch production from one demand pattern to other by not incurring much cost unlike
Apple as their products are highly differentiated from other phones.
Outcomes that Apple should try achieving
In the context of the issues faced by Apple in the field of international competitiveness
operating in the Global Business Environment, the firm should aim at the following goals:

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Firstly, the firm should aim at increasing the amount of progressive research and
development in a self-recurring process so that there is continuous technological innovation that
helps in beating the quality and value provided by the competitors.
Secondly, the firm should aim at expanding more and selling into regions previously not
entered into by the firm. This will help the firm in ensuring that there is an increase in the base of
the target market and the number of customers either remain stable or increase in an exponential
manner.
Lastly, the firm should aim at providing customise and diversified products and services
to the already existing customer base and to the newly acquired customer base so that there is
continuous evaluation of the prices without a drop in the level of prices while catering to the
demand of the customers at the same time.
Recommendations
From the above issues discussed and the objectives framed that the firm should
specifically be aiming at, the following recommendations are advisable:
The firm should be greatly installing and suing a combination of smart devices and
disruptive business models [7]. which will continuously help to ensure that there is a continuous
flow of information to the firm about the changing demand patterns and trends. This in turn will
help the firm to ensure that they are able to innovate the best forms of technology and provide
the best means of communication as well as other services at best possible prices.

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Secondly, the firm should try using strategies like exploring new international grounds
and robust time frame based international expansion [8]. It could also try considering the options
of partnership and mergers so that they can expand even more in the international market.
Finally, the firm also needs to diversify the prices of the products and services provided
so that there is a large range of products and services with different costs so that the demand is
not completely elastic.
Conclusion
In order to conclude it can be asserted that like all other firms, Apple also faces intense
competition in the international market. Because of the inelastic demand and different kinds of
competitors, it faces some issues related to technology, location and economy. It should
essentially strategise sustainable use of its resources with the help of disruptive business models
so that the competition can be dealt with in a easier way and a shorter time frame.

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References
[1] Hamilton L, Webster P. The international business environment. Oxford University Press,
USA; 2015.
[2] Ughanwa DO, Baker MJ. The role of design in international competitiveness. Routledge;
2018 Jan 10.
[3] Wen W, Zhu F. Threat of Platform-Owner Entry and Complementor Responses: Evidence
from the Mobile App Market.
[4] Dosi G, Grazzi M, Moschella D. Technology and costs in international competitiveness: from
countries and sectors to firms. Research Policy. 2015 Dec 1;44(10):1795-814.
[5] Dolata U. Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft: Market concentration-competition-
innovation strategies. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Organisations-und Innovationsforschung, SOI
Discussion Paper; 2017.
[6] Miller M, Alberini A. Sensitivity of price elasticity of demand to aggregation, unobserved
heterogeneity, price trends, and price endogeneity: Evidence from US Data. Energy Policy. 2016
Oct 1;97:235-49.
[7] Wenzel M, Koch J. From entity to process: toward more process-based theorizing in the field
of organizational change. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change. 2018 Mar
5;14(1):80-98.
[8] Tsang EW, Yamanoi J. International expansion through start‐up or acquisition: A replication.
Strategic Management Journal. 2016 Nov;37(11):2291-306.