Report on M&S Strategic Capabilities & External Environment

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Mark & Spencer's strategic capabilities and external environment, employing frameworks such as VRIO, SWOT, and Porter's Five Forces. The internal analysis focuses on identifying valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized resources that provide a competitive advantage. The external analysis explores the market landscape, including opportunities and threats, competitive intensity, and the impact of macro-environmental factors. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and strategic adaptation for long-term sustainability and organizational success in a dynamic business environment. Desklib provides a platform to access more solved assignments and study resources for students.

Strategies, Enterprise and
Innovation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
These terms are the group of tools to develop ideas that gives strength to the organisations
from new start up to country and assist them grow. Creativity is applying unique idea and
solutions in the particular task and within the organisation to work on a specific project. It allows
organisation to operate, work, and develop in rapid changing techniques or environment(Pratiwi,
2019). It can describe as a strategy of organisation performance build in order to motivate,
mobilize and encourage. Its all depend on the knowledge and skills like forward looking activity,
pivotel regarding of a new commodity, marketing method and process etc. this is an important
concept for industry. It is the ability and self-motivation of an enterprise to constantly search for
use in pattern scientific research. The following report is based on Mark and Spencer which is
UK based company, deals in clothing, home products and food products. It was founded in 1884
in London. The company provides services across many countries.
MAIN BODY
The report will cover the internal and external analysis in relation of Mark and spencer’s, further
study of models are listed below.
VRIO Analysis
It is a framework that identify the internal resources and ability having organisation is
sustainable in long term or not. It helps the structure in increasing revenue, organisation growth
and assure that the business is one step up from the competition. The study consist a four basic
terms which are describe below.
1. VALUE :
It determines that the value of the resources are valuable, as they help the organisation to
increase the customer value. The person should continually review the value of the resources so
that business will achieve sustainable growth of industry(KALBUADI, 2018). In case of mark &
Spencer, resources are valuable for the business, as they have generate revenue which leads to
profitability. So by using that capital company can reduce their threat and invest in new
opportunities to increase revenue.
2. RARE:
The resources that can only be adopt by one companies are considered rare resources. On the
other hand, the situation when more than one company produce related product in the similar
1

way it leads to competitive rivalry. In context of mark & Spencer, the valuable resources which
are produce by the company are especial and high-priced. If these products are hardly found it
would be easier for competitor and new companies in the market to move challenger.
3. IMITATE:
Resources are difficult to re-create, however they are too costly for other companies to adopt
them. Its hard to reproduce if it is protected by legal means like patents and trademarks. In
relation to mark & Spencer, firm resources can not be copy by rivals as they are high cost
products. It can be happen if Duplication of products and competitor come up with the substitute
of the goods with low price(HAMPELOVÁ, 2020). That interrupts the current structure of brand.
M&S is one of the world's most reputed and recognised brand which makes it extremely difficult
and costly for any other organisation to imitate.
4. ORGANISED:
Resources are organised to acquiring value only if it is backed up by the processes, structure, and
culture of the company. The resources itself do not discuss any advantage for an organization if
it is not arranged to action the value from them. In case of mark & Spencer, company,s supply
network is well organised that provides their products to the outlets for customers. Therefore,
supply chain gives sustainable competitive advantage.
Swot analysis -
It is a framework which enables a company to set their benchmark as compare to their
competitors. The further details discussed below.
Strength
 it is a one of powerful retail brand with
a good image in the eyes of customers.
 The commodity of company perceives
as value of money due to its quality,
convenience and broad range.
Weakness
 Being a famous brand, the company
need to protect their brand from abuse
of false artificial products.
 The competition in market from other
good brands reduce the scale of market
share(Williams, 2018).
Opportunity
 M&S can develop their company
websites for awaking about the
company and the offers of brand to the
Threat
 M&S is the luxurious brand in market it
gives online services too, as the other
brand also provide but the cost of the
2

existing customers and for new
customers.
 The company can expand their business
in new market segmentation in order to
increase the organisational profit.
offers are high or quality and other
company provides the similar offers in
low cost but bad in quality. It can be a
threat for company as customer moves
to low cost product.
 Changing trends in the clothing could
be the threat for company, as the
choices of clothing changes at every
step. The taste of wear clothes depends
on the culture or behaviour of
consumer.
Pestle Analysis-
Porters five forces
3

Porters five is the framework of analysing the competition in the industry and to see how the
other organisations are working at different level of profit. understanding five forces and how
they apply to an industry, can enable a company to adjust its business strategy to better use its
resources to generate earnings for its investors(Li, Dong and Wang, 2018).
 Threat of new entrants – New arrivals in marketing brings invention, new methods of
operating activities and put stress on M&S through lower cost policy, reducing cost, and
providing new value propositions to the customers. The company has to manage all these
challenges and design a effective barriers to secure its competitive edge(Bas and
Cardona, 2018).
 Bargaining power of supplier's - This force identifies the numbers of supplier in the
market. M&S supplier belongs to the british country, but the competition is huge
between suppliers so it leads to reduction in prices and reduces the power of bargaining
of suppliers. The company also dominates the external suppliers. The company is
depends on outsourced suppliers.
 Bargaining power of buyers – it is significant concept. The M&S have to construct a
company loyalty and offer its user an unmatched value. The organisation is also a
vulnerable to negative shifts in customer perception in UK. If any misconception or
disloyalty can cause a bad effect on brand image. It can be tackle by building a strong
customer base and by rapidly innovating the new offers.
 Threat from substitutes products - when a new offer or good meet with a similar
customer needs in a different method the industry profitability suffers. It is high if it
offers a value proposal that is specially different from current offers of company. The
company can control it by being service oriented rather than product oriented and by
understanding the basic need of user other than buyers purchasing power. The company
constantly come up with the innovation and upgraded offers.
 Rivalry among the existing players - the competition is growing in online segment
where the consumers are selecting by one click. M&S has been able to build up its online
sales with the scale of growing online sales(Bai, Gao and Sarkis, 2021). The company is
operating in a very competitive retail industry. The industry can control this by
constructing a scale so that they can compete better and by collaborating with the
competitors.
4

CONCLUSION
From the above study it is concluded that innovation and strategy is the significant factor of an
organisation that assist the company in attaining a organisational objective creatively and smartly
by applying a new techniques or smart techniques. The result of internal analysis assist in setting
the benchmark to compete with the rivals with having a proper strategy for conducting a business
activity on the other side the study of external factors helps in understanding the opportunities
that can create a business for organisation including a threats that a company need to improve
with the goal of having long term sustainability.
5

REFERENCES
Pratiwi, R., 2019. IDENTIFIKASI KEUNGGULAN BERSAING PT PANIN BANK TBK DALAM
MENGHADAPI PERSAINGAN PADA INDUSTRI PERBANKAN (Doctoral dissertation,
Universitas Gadjah Mada).
KALBUADI, H., 2018. IDENTIFIKASI KEUNGGULAN BERSAING YANG BERKELANJUTAN
DAN KOMPETENSI INTI MELALUI PENDEKATAN PERSPEKTIF BERBASIS
SUMBER DAYA DI PT SWARAGAMA FM (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Gadjah
Mada).
HAMPELOVÁ, G., 2020. Strategická analýza vybrané společnosti (Doctoral dissertation,
Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze).
Williams, A.E., 2018. Exploring the utility of academia. edu: A SWOT analysis. Information and
Learning Science.
Dilek, S., 2018. Virtual reality or just reality? A SWOT analysis of the tourism industry. Journal
of Tourismology, 4(1), pp.67-74.
Khajeh, M. and Ghaemi, A., 2020. Exploiting response surface methodology for experimental
modeling and optimization of CO2 adsorption onto NaOH-modified nanoclay
montmorillonite. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 8(2), p.103663.
Bas, M. and Cardona, L., 2018. Effects of skeletal element identity, delipidation and
demineralization on the analysis of stable isotope ratios of C and N in fish bone. Journal
of fish biology, 92(2), pp.420-437.
Bai, C., Gao, W. and Sarkis, J., 2021. Operational risks and firm market performance: Evidence
from China. Decision Sciences, 52(4), pp.920-951.
Li, R., Dong, J. and Wang, D., 2018. Competition ability evaluation of power generation
enterprises using a hybrid MCDM method under fuzzy and hesitant linguistic
environment. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 10(5), p.055905.
Tarnowska, K., Ras, Z.W. and Daniel, L., 2020. Recommender system for improving customer
loyalty. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Hosseinizand, H., Sokhansanj, S. and Lim, C.J., 2018. Co-pelletization of microalgae Chlorella
vulgaris and pine sawdust to produce solid fuels. Fuel Processing Technology, 177,
pp.129-139.
Lemstra, W., 2018. Leadership with 5G in Europe: Two contrasting images of the future, with
policy and regulatory implications. Telecommunications Policy, 42(8), pp.587-611.
(Tarnowska, Ras and Daniel,2020)(Hosseinizand and et. al., 2018)
6