Comparative Business Strategy: Apple, Samsung, Nokia - BMST5103

This report provides an overview of strategic management processes and their application in different companies, specifically Apple and Samsung. It details the strategic management practices employed by both companies to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, the report examines Nokia's inefficient strategic practices and proposes a strategy inspired by Apple's approach to enhance Nokia's performance. It emphasizes the importance of strategic management in today's business environment and the need for organizations to adapt and implement effective strategies for long-term growth and success. The report also reviews the strategic management process, including environmental scanning, strategy formulation, and implementation, highlighting the key phases and considerations for achieving business objectives.

Running Head: Business Strategy
Business Strategy

Business Strategy 1
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1
Literature review on strategic management process..................................................................................1
Strategic management practices in Apple and Samsung.............................................................................3
Apple Inc......................................................................................................................................................3
Samsung Co.................................................................................................................................................5
Description of business strategy of Nokia...................................................................................................6
Use of Apple’s business strategy in Nokia for performance enhancement.................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8
References.................................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The purpose of this report is to provide a brief view of the strategic management process and its
applications on various companies. The report discusses the strategic management practices of
two organizations namely Apple and Samsung. Both the companies are present in same industry
and have attained success in the market differently. The report discusses about the strategies used
by these organization to produce sustainable advantage in the target market (Barney, & Hesterly,
2010). Further, it talks about the ongoing inefficient strategic management practices of another
company present in the market. Nokia is the organization that is being used under this case. The
latter part of the report proposes a strategy for the company Nokia looking at the strategies under
by the company Apple. It explains the performance management of Nokia with the use of
effective and efficient strategic processes used by Apple. Strategic management is an important
tool that helps businesses to run successfully in the current environment. An organization that
uses this tool gains the capacity to effectively sustain their competitive advantage in the external
market. An organization cannot sustain in the current environment without using these strategic,
further, more details about the strategic management process is discussed below:
Literature review on strategic management process
Strategy is a process that converts the theory of business into performance for the organization.
This process helps the manager to achieve the results that they aim to achieve for the
organization. According to Freeman, 2010 strategy is an aspect that helps the business to initiate
activities that helps them to achieve their goals and objectives even in unpredictable
circumstances. Strategy is a tool that allows all the organizations to become purposefully
opportunistic. The strategic activities initiated in an organization not only converts the theory
into actual performance for the organization but it also tests the theory that it is good for the
organization or not. According to David, 2011 the strategic management refers to the activity
initiated in an organization that helps them adequately address the opportunities and initiates
activities that helps them in sustaining competitive advantage in the target market. The process
help the organization reach the targets that the organization was unable achieve earlier. Barney,
2014 said that the strategic management process adequately identifies the growth objective and

Business Strategy 3
target of the organization, and then imply the resources and capabilities of the company into
strategic so as to gain output from every activity. With the use of strategic management, an
organization can easily change their negative growth into positive by using resources properly
and satisfying the requirements of the customers present in the target market.
Further, it should be noted that strategic management is a combination of managerial decisions
and actions that evaluates the long term performance of the organization. The strategic
management process involves the environmental scanning under the employees analyze the
internal and external environmental aspects related to the organization and then formulate certain
strategies that for the long term growth of the organization (Xu, Wang, & Liang, 2017). The
study of strategic management lays emphasis on the monitoring and analyzing the opportunities
and threats present in the external environment and relating it to the strength and weakness of the
company. The strategic management process involves implementation of business policy
concerning the external abilities present in the environment and changing them in a way to
provide effective business outcomes. An organization usually uses four phases of strategic
management to gain success in the external market (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2012). These
four phases are discussed below:
 Basic Financial Planning: Under this process the manager uses the basic information
attained with the business and invest it in propose the budget for the company.
Environmental information is also analyzed and then induced in the operational planning
process of the company. This process uses little information and is very time consuming
(Hill, Jones, & Schilling, 2014).
 Forecast Based Planning: Looking at the inefficiency of the annual plan, the managers
of the company proposes a five year based plan. At this point the managers considers that
a plan takes more than a year in its completion. This planning is done on ad hoc basis and
it is also very time consuming. With the going time the projects get very political as well
as the managers look after the activities that involves large share of funds (Wheelen, &
Hunger, 2011).
 Externally oriented strategic Planning: After looking at the inefficiency of the five
year planning process, the management uses the planning that is initiated by strategic
control. The company aims to think strategically and produce an output from the

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organization even in tough times. The top management uses the top down approach and
lays stress on lower level to implement the formulated plan (Slack, 2015).
 Strategic Management: On gaining information that even the best strategic plans are of
no use if it does not involve the commitment of the lower level management of the
company. An organization, with the help of all its employees can effectively implement a
strategic plan for the success of the company. An organization does not only require
strategic planning but strategic thinking as well. Strategic thinking will help them to
effective produce output for the organization in tough times as well (Teece, 2010).
Strategic management practices in Apple and Samsung
Both the companies Apple and Samsung are well renowned organizations present in the industry
of technology. Both the companies use differentiated strategies according to their resources and
capabilities present in the internal as well as external market. Further, talking about the strategies
it should be noted that the vision and mission of the company are the most important aspects that
motivate the activities of the company to improve in the right direction. The vision, mission and
strategies of the Apple are discussed below:
Apple Inc.
 The vision of the company states that ‘man is the one who initiates changes in the world.
He should be placed above the system and structure and not subordinate them’.
 Further the mission system of the company aims to collaborate with groups to increase
the satisfaction levels of customers present in the market. The company aims to provide
best value to the customers through their products and services (Chevalier-Roignant, &
Trigeorgis, 2011).
Furthermore, talking about the strategy that the company uses to gain advantage in the market, it
should be noted that the company adequately used its resources to achieve satisfaction. The
porter’s generic model used of the company Apple adequately explains about the strategies of the
company that are discussed below:
 The company’s broad generic strategy is based on differentiation. This generic strategy of
Apple focuses on the key feature that is the products of the company. The management of

Business Strategy 5
Apple aims to provide such facilities in their products so that competition is
automatically eliminate from the market. Through analyzing the generic strategies it
should be noted that the activities of Apple stand out in the external market (Bharadwaj,
et. al., 2013).
 Product Design: The company uses the product differentiation strategy by inducing
design in their products that no organization is able to imitate. The company products
sleek and style in their products that attracts large segment in the market through its outer
visual style. Further, it should be noted that the company provide iOS software in their
products that differentiates their products in the market as no other organization is able
use this software in their products (Grant, 2016). Resulting to this differentiation, the
customers get interested in their products and purchase them.
 Pricing Strategy: The pricing strategies of the company also support them in initiating
sale of their products in the external market. The CEO of the company created a topnotch
product with price proportionate to the level of quality while maintaining high profits
margins. The company uses the high range pricing strategy under which the set high
value for their products in the market. The process creates high value of the company in
the eyes of customers resulting which they price to them (Rothaermel, 2015). Thus, high
profit margin the products help the company to gain success in the target market. If an
organization high provides high value to the product and provide high prices to the
customers for that product then the customers assumes that the products best product
present in the target market.
 Brand Loyalty: Brand loyalty is the most important aspect that helps the company in
attaining success in the target market. The company Apple has an identified image in the
target market due to which they gain the advantage to place their products at high prices
in the market. Firstly differentiated products helped the company to gain brand loyalty in
the market and secondly high prices of the products helped the customers assume that
these are high value products in the market. Resulting to which the company gained the
top most position in the technology industry. Goodwill of Apple initiates repeated sales in
the market (Baroto, Abdullah, & Wan, 2012).

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Samsung Co.
The second company present in the same industry is Samsung. Samsung also earned reputation
in the target market by using their resources in such a way that it provides identification to them
in the eyes of prospective customers. The company gained success in the market by creating an
identified position in the market through differentiated pricing strategies (Heracleous, 2013).
Further the strategies of Samsung are discussed below:
 Skimming Pricing: Smart phones produced by Samsung are leading the market along
with the products of Apple. The company is ranked on the top most position in the
market in terms of revenue and seventh most valuable brand present in the international
technology market. The company Samsung uses skimming price techniques to gain
competitive edge in the target market. The company basically serves middle range
products by with time it also started selling products that are efficient and best in the
market as well. The company produced the series of Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with the
slogan of ‘Next is Now’. With the production of these products the company claimed that
these products are beautifully designed and best in features as well (McGrath, 2013).
They are the best smart phone created by Samsung till date. Resulting to which, the
company also provided high prices to these products and placed them in the high range
product group only. Also, the company gained the first mover advantage by these
products as they were the only smart phones present in the android market that served so
many features with good prices in the market. No other company has introduced such
products at similar range in the market due to which they gained the advantage to place
them at high price and earn good profits. Now, in future if any other organization present
in the market will produce such products then the company will reduce the price of their
products so as to attract the attention of customers from the competitors’ products
(Bereznoi, 2015).
 Competitive Pricing: This is the best strategy used by Samsung that helped them to
grow and increase the sales in the target market. Initially, the company was not having
advantage in the market, neither their products were differentiated nor they were offering
good prices to the customers to attract them. Resulting to which, they were unable to
sustain in the market. But with time, the company introduced competitive pricing strategy
for their products in the market (Sako, 2012). Under this strategy the company provided

Business Strategy 7
low or feasible prices for their products in the market. They introduced good features in
their produced and introduced it at low prices due to which more and more customers got
attracted towards the products of company. This process helped Samsung to reduce
competition and gain an identified position in the market. Further, it should also be noted
that Samsung company is never late in introducing new technology in their products and
producing them in them market. They are the first one to introduce change (De Wit, &
Meyer, 2010).
Description of business strategy of Nokia
Nokia is a multinational Finnish information, consumer electronic and telecommunication
company. The company was originated in the year 1865 in Espoo. The company in the current
era is employed with 102,000 people worldwide. Nokia has initiated its operations in more than
130 countries worldwide. The annual revenue of Nokia in the previous year was around €23
billion. It is a public limited organization that is listed in Helsinki Stock Exchange and New
York Stock Exchange as well. Further, Nokia is placed on the 415th place in the terms of actions
in external market and revenue according to the Fortune Global 500. The company is also a part
of Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. It should be noted that the company in the late 20s had
efficient growth and reputation in the market but with the increasing competition and technology
in the external market the company started losing its effectiveness. The company was unable to
compete in the external market due to which they failed in the upcoming tough market (Otranen,
et. al., 2016). The company did not have strong value position that changed its image in the eyes
of target customers.
Use of Apple’s business strategy in Nokia for performance enhancement
In the current business environment, every organization needs to gain competitive advantage in
some way or other so that they can easily attract the customers and initiate sales in the market.
Like, in the above given cases of Apple and Samsung, Apple company uses the advantage of
product differentiation in the market and Samsung proposes its value in the market as most
versatile and cost effective product producing organization in the market (Paek, & Lee, 2017).
Thus, every organization needs to have value proposition in the market to gain reputation and

Business Strategy 8
sustain its growth as well. The company Nokia is not connected to any such strategy in the
market, they do not have product differentiation nor they have effective pricing strategy or
people in the company that can help them to overcome growth. Resulting to which, the company
failed in the external market (Leiblein, Chen, & Posen, 2017).
Further, the below mentioned is the strategy that the company should use concerning the
strategies of the company Apple. The company should gain value proposition in the external
market by using the below mentioned:
 Market Penetration: The company Nokia should use the market penetration strategy to
gain sales in the company should aim to increase the shares of Lumia and Asha in the
market. Both the products are easily available in the market, thus the company should
aim to serve these products in the external market and the places where the company was
unable to reach earlier. The company should also serve their products at places that were
left by the company earlier. This will help the company to wider base of customers in the
target market. The company should improvise the products in such a way the customer
want to purchase the products of the company (Bless, Lichtwald, & Schmidt, 2011). For
this, Nokia needs to make atleast 3 million sales for both the Lumia and Asha products.
The company should create annual plans to increase the sales of the products of the
company. The management of Nokia should initially try to retain or increase the market
share of the customer. The company should adopt a strategy that is a combination of the
sales and promotion and competitive pricing strategy and advertising of the products of
the company. The company can achieve this aspect by focusing on the marketing
techniques and sales. The company should manage the price in such a way that they can
easily purchase the products. The customer should think that the products of the company
are optimally priced. Also, they should initiate proper promotional strategies in the
market (Ciesielska, 2017). Nokia is known for providing Windows software in their
phones, so the company can easily differentiation in the market by initiating value
proposition in the market.
 Cost focus: The Company should offer prices to the customers that are feasible by them.
As the company provides windows software so they should provide price to the
customers that bring value out of it. The windows software is cheaper than iOS so it

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cannot be placed above but the company should offer value to the customers that increase
its satisfaction (Nguyen, & Chau, 2017). The company should not place their products at
low prices as it will decrease the image of the company in the eyes of the customer. Thus,
they should place themselves at an optimum place where the customer believes that the
value provided by the company is adequate and is at good price as well Appiah-Adu,
Okpattah, & Hagan, 2017). Apart from the pricing strategy the company should also
focus on minimizing the cost of the product. The management of Nokia should aim to
reduce the cost of production of their products, they should initiate the waste
management activities so that the costs are reduced and profits are increase by the
company. Also, the organization should use the innovative strategies that decrease the
costs and increase the satisfaction level of customers present in the target market. The
company should maintain a descent average selling price of the product to sustain its
growth in target market (Do, & Kim, 2017).
 Product Differentiation: It is one of the biggest aspects that help a business in growing
and sustaining its growth in long run. Concerning the strategies used by Apple, it should
be noted that the company adequately used the product differentiation strategy to grow
and sustain their competitive edge in the target market. Apple provides iOS software in
their products and Nokia provides Windows software in their products. The company can
easily earn differentiation in the market by creating product differentiation. The company
is lacking behind due to the implementation process (Choi, Cantor, & George, 2017).
Thus, the company needs to use adequate advertisement and promotion techniques to
promote the specifications of their product in the market. This activity will help the
customers to gain knowledge about the product served by the company and its
specification as well. This will provide an identified position to the company in the target
market. Resulting to which, the shares of the company will subsequently increase. The
company should also effectively incorporate human resource team in activities of the
organization so that they induce their efficiency in the activities of organization and gain
success (Smith-Ditizio, & Smith, 2018).

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Conclusion
Thus, in the limelight of above mentioned events, it should be noted that the company Nokia
should use the above mentioned strategies to gain reputation in the target market. The company
should earn value proposition in the market to earn the interest of customer and attract them
towards the products of the company. Further, the company Apple and Samsung both compete
with each other still they have an identified position in the market. Apple uses the product
differentiation strategy to revenue and on the other hand, Samsung uses the cost effectiveness
strategy to attract customers. Lastly, it should be noted that strategic management is the most
important aspect that helps a business to earn optimum revenue in the external market.

Business Strategy 11
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