E-Business Strategy: External Environment Analysis

Podcast Beta

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What is the primary focus of a company's internal environment analysis?

Developing novel solutions for competitive advantage

Evaluating the impact of government subsidies on the business

Aligning internal competencies with external opportunities (correct)

Analyzing market trends and growth

Which of the following is a key element of the economic factors in the macro environment?

Social mobility

Market growth (correct)

Population demographics

Internet governance

What is a characteristic of a company's core competencies?

Being easy to imitate

Being focused on market trends

Being driven by customer needs

Being valuable, unique, hard to imitate, and applicable across products/markets (correct)

What is the primary benefit of e-businesses in terms of their environmental impact?

Reduced need for physical infrastructure Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a technological advancement that creates new market opportunities?

3D printing Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of vision-driven thinking in e-business strategy?

Focusing on customer needs and foreseeing future trends Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of globalization in the context of e-business?

Needing capabilities like 24-hour service, regulatory expertise, and market understanding Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of creative thinking in e-business strategy?

Developing novel solutions for competitive advantage Signup and view all the answers

What is a critical factor in understanding and responding to market dynamics and competition?

Market-Oriented Thinking Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a key aspect of digital literacy and skills training?

Using technology to update business models Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of conducting a SWOT analysis?

To identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of suppliers and partners in the digital landscape?

They have a significant impact on supply chains and business models Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a key aspect of strategy formulation?

Conducting internal and external analysis Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of setting and monitoring KPIs?

To track and evaluate strategy performance Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

External Environment - Macro Environment

Political and Legal Environment:
- Influences taxation, company legislation, government subsidies, political stability, internet governance, and interest rates
- Issues like cross-border regulation and taxation complexity affect e-commerce
Economic Factors:
- Market growth, employment, inflation rate, interest rates, and foreign exchange rates
- Globalization necessitates capabilities like 24-hour service, regulatory expertise, and market understanding
Social Environment:
- Factors include population demographics, income distribution, social mobility, and attitudes to work and leisure
Natural Environment:
- E-businesses have a low environmental impact compared to traditional businesses
- Examples include reduced need for physical infrastructure and the rise of 3D printing
Technological Environment:
- Technological advances like IoT, AI, and 3D printing create new market opportunities
- Importance of standards like TCP/IP, HTTP, HTML, XML, and JavaScript

Internal Environment - Micro Environment

Strengths and Weaknesses:
- Focus on creating a "strategic fit" by aligning internal competencies with external opportunities
Micro-environment factors:
- Customers, suppliers, competitors, resellers, and marketing intermediaries
Competence and Core Competencies:
- Combination of resources and capabilities
- Core competencies must be valuable, unique, hard to imitate, and applicable across products/markets

Strategic Thinking in E-Business

Systematic Thinking:
- Holistic analysis of internal and external environments
Creative Thinking:
- Developing novel solutions for competitive advantage
Vision-Driven Thinking:
- Foreseeing future trends and focusing on customer needs
Market-Oriented Thinking:
- Understanding and responding to market dynamics and competition

Critical Success Factors

Technology:
- Importance of infrastructure, security, and continual updates
Customers:
- Identifying and monitoring key segments and communication strategies
Suppliers and Partners:
- The internet's impact on supply chains and business models
Digital literacy and skills training
Personnel:
- Use of global virtual teams
Data, Information, and Knowledge:
- Handling large amounts of data to create valuable insights
Management:
- Importance of data analysis models and setting and monitoring KPIs to track and evaluate strategy performance

Strategic Performance Assessment

E-business-specific KPIs, such as app downloads

Strategy Formulation

Conducting internal and external analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis)

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Description

This quiz covers the external environment analysis in the context of e-business strategy, focusing on the macro environment, political and legal environments, economic factors, and globalization.