Introduction 介绍
The 21st century has experienced a significant rise in competition among businesses in different industries across the globe. Whereas in the past businesses only needed to deal with local competitors, the opening up of global markets has created a platform for fierce competition since most players in these markets do not limit themselves to their local markets. As Dawar and Frost (1999) observe, whereas local companies were used to maintaining dominant positions in protected markets, the opening up of these markets has created an avenue for flooding of such markets with foreign rivals that have overwhelming set of advantages such as renowned brands, state-of-the-art technologies, massive financial resources and superior products among other advantages. As a result, businesses are fast developing strategies and strategic management plans to note only ward off competition but also establish a foundation to flourish in their respective industries. To achieve this, understanding both their internal and external environment has proved to be critical in the formulation of their strategies on the market. This report uses contextual analytical tools to explore the environment of Apple, Inc. and as such, make recommendations on how this technology company can enhance and sustain its attractiveness on the market.
21世纪，全球不同行业的企业之间的竞争显著加剧。在过去，企业只需要与本地竞争对手打交道，而全球市场的开放为激烈竞争创造了一个平台，因为这些市场的大多数参与者并不局限于本地市场。正如Dawar和Frost（1999）所观察到的，尽管本地公司习惯于在受保护的市场中保持主导地位，但这些市场的开放为这些市场创造了一条渠道，让外国竞争对手涌入这些市场，这些竞争对手具有压倒一切的优势，如知名品牌、先进技术，拥有雄厚的财力和优质的产品等优势。因此，企业只有快速发展的战略和战略管理计划，才能在竞争中脱颖而出，为各自行业的繁荣奠定基础。为了实现这一目标，事实证明，了解其内部和外部环境对于制定其市场战略至关重要。本报告使用上下文分析工具探索苹果公司的环境，并就这家科技公司如何提高和维持其市场吸引力提出建议。
Contextual analytical tools 上下文分析工具
Researchers and scholars have developed numerous contextual analytical tools to help businesses to evaluate both their internal and external environments. Among these tools include the PESTLE framework, Porter’s 5 Forces Model, Value, Rarity, Inimitability and Organisational support (VRIO) model, and the Porter’s Generic Strategy. To begin, one of the tools that most businesses across the globe reply upon to gain insights on their external environment is the PESTLE framework. In reference to Witcher and Chau (2010), the PESTLE framework plays an instrumental role in strategic management to help categorise macro-environmental factors and as such, help strategies to identify the sources of general opportunity and risk. In this case, this framework considers external factors such as political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors, and how they influence the strategic position of the business in question. Despite its role in helping businesses understand different macro-environment factors that affects their operations, the management of such businesses need to evaluate these issues on a regular basis since these factors are dynamic in nature. Furthermore, Aithal (2017) observes that whereas the framework can provide a true picture of the macro-environment factors affecting businesses, its effectiveness fades when it is applied to a larger context such as regional blocs, which have micro-markets with different characteristics.
研究人员和学者开发了许多上下文分析工具，以帮助企业评估其内部和外部环境。这些工具包括杵框架、波特的五力模型、价值、稀有性、独特性和组织支持（VRIO）模型以及波特的通用战略。首先，PESTLE框架是全球大多数企业用来了解外部环境的工具之一。参考Witcher和Chau（2010年），PESTLE框架在战略管理中发挥了重要作用，有助于对宏观环境因素进行分类，从而有助于确定一般机会和风险的来源。在这种情况下，该框架考虑外部因素，如政治、经济、社会、技术、法律和环境因素，以及它们如何影响相关业务的战略地位。尽管其在帮助企业了解影响其运营的不同宏观环境因素方面发挥了作用，但此类企业的管理层需要定期评估这些问题，因为这些因素本质上是动态的。此外，Aithal（2017）观察到，虽然该框架可以提供影响企业的宏观环境因素的真实情况，但当其应用于更大的环境（如区域集团）时，其有效性会减弱，因为区域集团具有不同特征的微观市场。
Apart from PESTLE framework, another model that plays an instrumental role in helping businesses develop and implement their strategies is the Porter’s 5 Forces Model. Notably, this model focuses on evaluating the external environment of the business, and particularly, the competitiveness of a particular industry in which such a business operates in (McManners, 2016). Through the use of this model, businesses gains insights on different threats that could have an impact on their operations including new entrants, suppliers, buyers, substitutes and potential entrants. Importantly, whereas Porter’s 5 Forces Model sheds lights on different forces that influence a particular industry, the model does not consider non-market forces that influence competition.
除了PESTLE框架外，另一个在帮助企业制定和实施其战略方面发挥重要作用的模型是波特的五力模型。值得注意的是，该模型侧重于评估企业的外部环境，尤其是此类企业经营所在的特定行业的竞争力（McManners，2016）。通过使用该模型，企业可以深入了解可能对其运营产生影响的各种威胁，包括新进入者、供应商、买家、替代品和潜在进入者。重要的是，尽管Porter的5种力量模型在影响特定行业的不同力量上发光，但该模型不考虑影响竞争的非市场力量。