Blackberry & The Mobile Phone Industry

This seminar is specifically devoted to an analysis of the Smartphone mobile phone industry and then the Blackberry Phone business within the company - Research In Motion (RIM) (case study provided in the module pack).

The launch of the first Blackberry was in 2003. Ensure your analysis is across the Smartphone industry but consider that eventually you will put forward strategic recommendations to the Blackberry board (Research In Motion).

Essential Reading

Read chapter 2 of Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, (2011), Exploring Strategy, 9th Edition, Pearson Education Limited – available online via the library.

1. Using appropriate tools for macro-environmental analysis, evaluate how macro-environmental factors have directly influenced the Smartphone industry.

a. What are the key PESTEL factors?

b. Identify the Strategic Groups within the Smartphone industry?

2. What observations can be made about the influence of the macro-environmental factors on innovation among leading players in this industry? Consider the VIRO framework.

3. Apply Porters (1985) Five Forces to the Smartphone industry and discuss.

4. Review RIM’s (Blackberry’s) financial performance for 2009-10 & 2010-11 and 2011 and identify critical elements.