The Sector/industry environment

This is the external environment closest to the organization itself. It is the

business industry environment in which your organization operates. It includes your
customers/clients, suppliers and partners. It also includes competitors, those
organizations that compete for your customers or offer alternative approaches to your
services. Analysis of this environment requires a good look at who your customers are
what they really want, at your competitors, at your collaborators and the opportunities
that these relationship present. Your findings and judgments can then be used to help
you achieve your business goals.
Micro external forces have an important effect on business operations of a firm.
However, all micro forces may not have the same effect on all firms in the industry. For
example, suppliers, an important element of micro level environment, are often willing to
provide the materials at relatively lower prices to big business firms.
They do not have the same attitude towards relatively small business firms.
Similarly, a competitive firm will start a price war if its rival firm in the industry is
relatively small. If the rival firm is a big one which is capable of retaliating any adverse
action from its rival, a competitive firm will hesitate to start a price war.
Suppliers of inputs:
An important factor in the external environment of a firm is the suppliers of its inputs
such as raw materials and components. A smooth and efficient working of a business
firm requires that it should have ensured supply of inputs such as raw materials. If
supply of raw materials is uncertain, then a firm will have to keep a large stock of raw
materials to continue its transformation process uninterrupted. This will unnecessarily
raise its cost of production and reduce its profit margin. To ensure regular supply of
inputs such as raw materials some firms adopt a strategy of backward integration and
set up captive production plants for producing raw materials themselves.
Further, energy input is an important input in the manufacturing business. Many large
firms such as Reliance industries have their own power generating plants so as to
ensure regular supply of electricity for their manufacturing business. However, small
firms cannot adopt this strategy of vertical integration and have to depend on outside
sources for supply of needed inputs.
Further, it is not a good strategy to depend on a single supplier of inputs. If there is
disruption in production of the supplier firm due to labour strike or lock-out, it will
adversely affect the production work of a firm. Therefore, to reduce risk and uncertainty
business firms prefer to keep multiple suppliers of inputs.

Customers:
The people who buy and use a firm’s product and services are an important part of
external micro-environment. Since sales of a product or service is critical for a firm’s
survival and growth, it is necessary to keep the customers satisfied. To take care of
customer’s sensitivity is essential for the success of a business firm.
A firm has different categories of customers. For example, a car manufacturing firm
such as Maruti Udyog has individuals, companies, institutions, government as its
customers. Maruti Udyog, therefore, has catered to the needs of all these types of
customers by producing different varieties and models of cars.

Besides, a business firm has to compete with rival firms to attract customers and
thereby increase the demand and market for its product. In the present day of intense
competition a firm has to spend a lot on advertisements to promote the sales of its
product by creating new customers and retaining the old ones. For this purpose, a
business firm has also to launch new products or models.

With increasing globalization and liberalization the customers’ satisfaction is of

paramount importance because the consumers have the option of buying imported
products. Therefore, to survive and succeed a firm has to make continuous efforts to
improve the quality of its products.

Marketing Intermediaries:
In a firm’s external environment marketing intermediaries play an essential role of
selling and distributing its products to the final buyers. Marketing intermediaries include
agents and merchants such as distribution firms, wholesalers, retailers.

Marketing intermediaries are responsible for stocking and transporting goods from their
production site to their destination, that is, ultimate buyers. There are marketing service
agencies such as marketing research firms, consulting firms, advertising agencies
which assist a business firms in targeting, promoting and selling its products to the right
markets.

Thus, marketing is an important link between a business firm and its ultimate buyers. A
dislocation of this link will adversely affect the fortune of a company. A few years ago
chemists and druggists in India declared a collective boycott of a leading pharma
company because it was providing a low retail margin. They succeeded in raising this
margin. This shows that a business firm must take care of its intermediaries if it has to
succeed in this age of intense competition.

Competitors:
Business firms compete with each other not only for sale of their products but also in
other areas. Absolute monopolies in case of which competition is totally absent are
found only in the sphere of what are called public utilities such as power distribution,
telephone service, gas distribution in a city etc. More generally, market forms of
monopolistic competition and differentiated oligopolies exist in the real world.

In these market forms different firms in an industry compete with each other for sale of
their products. This competition may be on the basis of pricing of their products. But
more frequently there is non-price competition under which firms engage in competition
through competitive advertising, sponsoring some events such as cricket matches for
sale of different varieties and models of their products, each claiming the superior
nature of its products.

The readers will be witnessing how intense is the competition between Coca Cola and
Pepsi Cola. Sometimes there has been price war between them to capture new markets
or enlarge their market share. Likewise, there is severe competition between the
manufacturers of Aerial and Surf washing powders, between manufacturers of various
brands of colour TV. This type of competition is generally referred to as brand
competition as it relates to producing and selling different brands of a product.

But not only is there a competition among the producers producing different varieties or
brands of a product but also among firms producing quite diverse products as all
products ultimately compete for attracting spending by the consumers of their
disposable incomes.

For example, competition for a firm producing TVs does not come only from other
brands of TV manufacturers but also from manufacturers of air conditioners,
refrigerators, cars, washing machines etc. All these goods compete for attracting
disposable incomes of the final consumers. Competition among these diverse products
is generally referred to as desire competition as all these goods fulfill the various desires
of the consumers who have limited disposable incomes.

As a consequence of liberalisation and globalisation of the Indian economy since the

adoption of economic reforms there has been a significant increase in competitive
environment of business firms. Now, Indian firms have to compete not only with each
other but also with the foreign firms whose products can be imported.

For example, in the USA American firms faced a lot of competition from the Japanese
firms producing electronic goods and automobiles. Similarly, the Indian firms are facing
a lot of competition from Chinese products. It is important to note that for successful
competition the Indian firms have to improve not only the quality of the products but also
to enhance their productivity so that cost per, unit can be reduced.

Publics:
Finally, publics are an important force in external micro environment. Public, according
to Philip Kotler “is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a
company’s ability to achieve its objective”. Environmentalists, media groups, women
associations, consumer protection groups, local groups, citizens associations are some
important examples of publics which have an important bearing on environment of the
firms.

For example, a consumer protection firm in Delhi headed by Sunita Narain came out
with an amazing fact that cold drinks such as Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Limca, Fanta had
a higher contents of pesticides which posed threat to human health and life. This
produced a good deal of adverse effect on the sale of these products in 2003-04. The
Indian laws are being amended to ensure that these drinks must not contain pesticides
beyond European safety standards.

Similarly, environmentalists like Arundhi Roy have been campaigning against industries
which pollute the environment and cause health hazards. Women in some villages of
Haryana protested against liquor shops being situated in their localities.

Many citizen groups are actively campaigning against cigarette manufactures for their
advertising campaigns luring the people to indulge in smoking. Thus, the existence of
various types of publics influences the working of business firms and compels them to
be socially responsible.

Michael Porters Five Forces

Competitive rivalry or Very strong There is less differentiation

competition of product because coffee
and snacks are offered by
many other brands.
Bargaining power of buyers Very strong They have power to switch
or customers to other brands.
Bargaining power of Very strong They have power if the
suppliers number of supplies are low
in are industry. Starbucks
relies heavily on finest
quality of beans.
Threat of substitutes or Strong Because substitute product
substitution price is lower.
Threat of new entrants or strong There are lots of new
new entry brands opening, with this
new entrant are coming
with the innovative ideas,
and mostly local shops.
Interpretation: Starbucks has been strong in all five forces within the completion
and industry.