Business, Management

Apple Five Forces Analysis & Recommendations (Porter’s Model)

Updated on Updated on by Edward Ferguson
Apple Five Forces Analysis, competition, customers, suppliers, substitution, new entrants, Porter, consumer electronics business case study
A MacBook, an iPad, and an iPhone. This Five Forces analysis of Apple Inc. reveals an industry environment that highlights the external factors of competition and the bargaining power of buyers in markets for consumer electronics, computing technology, and online digital content distribution. (Photo: Public Domain)

This Five Forces analysis gives insights into the external factors influencing Apple’s success. Michael E. Porter’s Five Forces analysis framework is a strategic management tool for evaluating the five forces affecting the business organization: customers, suppliers, substitutes, new entrants, and competitors. This Five Forces analysis of Apple Inc. sheds light on what the company does to ensure industry leadership. Despite the negative effects of external factors in the competitive landscape of the computer software and hardware, consumer electronics, and online services markets, Apple’s mission statement and vision statement are fulfilled through relevant business goals and strategies. Based on this Five Forces analysis, the company addresses competitive forces and external factors through effective leaders, such as Tim Cook. This Five Forces analysis indicates external factors that Apple’s strategic efforts must focus on to keep its leadership in the industry.

Based on the Five Forces analysis model, external factors in Apple’s industry environment point to competitive rivalry or intensity of competition, and the bargaining power of buyers or customers as the primary forces for consideration in the company’s strategic planning. Nonetheless, all five forces influence the company’s business situation, together with the effects of other external factors, such as the industry and market trends identified in the PESTLE/PESTEL analysis of Apple Inc.

Summary: Five Forces Analysis of Apple Inc.

Apple’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies are partly based on competitive forces in the external business environment. These forces limit or reduce the firm’s market share, revenues, profitability, and business development potential. This Five Forces analysis points to the following strengths or intensities of competitive forces in Apple’s industry environment:

  1. Competitive rivalry or competition: Strong force
  2. Bargaining power of buyers or customers: Strong force
  3. Bargaining power of suppliers: Weak force
  4. Threat of substitutes or substitution: Weak force
  5. Threat of new entrants or new entry: Moderate force

Recommendations. Considering the results of this Five Forces analysis, Apple must focus its attention on competitive rivalry and the bargaining power of buyers. This external analysis supports the company’s current position of continuous innovation. Innovation and the business competitive advantages shown in the SWOT analysis of Apple address the five forces in the external environment, although much of the company’s effort is for strengthening its position against competitors and for attracting customers to its products. An applicable course of action is to intensify research and development for innovation to develop novel products that complement iPhones, iPads, and other current products. Apple can also improve its support and resources for software or app developers, to strengthen the company’s ecosystem of hardware, software, and online services against the competitive challenges identified in this Five Forces analysis.

Competitive Rivalry or Competition with Apple (Strong Force)

Apple faces the strong force of competitive rivalry or competition. This component of Porter’s Five Forces analysis model determines the intensity of the influence that competitors have on each other. In Apple’s case, this influence is based on the following external factors:

  1. High aggressiveness of technology firms (strong force)
  2. Low differentiation of many products (strong force)
  3. Low switching cost (strong force)

Competitors’ aggressiveness in innovation and marketing imposes a strong force in the information technology industry environment. In the market for consumer electronics, software, and Internet services, Apple competes with Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony. In the video-streaming market, Netflix, Disney, Amazon, and Facebook (Meta) compete with Apple TV Plus. This Five Forces analysis also considers other technology firms, such as IBM and Intel, which influence Apple’s competitive environment. Moreover, in terms of product differentiation, products in the market are generally similar in fulfilling specific purposes. For example, many popular apps are available for Android and iOS devices, and cloud storage services from different companies are similar and available to users on different platforms. In this Five Forces analysis of Apple, such a condition creates a strong force by making it easy for customers to switch to other sellers or providers. On the other hand, the low switching cost means that it is easy for customers to switch from Apple to other brands, based on price, function, accessibility, network externalities, and related concerns. The combination of these external factors in this part of the Five Forces analysis leads to tough competitive rivalry that is among the most significant considerations in Apple’s strategic management.

Bargaining Power of Customers/Buyers (Strong Force)

The bargaining power of buyers is strong in affecting Apple’s business. This component of Porter’s Five Forces analysis model determines how buyers’ purchase decisions and related preferences and perceptions impact businesses. In Apple’s case, buyers’ strong power is based on the following external factors:

  1. Low switching cost (strong force)
  2. Small size of individual buyers (weak force)
  3. High availability of information to buyers (strong force)

It is easy for customers to change brands, thereby making them powerful in compelling Apple to ensure customer satisfaction. On the other hand, each buyer’s purchase is small compared to the company’s total revenues. In this Five Forces analysis of Apple, such a condition makes customers weak at the individual level. However, the availability of detailed comparative information about competing products’ features empowers buyers to shift from one provider to another. This external factor enables buyers to exert a strong force in the industry, although promotional strategies and tactics in Apple’s marketing mix (4P) can communicate tailored information to persuade customers to buy the company’s products. Thus, this part of the Five Forces analysis shows that Apple must include the bargaining power of buyers or customers as one of the most significant strategic variables in the business.

Bargaining Power of Apple’s Suppliers (Weak Force)

Apple Inc. experiences the weak force or bargaining power of suppliers. This component of the Five Forces analysis model indicates the influence of suppliers in imposing their demands on the company and its competitors. In Apple’s case, suppliers have a weak bargaining power based on the following external factors:

  1. Moderate to high number of suppliers (weak force)
  2. Moderate to high overall supply (weak force)
  3. Large size of some equipment and component manufacturers (strong force)
  4. High ratio of firm concentration to supplier concentration (weak force)

The global size of its supply chain allows Apple Inc. to access many suppliers around the world. In Porter’s Five Forces analysis context, the resulting high number of suppliers is an external factor that presents only a weak to moderate force against the company. Also, the moderate to high overall supply of inputs, such as semiconductors, makes individual suppliers weak in imposing their demands on Apple. However, some large suppliers, such as OEMs and producers of chips, significantly influence the industry. Nonetheless, in this Five Forces analysis case, the high ratio of firm concentration to supplier concentration limits suppliers’ power and influence in the industry. This external factor reflects the presence of a small number of big companies, like Apple and Samsung, in contrast to a larger number of medium-sized and large suppliers. Thus, this part of the Five Forces analysis shows that the bargaining power of suppliers is a minor issue in developing Apple’s operations management strategies for supply chain management, value chain effectiveness, innovation, and industry leadership.

Threat of Substitutes or Substitution (Weak Force)

The competitive threat of substitution is weak in affecting Apple’s computing technology, consumer electronics, and online services business. This component of the Five Forces analysis framework determines the strength of substitute products in attracting customers. In Apple’s case, substitutes exert a weak force based on the following external factors:

  1. Moderate to high availability of substitutes (moderate force)
  2. Low performance of substitutes (weak force)
  3. Low buyer propensity to substitute (weak force)

Some substitutes for Apple products are readily available in the market. For example, instead of using iPhones, people can use digital cameras to take pictures, and landline telephones to make calls. In this Five Forces analysis of Apple, such an external factor exerts a moderate force in the industry environment. However, these substitutes have low performance because they have limited features. Many customers would rather use Apple products based on convenience and advanced functions. This condition weakens the force of substitution in impacting the company’s business in this Five Forces analysis context. Also, buyers have a low propensity to substitute. For instance, customers would rather use smartphones than go through the hassle of buying and maintaining a digital camera, an analog phone, and other devices. This part of the Five Forces analysis shows that Apple does not need to prioritize the threat of substitution in management decisions for business processes, like marketing, market positioning, and product design and development.

Threat of New Entrants or New Entry against Apple (Moderate Force)

Apple Inc. experiences the moderate force or threat of new entrants. This component of Porter’s Five Forces analysis model indicates the possibility and effect of new competitors entering the market. In Apple’s case, new entrants exert a moderate force based on the following external factors:

  1. High capital requirements (weak force)
  2. High cost of brand development (weak force)
  3. High capacity of some potential new entrants (strong force)

Establishing a business to compete with Apple Inc. requires high capitalization. Also, it is extremely costly to develop a strong brand to compete with large companies, like Apple. These external factors make new entrants weak in this Five Forces analysis case of the IT business. However, there are large firms with the financial capacity to enter the market. For example, Google has already done so through its consumer electronics. Samsung also used to be a new entrant. These examples show that there are large companies that have the potential to directly compete with Apple Inc. in multiple markets. Thus, the overall threat of new entry is moderate. This part of the Five Forces analysis shows that Apple must maintain its competitive advantages through innovation and marketing to remain strong against new entrants’ moderate competitive force.

References

Tags: , , , , ,