Smartphone industry in 2013: Samsung’s dilemma

1) Use Peng, Threats of the Five Forces to analyze the case. Review the list of forces and threats and contemplate the causal relationship between them. Can you explain each relationship between a condition (e.g., economies of scale are low/high) and its impact on a force (e.g., threat of new entrants is high/low)? Can you explain the mechanism by which a condition affects a force, e.g. whats the causal link between economies of scale and threat of new entrants?

2) How attractive is the smartphone industry in 2013? What are the most important competitive factors in this industry?

3) What role do complementary products and services play in this industry? Which companies have been the most successful in leveraging the benefits of complementary products or services?

Using the data contained in the case, analyze the smartphone industry in 2013. What practical advice can you offer for Samsung? Be sure to support your theoretical insights with evidence from the case.
Understand why and how industry affects the performance of companies
Conduct analysis to understand the structure of an industry and determine its attractiveness