For information and reference only – not to be submitted as your own work.
This Global Business Strategies Electronix sample extract answers a three-part Electronix case: the macro and micro factors to scan before expansion, how blockchain and other supply chain tools could support a new market, and which entry mode the firm is using now and could use later. It follows the brief on our European Business University Global Business Strategies Electronix question page. If you want the method behind it, read our guide on how to write a Global Business Strategies market entry assignment. The extract is abridged; a full submission would add more evidence per factor.
Planning table
| Brief part | Suggested words | What markers look for |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1: macro and micro factors (10 marks) | 600–700 | Every PESTLE factor and every micro factor (demand, competition, retailers, suppliers) explained with a “why it matters” link to the investment |
| Task 2: blockchain and supply chain tools (10 marks) | 500–600 | Specific uses tied to the case (new suppliers, export paperwork, inventory), plus honest limits |
| Task 3: current entry mode and alternatives | 500–600 | Correct identification of the current mode, its implications, and a reasoned comparison of licensing, joint venture and local plant |
| Introduction and conclusion | 150–200 in total | A clear line of argument that joins the three tasks |
These splits are only a guide, so check your own brief for the exact word limit and marking scheme.
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Global Business Strategies Electronix case in brief
Electronix makes domestic appliances and sells them through local department stores, supermarkets and appliance retailers. After 12 years of growth at home, it plans to enter a neighbouring country with a growing middle class. Some of its current retail partners already have branches there, and the firm is considering an e-commerce site as a backup channel. Entry would also require product adaptation, new raw material suppliers and changes to inventory and production processes.
Task 1: Macro and micro factors Electronix should analyse
A large, partly irreversible investment justifies a structured external scan. This extract uses PESTLE for the macro environment and Porter’s five forces, adapted to include demand, for the micro environment (Porter, 2008). The aim is not to list factors but to show how each one changes the entry decision.
Macro environment (PESTLE)
| Factor | What to examine | Why it matters to Electronix |
|---|---|---|
| Political | Government stability, trade agreements, import duties, attitudes to foreign firms | Tariffs and policy shifts change landed cost and can make exporting uneconomic |
| Economic | Income growth, inflation, exchange rates, credit availability for households | Appliances are durable, discretionary purchases, so middle-class income and financing drive sales volume |
| Social | Household size, housing type, urbanisation, brand attitudes | These determine product size, features and price positioning |
| Technological | Retail digitisation, internet use, payment systems, logistics infrastructure | They decide whether the e-commerce backup channel is realistic |
| Legal | Product safety standards, labelling, warranty law, import documentation, competition law | Non-compliant products can be blocked at the border or recalled |
| Environmental | Energy-efficiency rules, e-waste regulation, climate and power-supply conditions | Efficiency labelling and take-back rules can force redesign and add cost |
The strongest answers rank these. For a durable appliance maker, economic and legal factors usually weigh most, because purchasing power and product standards decide whether the product can be sold at a viable margin at all.
Micro environment
Demand. Electronix should size the addressable market, not just the population. A growing middle class suggests rising first-time and replacement purchases, but the firm needs evidence on price sensitivity and preferred product features.
Competition. Local and global rivals may already hold shelf space. Rivalry, brand loyalty and the threat of price cutting affect the pricing room Electronix has.
Retailers. Because the case notes that existing partners have branches in the target country, retailer bargaining power is both an asset and a risk. The same buyers can demand lower prices or stock rival brands.
Suppliers. The need for new raw material suppliers exposes the firm to quality, delivery and cost risk. Few qualified suppliers would raise their bargaining power.
Environmental and micro factors interact. For example, stricter efficiency rules may limit which suppliers’ components can be used, which is why the two analyses should be read together rather than as separate lists.
Task 2: Blockchain and other supply chain tools
A blockchain is a shared, append-only ledger whose records are hard to alter once agreed by participants. In supply chains, its main promise is traceability and trust between parties that do not fully trust each other (Kshetri, 2018; Francisco and Swanson, 2018).
Where blockchain fits the Electronix case
| Case problem | Tool | Expected benefit | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding unfamiliar raw material suppliers | Shared ledger recording origin, batch and quality certificates | Verifiable provenance and faster supplier audits | Data entered wrongly stays wrong (“garbage in, garbage out”) |
| Cross-border export paperwork | Smart contracts that release payment when shipment milestones are confirmed | Fewer disputes and quicker settlement | Customs authorities and banks must accept the records |
| Counterfeit or grey-market stock | Product-level tracking from factory to retailer | Brand and warranty protection | Tagging cost per unit |
| Changed inventory and production processes | Real-time shared data with retailers | Better demand signals and lower stock-outs | Partners must agree to share data |
Other modern tools
Blockchain should not be presented as the whole answer. IoT sensors and RFID can feed accurate data into the ledger, cloud-based inventory systems can coordinate stock across the two countries, and demand analytics can improve production planning. Evidence suggests that adoption is held back by cost, standards and partner readiness, and that benefits depend on the whole network taking part (Saberi et al., 2019).
A balanced recommendation is a phased pilot with a small number of suppliers and one retail partner, judged on measurable outcomes such as order-to-delivery time and documentation errors, before wider roll-out.
Task 3: Current entry mode, implications and alternatives
On the facts given, Electronix is currently exporting: it plans to serve the new market from its home base through retail partners that already operate there, with e-commerce as a supplementary channel. This is a low-commitment mode that allows the firm to learn about the market while limiting investment (Hill, 2024).
Implications of exporting
Exporting keeps production control and economies of scale at home, and it uses existing retailer relationships to reduce market knowledge gaps. The drawbacks are tariff and transport costs, limited control over how retailers present the brand, and exposure to exchange-rate swings. The Uppsala model supports this staged approach, since firms tend to increase commitment as market knowledge grows and the “liability of outsidership” falls (Johanson and Vahlne, 2009).
Alternatives compared
| Mode | Commitment and control | Main advantage | Main risk for Electronix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exporting (current) | Low investment, high control of production | Speed and flexibility | Trade barriers and retailer dependence |
| Licensing | Very low investment, low control | Local production without capital | Quality leakage and creating a future competitor |
| Joint venture | Shared investment and control | Local knowledge and partner networks | Conflicting goals and profit sharing |
| Local plant (wholly owned) | High investment, high control | Lower unit cost, local adaptation, tariff avoidance | Capital at risk if demand disappoints |
The eclectic paradigm helps choose between them: a firm considers its ownership advantages, the location advantages of the host country, and the internalisation benefits of keeping activities in-house (Dunning, 1988). Electronix’s brand and process know-how are ownership advantages worth protecting, which argues against licensing unless the host-country risk is high.
Recommendation
Electronix should begin with exporting through its existing retail partners, supported by the e-commerce channel, and track sales volume, margin after tariffs and supplier performance for an agreed period. If demand proves durable and the host-country scan from Task 1 stays favourable, a joint venture with a local manufacturer or a local assembly plant becomes the logical next step, as the product adaptation and new supplier network already point to local production. Illustrative trigger: moving to a plant only when sustained volumes would cover its fixed costs; the exact threshold should come from the firm’s own cost data.
Conclusion
The three tasks form one argument. The external scan shows whether the market is attractive, supply chain technology shows how the new network could be managed with trust and visibility, and the entry mode analysis shows how much commitment is justified. Exporting is a sensible first step, with deeper commitment earned by evidence.
If you are working on a similar brief, our case study assignment help and marketing assignment help pages explain what support is available, and you can send your own requirements through the assignment submission form. For a different EBU module, see our Managing Across Cultures question on McDonald’s and Fiat.
References
Dunning, J.H. (1988) ‘The eclectic paradigm of international production: a restatement and some possible extensions’, Journal of International Business Studies, 19(1), pp. 1–31. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490372
Francisco, K. and Swanson, D. (2018) ‘The supply chain has no clothes: technology adoption of blockchain for supply chain transparency’, Logistics, 2(1), article 2. doi:10.3390/logistics2010002
Hill, C.W.L. (2024) Global Business Today. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 9781264943944.
Johanson, J. and Vahlne, J.-E. (2009) ‘The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: from liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership’, Journal of International Business Studies, 40(9), pp. 1411–1431. doi:10.1057/jibs.2009.24
Kshetri, N. (2018) ‘Blockchain’s roles in meeting key supply chain management objectives’, International Journal of Information Management, 39, pp. 80–89. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.12.005
Porter, M.E. (2008) ‘The five competitive forces that shape strategy’, Harvard Business Review, 86(1), pp. 78–93.
Saberi, S., Kouhizadeh, M., Sarkis, J. and Shen, L. (2019) ‘Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management’, International Journal of Production Research, 57(7), pp. 2117–2135. doi:10.1080/00207543.2018.1533261
