Topic: Creating Value through Global Strategy

The Newsroom and Current Events

This is the place to post links to current items from newspapers, magazines, journals or blogs. Explain how this news item or journal article is applicable to the topic from this week’s learning.

Type in a descriptive topic heading and post your comments.

Use APA format for in-text citations and the references list.

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EXAMPLE ONLY:

Battle of the Bandwidth

Article link: http://fortune.com/2017/03/06/verizon-unlimited-data-plans/

This article directly relates to the resources-based theory of competitive advantage that is discussed in the Grant piece. Verizon has lost a lot of customers over the years because they did not offer an unlimited data plan. Verizon’s recent decision to offer an unlimited data plan forced other leaders in the industry to make changes to their offerings in order to remain competitive. This strategic move may have been a way for Verizon to highlight the inefficiency of competitor’s network and resources through the strength of theirs (Grant, 1991). 

In comparison to the other major wireless carriers, Verizon has invested much more in increasing their networks capacity and offers the most reliable service. This competitive advantage allowed Verizon to offer HD quality video streaming while T-Mobile. Sprint, and AT&T offered a lower quality streaming experience (Pressman, 2017). In response to this, T-Mobile and Sprint decided to include HD video streaming, which will undoubtedly affect their bandwidth. This decision may help highlight Verizon’s network advantage and bring over customer’s who are frustrated with slow speeds from clogged networks. 

This dynamic in the industry also makes it hard for new entrants because they will likely be unable to compete. They will lack the resource to provide quick, affordable, and reliable service to customers who are used to the unlimited experience (Pressman, 2017). 

References

Grant, R. M. (1991). The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135

Pressman, A. (2017, March 6). Verizon unlimited data plan could wear down the competition. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2017/03/06/verizon-unlimited-data-plans/

Verizon. (2017). Unlimited data and talk & text plans. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from https://www.verizonwireless.com/plans/verizon-plan/