The Main Problems of Nokia Smart Phone Market and Its Strategy Adjustment - Essay Example

While the first smartphone was introduced by IBM and then followed on by Nokia with the release of Nokia 9000 in 1996, it was not until 2007 that the smartphone craze would catch up with the world. Even though Nokia was the first to introduce its line of user friendly smartphones, it was unable to retain a strong market position. This has been attributed mainly to the fact that Nokia was unable to truly understand the potential of the smartphones and did not actualize on its innovative product.

Nokia, before 2007, had captured a great chunk of the cell phone market share. However, with the introduction of the iPhone and other smart phones, Nokia was unable to retain its position. Even though Nokia is still one of the biggest cell phone providers and had introduced its smart phones before the other smart phone, it does not enjoy a good share of the smart phone market. Nokia, recently, underwent a change in operations and management but despite this Nokia is still leading after Samsung and Apple. 1.1.

Research Objective / Questions: In this increasingly competitive smart phone industry, it is very difficult to develop a strong position in the market. However, the market for smart phones is in its growth phases and this is perhaps the best time for producers such as Nokia to claim the lion’s share of the market. The objective of this paper would be to understand the issues that Nokia is facing with regard to their smart phone market. After a good understanding of the issue which would keep into focus the competitor’s strategy regarding smart phones, a strategy adjustment would be recommended for Nokia smart phones. 1.2.

Significance of the Study In this paper, an attempt will be made to understand the smartphone market. Smartphone market has recently seen an. For the purpose of this paper, the company and the industry would be analyzed using different analysis techniques such as PESTLE Analysis and SWOT Analysis. Also strategies for the company would be discussed using the Ansoff Matrix and Porter’s Generic Strategies. Using these as a basis, the final strategy for Nokia would be suggested. The results of the study indicated that the position that Nokia is in right now is precarious.

Nokia is slowly losing its strong position in the market. This corresponds with Merritt assertion that Nokia has landed itself in a challenging position. It is facing challenges from both within and outside. From the outside, smartphones by competitors are taking over the market share while Nokia is unable to match the products and services offered by the competitors. It not only lacks in design but also in features as compared to the competitors. The review of literature concluded that Nokia should remove its focus from the emerging market and start tapping the high end consumers present in the local markets such as Europe and USA.

The results of the study confirm these findings to a certain extent. The managers believed that the focus on emerging markets can continue if only Nokia is able to cater to the local market also. However, the review of literature does not support this recommendation fully. This is because of political issues that are plaguing the world right now. Many people in the East have boycotted Western goods and if this trend continues, it could have negative implications for Nokia that relies heavily on sales from such countries.