Tesla Motors Corporate Strategy and Market Strategy - Research Proposal Example

Tesla Motors Corporate Strategy and Market strategy and how would They Enter the China Market Chapter Introduction According to Guillen (2003), in recent years, internationalization of firms has become one of the pertinent topics among researchers, doing research to understand the dynamics of corporate and market strategy for firms. Chen and Ho (2004) argued that same type of corporate and market strategy might not be used for internationalization in different countries due to difference in geo-demographic position, cultural trend, macro-environment condition and customer value proposition. It has been found by the researcher that although significant amount of research exist on corporate and market strategy of companies in domestic market, yet literature is pretty scarce when it comes to shedding light on corporate and market strategy of companies, while they enter new international territory (Deng, et al., 2012). On the other hand, consideration of research works of Chen and Ho (2004) and Deng, et al. (2012) reveals the fact that importance of China is increasing among multinational companies from USA and other European Union (EU), who are planning to expand international base of the business. In such context, the paper has selected Tesla Motors (an American company that specializes in designing, manufacturing and selling electric vehicles and power train components) as sample organization in order to understand nature of its corporate and market strategy and how the company would enter the Chinese market (Tesla Motors, 2014). From academic perspective, the research findings would bridge the gap in the literature, regarding adjustment of corporate and market strategy of companies, during internationalization process and from business perspective, findings of the paper would help Tesla Motors to identify the probable entry mode for Chinese market. Till date, very few researchers have tried to understand corporate and market strategy adjustment by companies, while moving from a developed nation (USA, in this case) to a developing one (China, in this case). Such gap in the literature has influenced the researcher to take up this study and conduct research on the topic in order to fill up certain gaps in the literature. Research Objective To identify existing corporate strategy and market strategy of Tesla Motors. To predict how Tesla Motors could enter China Market. Research Questions What are the key functionalities and characteristics of existing corporate strategy and market strategy of Tesla Motors? How would Tesla Motors enter China Market? Chapter 2: Literature Review Xue and Zhou (2007) defined corporate strategy as the direction as well as the way used by corporations through integration of different operational activities in order to achieve particular business objectives. In case of corporate strategy, companies use its resource capabilities and operational activities of different departments, such as, production and manufacturing, financial and marketing department, in order to achieve their business goals. On the contrary, Ansoff (1987) defined market strategy from product/market specific perspectives. Ansoff (1987) defined market strategy, in terms of four alternatives or Product-Market Growth Matrix, 1- increasing penetration in existing market by strengthening marketing mix, 2- increasing penetration in existing market by diversifying product portfolio, 3- increasing penetration in new market by offering existing products and 4- - increasing penetration in new market by customizing product portfolio as per customer requirements. While internationalizing business or entering in new countries, companies still use the third and fourth strategic options in Product-Market Growth Matrix (Ansoff, 1987). However, Khanna and Palepu (2000) pointed out that corporate and market strategy should not be viewed as separate entities, rather these two concepts are complementary to each other. During the course of expanding business in different countries, relying only on either of the strategies would increase risk propensity of the venture. For example, Xue and Zhou (2007) conducted research on strategic dimensions of business expansion in China and found that not only did successful companies adjust product strategy as per requirements of Chinese customers, but had also they incorporated the changes in operational activities, which were part of the corporate strategy. As China is the internationalization destination for Tesla Motors, therefore, the discussion will be incomplete without mentioning the probable entry modes for foreign companies. Consideration of research work of Deng, et al. (2012) reveals the fact that joint venture with local firms, foreign direct investment (FDI) and licensing are the most frequently used entry modes by international companies to enter the market of China. According to Chen and Ho (2004) and Xue and Zhou (2007), corporate and internationalization strategy can be assessed, in terms of two factors, 1- cost of operating in foreign countries and 2- value-added approach for satisfying customer requirements. In case of China, selection of entry mode is to be decided by considering the above two factors by Tesla Motors. Chapter 3: Research Methodology According to Blumberg, Cooper and Schindler (2011) and Saunders, Lewis and Thornhil (2012), business research can be conducted by using three types of method, such as, 1- quantitative method- analyzing relationship between variables by using statistical and mathematical functions, 2- qualitative method- analyzing relationship between variables on the basis of their qualitative merit and 3- mixed approach- it can be viewed as triangulation approach or method of reaching conclusion by comparing results of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. However, Creswell (2009) suggested that researchers can use qualitative analysis in those cases, where objective of the research is to understand core context of the problem through an in-depth analysis. In this paper, the study will also use qualitative research method due to two reasons, 1- the research topic is strategic in nature and only top level management of Tesla Motors would be able to provide answers to the research questions presented in the paper. For the sake of practicality, it seems pretty improbable for the researcher to collect data from top level managers of Tesla Motors with the help of interview and 2- objective of this research paper is not to identify relationship between variables through mathematical operation, rather focus of the paper is to look into the topic in a comprehensive manner. Due to such reasons, the researcher will use qualitative methodology, backed by content analysis and case study formation. Academic peer reviewed journals, books, print media sources, online articles, government documents, company annual reports and business research report of consulting firms, will be used as secondary data source, during content analysis and case study formation. In order to get security access of the required documents, the researcher will use university database and government directories. Whereas, in case of ethical perspectives of research methodology, the researcher will employ secondary data in an unbiased manner and avoid subjective and generalized view of the topic in order to reach valid conclusion. For the purpose of satisfying ethical criteria, the researcher will seek prior permission from University and government directory authority in order to access the mentioned documents. Chapter 4: Approximate Timetable Months Month 1 Month 2 Month 3  Week Numbers  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Activities     Research problem identification     Research proposal submission     Collecting secondary data     Developing literature review     Qualitative analysis of secondary data     Preparing final report     Submission of final report     Reference List Ansoff, H. I., 1987. Corporate strategy. 2nd ed. London: Penguin. Blumberg, B., Cooper, D. and Schindler, P., 2011. Business research methods. 3rd European ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Chen, S. and Ho, K., 2004. Corporate diversification, ownership structure and firm value: The Singapore evidence. International Review of Financial Analysis, 9(3), pp. 315-26. Creswell J. W., 2009. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 3rd ed. California: Sage Publications. Deng, X., Tian, Z., Li, J. and Abrar, M., 2012. The diversification effects of a firm’s political connection and its performance implications: Evidence from China. Chinese Management Studies, 6(3), pp. 462-487. Guillen, M. F., 2003. Business groups in emerging economies: A resource-based view. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3), pp. 362-80. Khanna, T. and Palepu, K., 2000. The future of business groups in emerging markets: Long-run evidence from Chile. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3), pp. 268-85. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhil, A., 2012. Research methods for business students. 6th ed. New Jersey: FT/Prentice Hall. Tesla Motors, 2014. Tesla service. [online] Available at: [Accessed 28th January 2014]. Xue, Y. and Zhou, J., 2007. Product diversification, internationalization, and corporate performance. Nankai Management Review, 10(3), pp. 77-86. Read More