Apple and the Electronics and Telecommunications Industry

Apple$$s electronics and telecommunications industry is a trillion$-$dollar fast$-$paced industry. The industry is highly contestable with continuous entry of new players that include OPPO, Xiaomi, Vivo, Itel, Infinix, Tecno, Sharp Aquos, Realmi, OnePlus, LG$,$ etc. Apple and Samsung remain the leaders in the industry, especially the premium or up$-$end market. Apple has maintained this leadership by developing its own operating system and software, along with its own hardware, enabling it differentiate itself from competitors. For example, by developing its own operating system, Apple distinguishes itself from Samsung and other players who have to outsource and rely on the Android operating system. Apple is able thereby to develop Applications that draw customers back to the company. Critical in this war for the customer$$s heart is Apple$$s ability to leverage the knowledge, creativity and morale of its highly skilled employees to develop unique and high quality products that competitors cannot. It is informative that customers in the up$-$end market develop strong appetite for quality and brand identity, a characteristic that Apple exploits.

Required:

a$)$ In not more than six sentences, analyze Apple$$s internal environment using the Resource Based View $(5$ marks$)$

b$)$ With reference to Michael Porter$$s model, demonstrate how Apple may use the internal resources identified in a$)$ above to counter the external threat of new competitors entering the industry $(10$ marks$)$