Nokia Case Study 1

Nokia Case Study

February 27, 2011

Nokia Case Study 2

I. Introduction

This case study will examine the development and implementation of corporate

strategy of the Nokia Corporation. This case study will examine in particular recent

events involving Nokia’s cellular phone business.

Nokia is a Finnish company that is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile

devices. In addition, Nokia offers communication services, software, as well as, phone

and internet based content. Nokia includes a network management segment called Nokia

Siemens Networks which offers network based products and services. This case study

will focus primarily on the mobile device market.

II. Porter Five Force Analysis

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

Nokia has the largest piece of the mobile device market but has seen very strong

challenges by RIM’s Blackberry, Apple’s iPhone and a myriad of smartphones running Google’s

Android. Nokia’s Symbian operating system is showing its age compared to these newer

smartphone offerings. During 2010 Nokia went from 36.6% of the mobile phone market to

27.1%. In the fourth quarter of 2010 Nokia’s Symbian OS was replaced by Android as the most

widespread platform (Nagamine, 2011). The top three competitors to Symbian are beginning to

take a serious bite of Nokia’s smartphone market share. Table 1 below shows a comparison of

2009 vs. 2010 smartphone OS market sales. Nokia took a big hit to its market dominance to due

increased competition from Android and Apple (iOS) sales (Sandstrom, 2011).

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Table 1: 2010 smartphone sales by Operating System, units in thousands

OS 2010 2010 Mkt Shr 2009 2009 Mkt Shr Chg

Symbian 111,577 37.6% 80,878 46.9% -9.3%

Android 67,225 22.7% 6,798 3.9% 18.8%

RIM 47,452 16.0% 34,347 19.9% -3.9%

iOS 46,598 15.7% 24,890 14.4% 1.3%

Microsoft 12,378 4.2% 15,031 8.7% -4.5%

Others 11,417 3.8% 10,432 6.1% -2.3%

Threat of Substitute Services

Threat to the mobile device industry is low as an untethered communication

device is a growing choice of phone users across the world. Although the mobile device

market saw declines in 2009, there was significant growth in 2010. It is anticipated that

the largest market segment, Asia-Pacific, will see a volume growth of 98.7% by 2014

compared to 2009. This equates to a market value of almost $97 billion (Nagamine,

2011).

Threat of New Entrants

The mobile device market is made up primarily of large multinational companies

with a few smaller domestic competitors. There is a high cost to entry as the mobile

device industry is putting out new and increasingly more advanced products quarterly

(Datamonitor: Mobile Phones, 2010). These new devices require a significant amount of

investment capital to develop and support. In addition, mobile devices require access to

networks. A company either has its own network or must enter into partnerships with

network providers. Both avenues are costly as well.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

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The bargaining power of suppliers is low with respect to Nokia. As cellphone and

smartphones become more prevalent the number of hardware and component vendors is

increasing. The suppliers are primarily in China which means buyers can solicit multiple

component vendors without expending significant resources. There are few single-source

commodities so it is difficult for individual vendors to apply significant pressure to

buyers (Doz & Kosonen, 2008). One discriminator when doing business with a company

the size of Nokia is the ability to provide the volume of product required. This can give

an edge to on particular supplier. Conversely, there is opportunity to use multiple vendors

to product one type of component which reduces supplier power.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

The bargaining power of the buyer is fairly high. There are many options with

regard to mobile device providers. In addition, service carriers, such as AT&T, Sprint and

Verizon are the entities that put the various products before the end-user. This requires

that Nokia provide incentives to carriers. This is particularly true in the United States

where Nokia does not have as strong a presence as in Europe and Asia (O’Brien, 2009).

III. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Table 2: Nokia SWOT

Strengths Weaknesses

Strong brand reputation

Sizeable market

Weak penetration in US market

Aging product operating system

Opportunities Threats

Partnerships and acquisitions

Growth of 3G and broadband demand

hyper-competition

legal challenges from competitor

Nokia Case Study 5

New technologies and services

Strengths

As the industry leader in mobile devices, Nokia’s name carries a lot of weight.

Nokia has a reputation for quality and innovation. In 2009, Nokia’s brand was rated the

fifth most valued brand in the world (Datamonitor: Nokia, 2010). In the Asia Pacific

sector Nokia ranks in the top 20 of most trusted brands and in India specifically it ranked

number 1. Nokia’s name is practically gold in the largest emerging markets. Nokia’s

name recognition and reputation allows it to command a higher price and carry that into

the largest markets in the world. As noted in table 1, Nokia hold 37% of the world market

which is almost 20 points higher than its next closest competitor Samsung. Nokia also

has the edge with respect to its Symbian operating system (Sandstrom, 2011). Even with

aggressive competitors in the market Nokia has a fairly large buffer.

Weaknesses

Although Nokia has the largest mobile device market share in the world it has a

rather small presence in the US market. The US market made up only 4.2% of Nokia’s

2009 revenues equaling $2.4 billion compared to its main US competitor Motorola which

garnered $11.8 billion and RIM bringing in $8.6 billion (Datamonitor: Nokia, 2010).

With the success of the iPhone and Android based phones Nokia will have a difficult

time grabbing market share in the US in the future. In addition, being a second-rate

competitor in the US could tarnish Nokia’s reputation as a key innovator when compared

to RIM, Motorola and Apple (Yoshida, 2010).

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Symbian is an open standard OS that Nokia has only so much control over. It is

managed by a meritocracy which makes it less than flexible and innovative. It looks

dated when put up against Android and iOS and is not as enterprise friendly as RIM’s

offerings. Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop indicated that Symbian was not the platform that

Nokia needed to meet the challenges in the future (Sorrel, 2011). Although outdated,

Symbian has been a solid product. Nokia will need to be careful in how it replaces its

flagship OS.

Opportunities

Partnerships and acquisitions will be key to future growth for Nokia. With a

hyper-competitive environment and strong players like Samsung, Apple, Motorola, RIM

and HTC; Nokia will need strong business partners to stay on top of the market. Nokia

has made several moves of late forming alliances with Yahoo!, SAP, Intel and New

Alliance. These partnerships will strengthen Nokia’s services. The most watched

partnership will be Nokia’s deal with Microsoft to run Windows Phone 7 on the next

generation of smartphones. It is a big gamble for both companies as Nokia needs a new

OS and Microsoft needs a respectable and dedicated platform (Sorrel, 2011).

The demand for 3G and broadband (3G/BB) connectivity is projected to grow

significantly or the next several years. In the US it is expected that the3G/BB consumer

base will increase from 43% (2009) to 60% by 2013 (Datamonitor: Nokia, 2010). With a

basic cellphone market that is fairly well saturated the 3G/BB market has significant

opportunity for growth. It is also a way for Nokia to make inroads to the US market.

Along with 3G/BB growth Nokia can continue to bring new and innovative

technologies to market. Nokia announced it was adding near-field communication (NFC)

Nokia Case Study 7

chips into future device offerings. This short-range communication capability allows

devices to support mobile ticketing, mobile payment, electronic identification and

electronic keys (Hernandez, 2010). The prospects are fairly broad and highly marketable

to both consumers and retailers. This is just one area where Nokia is ahead of the pack

and can leverage its innovation to differentiate itself.

Opportunities

As mentioned previously, there is a lot of money to be made in the mobile device

market. With few exceptions, Nokia’s competitors are large, are well capitalized and

have reputations as innovative companies. With a potential market of $97 billion dollars

in the Asia Pacific segment alone and a US market that can’t seem to get enough

smartphones, it may seem a bit like a feeding frenzy. With competitors coming out with

new products with improved capabilities every 6 months it will be difficult for Nokia to

roll out a new generation of phones while at the same time taking on a new OS via

Windows Phone 7 (Parker & Ward, 2011). If not executed cleanly it could spell the end

of Nokia as a player in the smartphone market, particularly in the US.

Nokia has been in a legal battle with Apple over patent infringement for several

years. It has been the clash of two titans over intellectual property. Should Nokia lose the

cases filed by Apple it could result in huge damages and a black eye. Patent litigation is a

strategic business practice today but it is a significant drain on company resources

(Bradley, 2011).

IV. Evaluation

Nokia Case Study 8

Nokia is at a crossroads. It has been the market leader of mobile devices for quite

a few years. So much so that it is a significant portion of the Finnish GDP. Over the last

two years significant technological breakthroughs have allowed other companies to begin

challenging Nokia’s position. Nokia evaluated its mobile device offerings and identified

that the Symbian OS was no longer the innovative product needed to move forward.

Nokia, in an effort to inject effective leadership into its mobile business during turbulent

times, hired ex-Microsoft head of the Business Division, Stephen Elop as CEO. Mr. Elop

quickly shook up Nokia’s management which upended its corporate culture.

Next Mr. Elop publically stated that Nokia would continue to support Symbian

primary OS. This was viewed as a defensive move by Nokia to protect its current install

base. However, shortly after Elop announced an agreement between Nokia and Microsoft

to drop Symbian as the ongoing platform and adopt Windows Phone 7 as the new Nokia

OS. This could be considered a strike where your competitor least expects it. Nokia had

been making overtures to Google regarding adoption of Android (Lawton, Lublin, &

Sandstrom, 2011). Then Mr. Elop publically announced Symbian as the way forward

only to announce later a Microsoft deal. This agreement between Nokia and Microsoft

could be a marriage made in cyberspace or the death-knell for Nokia. Nokia must make

gains in the US market and Microsoft needs a solid hardware platform for its Windows

Phone 7 OS. With Nokia’s hiring of Stephen Elop as CEO it gave the company the ability

to move more quickly to establish a partnership with Microsoft and keep Google and the

others off balance and less able to respond. In addition, Mr Elop speaks Microsoft. He is

part of the Microsoft culture and understands what is needed for the two entities to work

together.

Nokia Case Study 9

With regard to Apple’s patent infringement cases against Nokia, with the adoption

of Windows Phone 7, Apple will be less likely to take on Nokia knowing that Microsoft

now has a vested interest in the outcome of the suits. This partnership gives Apple a

reason to drop the suits gracefully and it frees up Nokia’s resources for other battles.

V. Conclusion

Nokia has been an industry leader for many years however the market has

changed quickly and Nokia must right itself. It is doing so with strategic partnerships,

technological innovation and leveraging its brand recognition. Its relationship with

Microsoft will be critical to its success. There is significant risk for Nokia as Microsoft

must deliver a world-class OS or customers will turn to Apple, RIM and Android which

are already world-class OSs. Microsoft, on the other hand already knows Nokia will

provide world-class hardware. Conversely, Microsoft has a huge reputation at stake

which has already been tarnished by previous mobile OS offerings. This is an aggressive

move for Nokia but one that could be hugely beneficial in the long run.

Nokia Case Study 10

References

Bradley, T. (2011, February 11). Nokia-microsoft alliance could end patent war with apple. PC

World, Retrieved from

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/219431/nokiamicrosoft_alliance_could_e

nd_patent_war_with_apple.html

Datamonitor: Mobile Phones. (2010). Mobile Phones in Asia-Pacific, 1-39. Retrieved from

EBSCOhost.

Datamonitor: Nokia Corporation. (2010). Nokia Corporation SWOT Analysis, 1-10. Retrieved

from EBSCOhost.

Doz, Y., & Kosonen, M. (2008). The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's rollercoaster

experience. California Management Review, 50(3), 95-118. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hernandez, W. (2010). Nokia to Add NFC Chips to Its Phones in 2011. American Banker,

175(95), 11. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Lawton, C., Lublin, J. S., & Sandtrom, G. (2011, February 10). Nokia, Microsoft talk cellphones.

Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition. pp. B1-B5. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Nagamine , K. (2010). Mobile Phone Recovery Continues with Nearly 22% Growth in First

Quarter. IDC Corporate USA. Retrieved February 25, 2011, from

http://www.idc.com/about/viewpressrelease.jsp?

containerId=prUS22322210§ionId=null&elementId=null&pageType=SYNOPSIS

O’Brien, K. (2009, October 19). Nokia struggles to regain market share in the U.S. The New

York Times. Pp. B4. Retrieved from LexisNexis.

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Parker, A., & Ward, A. (2011, February 25). Downwardly mobile. Financial Times,9. Retrieved

February 27, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2276441441).

Sandstrom, G. (2011, February 09). Nokia market share slides - gartner . The Wall Street

Journal, Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110209-705792.html

Sorrel, C. (2011, February 11). Nokia kills symbian, teams up with microsoft for windows phone

7. Wired, Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/microsoft-and-nokia-

team-up-to-build-windows-phones/

Yoshida, J. (2010, February). Symbian lacks 'newborn' cachet in U.S. market. Electronic

Engineering Times,(1576), 4,6. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Trade

& Industry. (Document ID: 1994260201).

2010 was a hell of a year for Nokia. It barely maintained its position as the largest producer of

mobile phones in the world; lost out to Android as the largest smartphone OS; had a

mixed reaction to its flagship N8; installed its first non-Finnish CEO; saw its Q4 pre-tax

profits fell by 22 percent and today we have learned that the Finnish company has spent

almost $4 billion in research and development in 2010.

Research results by Bernstein Research has revealed that in 2010 Nokia’s Devices &

Services department spent $3.9 billion on R&D which is around three times the average

spent by its rivals such as HTC, RIM, Microsoft and Apple. When you look at the chart

(below) visualising the spending on R&D it becomes clear how much more the Finnish

Nokia Case Study 12

company is spending on new and emerging technology.

The first question you must ask is: “Where is all the money going?” Well that’s a pretty

hard question to answer, though another chart provided by Bernstein Research gives us

some indication. It shows that a sizeable chunk was spent on Symbian and a lot more

spent on hardware, design and test and integration. MeeGo is also mentioned as are

Nokia Research Centres. Despite this break down it is hard to know in what direction

Nokia is headed and how this massive spend on R&D will help it in the future.

Nokia Case Study 13

It is safe to say that Nokia has been left standing as others around them dominated the

smartphone market in the past two years. However with MeeGo a possible saviour in

2011, this spend on R&D could point to Nokia attempting to re-establish itself at the top

of the mobile phone market. Nokia currently holds a number of valuable patents in

relation to GSM, CDMA and LTE and with this type of spending we could be seeing as

revolutionary technology coming our way in the coming years. We may also learn more

at Nokia's Strategy Briefing for 2011 next Friday, 11 February

TNS Brand Survey 2008: Nokia tops ad spend in India; Sony leads list across APAC October 22, 08 exchange4media Mumbai Bureau

Nokia Case Study 14

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With a yearly ad spend of $147,473,000, Nokia has emerged as the top global ad spender in India, according to the ‘Top 1000 Brands’ survey conducted by TNS in 10 key APAC markets, including India. Three Indian brands – ICICI, Kingfisher and Taj – have been named as the most admired consumer brands across the Asia-Pacific alongside global majors like LG, Sony, Cadbury, HP and Nokia in their respective categories. Meanwhile, moving up one place to take this year’s No. 1 spot as Asia Pacific’s top

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brand is Japanese electronic brand Sony.

Commenting on the findings, Shobha Subramanian, Executive Director, TNS India said, “Reaching and retaining the ‘Best Brand’ popularity as revealed in the Top 1,000 brands study; demonstrate their success in building awareness and differentiation in a challenging and competitive category. This goes beyond mere market or sales share into the realm of consumer share of mind. Brands such as Sony, Nokia, ICICI and HP are in the forefront not just in India but across various markets in this region.”

India’s Top Brands across 10 categories

Methodology:

The survey was done in India, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand across 12 major categories namely, Alcohol and Cigarettes, Financial Services, Automotive, Health, Retail, Food, Beverage, Camera and Electronic Goods, Personal Business Equipment and Service, Media and Telecommunication, Travel and Leisure, Baby Product, Household Product and Toiletry/ Cosmetic. Apart from that TNS also covered 82 sub categories.

300 people who aged 15-64 were interviewed in each country. In all, 3,600 people were interviewed for the survey across 10 countries including, for the first time, consumers from Japan, Korea and Australia. TNS however, only counted one mention of any brand by any respondent, even if respondents associated a brand with a number of sub-categories.

The outcome:

As a result of the survey Nokia, Lipton, Johnson & Johnson, Cadbury, and Hewlett-Packard emerged as the Top-5 global brand ad-spenders in India, when compared to China and Japan across the same categories.

Top 10 Ad-spenders in India out of the 1000 surveyed Brands across APAC

Nokia Case Study 16

The survey further showcased that Hewlett-Packard took the biggest leap from its’ 2007 rank of 44, as it rose to rank-5 in 2008; where as Canon, Nike and Google took a leap of 12, 9, and 14 places respectively. Among the top loser was Nokia, which lost 10 positions from last year to become only the 11th best brand in the APAC region.

APAC’s Top 11 Brands with their Ad-spends in India

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http://mobithinking.com/stats-corner/global-mobile-statistics-2011-all-quality-mobile-marketing-

research-mobile-web-stats-su

Top five mobile phone manufacturers, by 2010 global sales

according to IDC Top five mobile phone manufacturers, by 2010 global sales

according to Strategy AnalyticsRankVendorUnit shipmentsMarket shareAnnual sales

growth RankVendorUnit shipmentsMarket share1Nokia453.0 million32.6%4.9% 1Nokia453.0

million33.3%2Samsung280.2 million20.2%23.3% 2Samsung280.2 million20.6%3LG116.7

million8.4%-1.0% 3LG116.7 million8.6%4ZTE51.8 million3.7%94.0% 4RIM48.8

million3.6%5RIM48.8 million3.5%41.4% 5Apple47.5 million3.5% Others437.7

million31.5%31.2%  Others413.8 million30.4% Total1388.2 million100.0%18.5%  Total1360

million100%Source:

IDC (February 2011) Source:

Strategy Analytics (February 2011)via:mobiThinking