ULSTER UNIVERSITY, BIRMINGHAM CAMPUS
COURSE TITLE; GLOBAL STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION
(COMPANY: VODAFONE)
COURSE CODE; BMG 872
STUDENT NAME
DANIEL AKINTONDE AKINTOYE
STUDENT I.D
10259253 / B00934916
MODULE CORDINATOR
Dr. Tonya Cullen
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Competitive Positioning and Porter’s five forces............................................................................3
International expansion strategies of Vodafone with Porter’s Diamond and Bartlett & Ghoshal
Model...............................................................................................................................................6
Success of Vodafone in different global markets and PESTEL analysis........................................8
Impact of emerging trends in technology, CSR practices and 17 UN SDG in Vodafone’s global
strategy...........................................................................................................................................11
Recommendations for enhancing Vodafone’s competitive advantage and global performance...12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15
2
Introduction
The idea of global strategy is a type of strategy that a company creates to expand into a wide
range of global markets. The main purpose for the development of global strategy is to
effectively improve sales across the world that include standardisation, multinational and
international strategies. Meanwhile, global development strategy is also known as an economic
concept that defines the urgency of priority goals to explain the set of targets that can be reached
with the core assurances of policy tools in order to explore trade-offs in the same frame. This
research will provide information about global strategy development and implementation of the
company named Vodafone in the UK. This study will also furnish information connected to
competitive positioning of Vodafone along with its international expansion strategies. This study
will also furnish information regarding the success of Vodafone in different global business
markets that will further impact the emerging trends in both technology and sustainability in the
effective global strategy of the company named Vodafone. In the end, the assignment will also
provide proper recommendations for easily enhancing the competitive advantage of Vodafone
along with the improvement of its global performance.
Competitive Positioning and Porter’s five forces
As per data, Vodafone said that its new brand positioning was “inspired by consumer research”
that effectively showed the role of technology in lots of people's lives that has evolved from
something that simply excites customers on a personal level (campaignasia, 2023). The current
brand positioning of Vodafone plays a very meaningful role in the world to easily mitigate the
issues of sustainability and societal development for their customers. As per information,
Vodafone operates in all the 3 segments of the market that mainly include low level, middle level
and high level market to effectively make it open for the large market in order to give
competitive advantage over the other major telecom players in the business market
(campaignasia, 2023).
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Figure 1: Competitive Positioning of Vodafone
(Source: Author)
From the above positioning mapping, it is considered that positioning of Vodafone is between
full service and expensive due to its demanding assets of telecommunications and internet
services provided to customers. As per data, the above positioning map shows that major
competitors of Vodafone in the UK are T, O2, e-plus, base and simyo. Out of these, Vodafone
has the most competitive advantage over these companies due to its improvement in demand
opportunities. According to Kalam and Kalam (2020), the current competitive positioning of
Vodafone takes advantage of current technological innovation along with the deliberation of a
customer build scheme. The scheme including of the improving of recent sales volume by about
the margin of 50%. The current brand positioning and marketing environment of Vodafone is
under the fierce competition that effectively leads competition with the upgradation of the new
chances and opportunities available for this company.
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Porter’s five forces
Power of buyers (high)
As argued by Peres (2019), power of buyers is high due to rise in the competitive positioning is
also based on the evaluation strategy of Vodafone with the immediate benefits to comprise more
penetration of the market while sales and revenues of employees working in this specific
telecommunications company in the UK.
New market entry (low)
New market entry of Vodafone is low due to the effective of target market strategy of Vodafone
comprises the discussion of all the elements within the execution of the following positioning
mapping.
Competitive rivalry (High)
By using New Trade Theory, the entire target market of Vodafone in the UK depends on
different types of customers with the validation of domain operations based on product portfolio,
size and capabilities along with the valid extension of new technological requirements. By using
the idea of New Trade Theory, more than 56% of employees of Vodafone have launched new
branded broadband services through which the improvement of these technologies tends to
assure with some better innovation of marketing (Chen and Xu 2022).
Risk of substitute (Low)
To increase competitive positioning, Vodafone uses the strategy of theme marketing to
effectively outreach all the customers in all the business sections of the country. The idea of
integrated marketing and SFR marketing strategy also helps to execute the growth of new
product features within a new concentrated marketing system.
Power of suppliers (Moderate)
Power of suppliers is moderate due to the rise of concentrated marketing in the new domain of
Vodafone also increases its brand positioning to deploy some better innovation towards the
market products. The idea of mass marketing also focuses on the strongholds towards the growth
of competitive advantage within organisation in the current technology advantages. As per data,
Vodafone mainly targets children between 10 to 17 years and adult men and women between the
age group of 25 to 60 years (campaignasia, 2023).
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International expansion strategies of Vodafone with Porter’s Diamond and
Bartlett & Ghoshal Model
With Porter’s Daimond strategy, this strategy consists of four interrelated factors and this paper
discuss how they influence each other, these strategies influence nations or region
competitiveness. As per data, Vodafone is focussed on growing the converged connectivity
markets in Europe and launching mobile data payments in Africa. The next phase of the
international expansion strategy of Vodafone focuses on customer commitments along with the
enabling strategies of customers that work together towards realising the main vision (vodafone,
2023). As per information, more than 78% of employees of Vodafone realises the importance of
local, in-market scale and capabilities to drive further value from the group scale along with the
breadth of the footprints. Moreover, the three customer segments in international markets of
Vodafone mainly include Europe Consumer, Africa Consumer and Vodafone Business
(vodafone, 2023). As per the data of November 2020, Vodafone owns and networks in almost 22
countries with the partner networks in 48 further countries. Porter’s diamond model or
framework also help to determine the international expansion strategies of Vodafone.
Factor conditions
Global enterprise division of Vodafone provides telecommunications and IT services to different
corporate clients within 150 countries (vodafone, 2023). Vodafone has established renowned
agreements with a total of 12 companies, including SFR and members of the Conexus Mobile
Alliance in the Asia-Pacific region. Vodafone has also announced its partner market that intends
to further expand into Asia and South America in 2012 and beyond to meet the growing demand
among multinational businesses voice through the remote territories in the Asia-Pacific region.
As per information, Vodafone and SFR positioned into a Partner Market scheme in June 2011
within the sale through Vodafone’s cultural attributes while starting up a new telecom operator
of 5G internet services to customers along with the incumbent telecommunications community
(vodafone, 2023).
Related and supporting industries.
According to Rockson (2021), Vodafone uses the idea of transnational strategy to expand their
business internationally in different countries that mainly include India, Australia, France, Spain,
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Greece, USA and Portugal. Vodafone also uses the strategy of foreign direct investment through
the sales ratio of new technological tactics to demonstrate the functionality of new broadband
services.
Firm Strategy, structure and rivalry
Europe Consumer
By using product life cycle theory, more than 45% of employees of Vodafone provide leading
mobile and fixed-line connectivity services in all the European market that enables the fixed line
connectivity services in all the European business market (vodafone, 2023). By using product
life-cycle theory, the reliability of new access to broadband services easily tends to be
implemented towards the functionality of providing simplicity towards the motive of consumer
value segments. Vodafone also has the converged plans to easily furnish the growth of IoT
propositions to easily invest in the productivity of new business functions.
African Technology Leader
By using stakeholder theory, more than 34% of employees of Vodafone in Africa provide a
range of mobile services that enable customers through the access of calls, texts and chats in
order to grow with the access of rapidly driven schemes through the assurance of new business
segments (Tătaru et al. 2020). By using stakeholder theory, Vodafone uses Vodacom's VodaPay
services to improve their usual functionality within the business, which will effectively help to
improve the growth of new business marketing schemes. This theory has also helped to expand
this business in Africa by easily acknowledging the ideas of M-pesa application payments
(vodafone, 2023).
Government and chance
Merchant services of Vodafone also expands in Africa with only 3G broadband services through
the help of government due to which the growth intervention of new business outputs could have
been easily intervened through the provider of digital financial services in a greater context.
Vodafone’s African technology leader also tends to validate the growth of super app services
with the growth of net business services adopted within the functionality of indicative business
planning.
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Chance events
Vodafone has expanded in Africa through the consolidation of new business services and
different opportunistic events in order to easily elongate with the ideas of new curriculum
activities for easily recognising the valid growth of functional advantages.
Demand conditions
Moreover, African technologies have demand within Vodafone tend to justify the amplification
of new business culture based on the current development of valid IoT segments through which
the merchant of digital financial services has also been improved by dealing with the growth of
network businesses in Vodafone. Each of these expansion strategies has been analysed
thoroughly to understand the competitive environment and identify the opportunities and
challenges. Additionally, the strategies have been interacted and how they influence each other
on the specific context of Vodafone expansion.
Bartlett & Ghoshal Framework
International
Vodafone’s international expansion help to expand in Africa with only 3G broadband services
through the help of government due to which the growth intervention of new business outputs
could have been easily intervened through the provider of digital financial services in a greater
context.
Global
Global expansion of Vodafone tends to use the strategy of foreign direct investment through the
sales ratio of new technological tactics to demonstrate the functionality of new broadband
services.
Transnational
Vodafone uses transnational system to further expand into Asia and South America in 2012 and
beyond to meet the growing demand among multinational businesses voice through the remote
territories in the Asia-Pacific region.
Multi-domestic
Vodafone adopts multi-domestic systems to to validate the growth of super app services with the
growth of net business services adopted within the functionality of indicative business planning.
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Success of Vodafone in different global markets and PESTEL analysis
According to Hannah et al. (2023), Vodafone has achieved very significant success in distinctive
telecommunication industries all over the globe for different reasons. Some of the major key
factors for the success of Vodafone consisted of global presence and scale, high speed broadband
services, attraction of millions of customers and improved rates of IoT services. As per data,
Vodafone is a successful company as the corporation has more than 531 million mobile
telephony consumers worldwide with the interrogation of almost 20 million fixed consumers.
The brand of Vodafone has become a very successful attribution that helps customers to become
new joint ventures and assurances for the consolidation of major business associates (Vodafone,
2023). As argued by Pai (2021), Vodafone is also so successful as they deliver services in almost
23 languages and 200 countries from the state through the interrogation of online
communications networking channels. Through its business expansion, Vodafone has also been
able to increase its revenue due to improvements in their current economic sources on a global
basis.
Figure 2: Data for success of Vodafone mobile market share
(Source: Statista, 2023)
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From the above graph chart, it is analysed that Vodafone enjoys a very strong mobile market
network within main market share in many of the company’s markets from improvement for
almost 25% through which more than 30.5% of new business functions tend to establish with the
formats of authorised business growth. The successful assurance of mobile marketing segments
in Vodafone tends to be implemented through the configuration of new business mechanics. As
argued by Hannah et al. (2023), Vodafone is also so successful as they deliver services in almost
23 languages and 200 countries from the state through the interrogation of online
communications networking channels. Through its business expansion, Vodafone has also been
able to increase its revenue due to improvements in their current economic sources on a global
basis. Vodafone is also a multinational organisation with the deliberation of good reputation for
the large presence of IT, IoT and internet services with the growth of large presence in Europe in
a very deliberate and conceptual manner.
PESTLE Analysis of UK
Factors Descriptions Impact
● The current tax rate of the UK is almost 20% ([Link],
Political Positive
2023).
● UK is a politically stable country with huge
accommodation of marketplaces
● Increased tax rate of UK help Vodafone to improve their
selling of IT tools and technology broadband assets
● The GDP of UK in 2023 is almost 2.27 trillion British
Economic Positive
pounds (statista, 2023)
● UK revenues grew by 16% by the end of 2023
● Almost 3.76 billion pounds of money generated from the
market of the UK
● This helps Vodafone to improve the main source of
business market production along with the manufacturing
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of new broadband and internet services.
● The current population in the UK is 67 million by the end
Social Positive
of 2023 ([Link], 2023)
● Mortality rate of UK is 10 deaths per 1000 people
● Morbidity rate is 9.8 per 1000 people ([Link],
2023)
● UK is 1st in using different technologies in IT companies
Technological Positive
● The UK digital technology turnover rate in 2022 was 240
billion British pounds
● This has helped the company named Vodafone to improve
their AI and VR skills
● Data Protection Act 2018 has also helped Vodafone to
Legal Positive
launch new product tools ([Link], 2023)
Impact of emerging trends in technology, CSR practices and 17 UN SDG in
Vodafone’s global strategy
As per data, Vodafone has integrated with the growth of technical IT schemes through which lots
of policies and objectives tend to contribute to the integration of more than 56% of customers.
Global strategy of Vodafone defines its purity in business due to which more than 56% of
employees of Vodafone have launched new branded broadband services through which the
improvement of these technologies tends to assure with some better innovation of marketing. To
increase competitive positioning, Vodafone uses the CSR practice strategy of mass marketing to
effectively outreach all the customers in all the territorial sections of the country. The idea of
differential marketing strategy also helps to execute the growth of new product features within a
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new concentrated marketing system. Vodafone has adopted the UN SDG of Goal 9: Industry,
Innovation and Infrastructure to improve their overall trends in IT tools and technologies.
Concentrated marketing in the new domain of Vodafone also increases its brand positioning to
deploy some better innovation towards the market products. The idea of mass marketing also
focuses on the strongholds towards the growth of competitive advantage within organisation in
the current technology advantages. As per data, Vodafone mainly targets children between 10 to
17 years and adult men and women between the age group of 25 to 60 years (campaignasia,
2023). The trends of improved financial assurance increased profitable assurance, and improved
financial tools could have been easily deliberated for the effective business outlets could have
been easily justified in a very assured manner.
Recommendations for enhancing Vodafone’s competitive advantage and
global performance.
It is recommended to the management of Vodafone to improve its partner market that intends to
further expand into Asia and South America in 2012 and beyond to meet the growing demand
among multinational businesses voice through the remote territories in the Asia-Pacific region.
As per information, Vodafone and SFR entered into a Partner Market agreement in June 2011
after the sale of Vodafone’s cultural attributes while starting up a new telecom operator of 5G
internet services to customers along with the incumbent telecommunications community
(vodafone, 2023). Vodafone’s international partner markets are a series of strategic alliances
between Vodafone Group and local mobile network operators that are not owned by the
government. Partner market agreements easily vary from full Vodafone branding arrangements
under the major license through the ideas of product advertisement, roaming and service sale
schemes towards the familiar access services of internet systems.
It is recommended that Vodafone to use the idea of transnational strategy to expand their
business internationally in different countries that mainly include India, Australia, France, Spain,
Greece, USA and Portugal. Vodafone also uses the strategy of foreign direct investment through
the sales ratio of new technological tactics to demonstrate the functionality of new broadband
services. It is also recommended to the management of Vodafone to increase the competitive
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positioning of Vodafone using the strategy of mass marketing to effectively reach all the
customers in all the territorial sections of the country.
It is recommended to implement the idea of mass marketing also focuses on the strongholds
towards the growth of competitive advantage within organisation in the current technology
advantages. As per data, Vodafone mainly targets children between 10 to 17 years and adult men
and women between the age group of 25 to 60 years (campaignasia, 2023). It is also
recommended to the management of Vodafone to validate the entire target market of Vodafone
in the UK depends on different types of customers with the validation of domain operations
based on product portfolio, size and capabilities along with the valid extension of new
technological requirements. By using the idea of New Trade Theory, more than 56% of
employees of Vodafone have launched new branded broadband services through which the
improvement of these technologies tends to ensure some better innovation of marketing.
Conclusion
Hence, from the above analysis, it is concluded that the main motive for the development of
global strategy was to effectively hustle sales across the world that include standardisation,
multinational, and international strategies. Meanwhile, it is also concluded that the idea of global
development strategy was also referred to as an economic concept that defines the urgency of
priority goals in order to explain the set of targets that can be reached with the core assurances of
policy tools in order to explore trade-offs at the same frame. It is also concluded that the idea of
development strategy is a kind of vision, mission along with the normative goals that are
balanced against the feasible execution of global strategic outputs.
It is also concluded that the study has also furnished details connected to competitive positioning
of Vodafone along with its international expansion strategies. It is also concluded that the study
has furnished details regarding the success of Vodafone in different global business markets that
have further impacted the emerging trends in both technology and sustainability in the effective
global strategy of the company named Vodafone. In the end, it is also concluded that the
assignment has furnished authentic recommendations for easily enhancing the competitive
advantage of Vodafone along with the improvement of its global performances to increase and
improve major competitive advantages.
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14
References
Campaignasia, 2023, Global brand positioning of Vodafone, available at:
[Link]
positioning/468700#:~:text=Vodafone%20said%20the%20new%20brand,particular%2C%20on
%20issues%20such%20as [Accessed on 4th June 2023]
Chen, X. and Xu, L., 2022, June. A Corpus-based Study of Corporate Image Represented in
Corporate Social Responsibility Report: A Case Study of China Mobile and Vodafone.
In Proceedings of the First Computing Social Responsibility Workshop within the 13th
Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (pp. 15-23).
Hannah, E., O’Hare, B., Lopez, M., Murray, S., Etter-Phoya, R., Hall, S. and Masiya, M., 2023.
How can corporate taxes contribute to sub-Saharan Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)? A case study of Vodafone. Globalization and Health, 19(1), pp.1-15.
Kalam, K.K. and Kalam, K.K., 2020. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy
adaptation for the global business of Vodafone Telecommunication Company. International
Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 4(6), pp.427-430.
Pai, V.S., 2021. Vodafone India Ltd: Managing in a Turbulent Emerging Market. Vision, 25(1),
pp.103-117.
Peres, T.L.B., 2019. Vodafone: the Importance of Dynamic Capabilities in an Innovative
Market (Doctoral dissertation).
Rockson, K., 2021. Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in A Telecommunications
Company-A Case Study of Vodafone Ghana.
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Tătaru, I.M., Fleacă, E., Fleacă, B. and Stanciu, R.D., 2020, December. Modelling the
Implementation of a Sustainable Development Strategy through Process Mapping.
In Proceedings (Vol. 63, No. 1, p. 6). MDPI.
Vodafone, 2023, Business markets of Vodafone, available at:
[Link] [Accessed on 4th
June 2023]
Vodafone, 2023, Vodafone operational strategy, available at: [Link]
vodafone/how-we-operate/our-strategy [Accessed on 4th June 2023]
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