APPENDIX 1: COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE SURVEY

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APPENDIX 1:

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COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE SURVEY FOR CMI

Name: Job title:

Country: Department:

The survey is not anonymous to ensure that we can provide follow up and execute actions resulting from the survey

INTRODUCTION

The survey has three parts:

PART A: Current competitive intelligence activities at your BU

PART B: Your current and future collaboration with the Customer and Market Intelligence department (CMI) at DHO PART C: Your current and potential competitive intelligence system requirements

DEFINITIONS

Please be aware of the following terms and their definitions, which are used in this part of the survey.

Competitive Intelligence: A process that transforms competitor, customer, industry and market data into actionable strategic information about

the external environment. At TNT Express competitive intelligence is referred to as the output of CMI.

BU Business Unit of your specific country (if part of IBU).

QUESTION 1

a) Do you currently undertake competitive intelligence activities (the collection and analysis of information regarding TNT's external environment) within your BU, outside of what you currently work on with CMI.

Yes, please specify what activities: and go to question 2

No, please go to question 1b

b) Are you planning to undertake activities of this sort within your BU? Yes, what/ when, please specify:

No, why not:

QUESTION 2

Which of the following categories best describes your overall objectives for competitive intelligence? Strategic: Identify viable strategies in an industry and determine whether your strategy will work over time. Offensive: Spot opportunities to increase your business and take business away from competitors. Defensive: Understand where your business is vulnerable to competitors and how to block their likely moves. Best Practices: Uncover best-in-class practices you can apply to improve your business' performance. Other, please specify:

PART A: CURRENT COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES AT YOUR BU

For definitions, click here For definitions, click here

Competitive Intelligence Survey

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QUESTION 4

Please select which elements of competitive intelligence currently support you with achieving your objectives? Please select which elements of competitive intelligence you need to achieve your objectives?

Market Intelligence

Macro environmental factors: CURRENT DESIRED

Legal-Political intelligence Economic intelligence Social-cultural intelligence Technological intelligence Demographical intelligence Ecological intelligence Infrastructural intelligence Express Market factors: Express Market size Express Market growth Express Market trade flows Stages of Express Market life cycle Express Market profitability

Express Market structural intelligence (competitive forces in the industry): Threat of new Entrants/ Barriers to Entry

The bargaining power of customers The intensity of the rivalry among existing firms Threat of new substitute products

Vertical Market - Industry factors: Vertical Market size Vertical Market growth Vertical Market trade flows Vertical industry customer needs

Competitor Intelligence:

Identification of competitors The objectives of the competitors Current strategies of competitors Strengths and weaknesses of competitors Rumours about a competitor Forecast behaviour of competitors

Customer Intelligence:

Level of customer satisfaction Level of customer loyalty Level of customer service

Customer perception of multiple business areas Other, please specify:

QUESTION 5

Please rate the importance of competitive intelligence about the following markets (1–5, 1 = very important, 5 = not so important). Your own domestic express market

Your own international express market

Other TNT markets (environment of other BU) Please specify which markets:

For definitions, click here

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QUESTION 6

Please rate the following competitive intelligence needs of your BU (1–5, 1 = very important, 5 = not so important). Rate

Express Market intelligence (e.g. express market growth) Macro environmental trends (e.g. GDP growth)

Vertical markets intelligence (e.g. growth of automotive industry)

Competitor Intelligence

Competitor intelligence (e.g. DHL revenue growth)

Customer Intelligence

Customer intelligence (e.g. customer express spends) Other, please specify:

QUESTION 7

Based on all above questions, what specific decisions or actions would you expect to take based on competitive intelligence?

DEFINITIONS

Please be aware of the following terms and their definitions, which are used in this part of the survey.

Competitive Intelligence: A process that transforms competitor, customer, industry and market data into actionable strategic information about

the external environment. At TNT Express competitive intelligence is referred to as the output of CMI.

Strategic decision making: These are decisions made by top level management and are concerned with an organization's overal long term

objectives.

Tactical decision making: These are decisions concerned with the best use of resources and the management of change to achieve

the agreed objectives.

QUESTION 8

From your perception, how is the competitive intelligence function structured in TNT Express? Centralized (one function serves all or most of the organization)

De-centralized (each business unit or functional line of business does its own competitive intelligence)

Mixed (some activities are centralized, others are done independently by individual departments or functional lines of business) Informal (no structured competitive intelligence function at any level, tasks occur only as needed)

Other, please specify:

QUESTION 9

Please select those options which best describe CMI according to you: Holder and provider of external information/data Provider of analysis

Provider of competitive intelligence Provider of advice

Problem solver

Provider of tools / system for BU's competitive intelligence activities Provider of frameworks (e.g. for market research)

Holder and provider of internal knowledge Other, please specify:

QUESTION 10

How often have you made use of CMI services when competitive intelligence was needed? Everytime

Regularly Occasionally Rarely

Never, please go to question 13

For definitions, click here PART B: YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH CUSTOMER & MARKET INTELLIGENCE DHO (From now on only referred to as CMI)

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QUESTION 11

When you made use of CMI services, how often did it satisfy your intelligence needs?

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% QUESTION 12 Please rank the five most important benefits gained through competitive intelligence provided by CMI in order of importance (1 – 5, 1 = most important, 5 = least important). The general level of awareness of our competitive environment has been increased The internal distribution of information has been improved The strategic/tactical decision-making process has been accelerated The quality of information to support decision-making has been improved Cost savings of research has been achieved Time has been saved Duplication of effort in gathering information has been avoided Gathering and analysis of information has been systemized Threat and opportunity identification has been improved Other, please specify: QUESTION 13 Regarding the provision of competitive intelligence: What would you prefer to be the approach of CMI and provide you with the most value as an intelligence customer? Proactive approach: CMI with their know-how and expertise produces the intelligence that they believe is important after which the decision maker can determine which intelligence is relevant. Reactive approach: The decision maker (intelligence user) asks for intelligence after which CMI fulfils the request. Integrated approaches: CMI asks the user what decisions and actions they are considering where good intelligence could help them make the right choices and produces the intelligence accordingly. QUESTION 14 Regarding your needs for competitive intelligence: What percentages of your needs were proactively provided to you by CMI? How would you like it to be in the future? (Total 100%) NOW FUTURE Proactively provided by CMI Requested by you from CMI (reactive) 100% 100% QUESTION 15 What percentage of your competitive intelligence needs is now provided by CMI? What percentage of your competitive intelligence needs do you want CMI to provide in the future? NOW Future 0% 0% 25% 25% 50% 50% 75% 75% 100% 100% QUESTION 16 a) What percentage of your competitive intelligence needs is used to support strategic decision making and what percentage is used to support tactical decision making (Total 100%, if not applicable, leave white area empty)? NOW Competitor Int. Market Int. Customer Int. Strategic Insight Strategic decision making (long term) Tactical decision making (short term) 100% 100% 100% 100% b) What percentage of your competitive intelligence needs do you want to support strategic decision making in the future? FUTURE Competitor Int. Market Int. Customer Int. Strategic Insight Strategic decision making (long term) Tactical decision making (short term) 100% 100% 100% 100% For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here 1 2 3 4 5

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QUESTION 17

Could you rank the following output formats of CMI in terms of their importance for your strategic and tactical decision making? (1 – 3, 1 = most important, 3 = least important)

Strategic decision making Tactical decision making

Ad hoc (e.g. customized reports) Regular (e.g. recurring reviews/ reports) Continuous (e.g. database updates)

QUESTION 18

How does CMI currently work with you to assess your competitive intelligence needs and expectations?

How would you like CMI to work with you in the future to assess your competitive intelligence needs and expectations?

NOW FUTURE

Email

Tele, Video, Web conferencing Personal contact/interviews Workshops (BU with CMI) Group discussions (all BU’s and CMI) We do not work together Other, please specify:

QUESTION 19

Of the CMI products/services you use, please rate each how important they are for your decision making process. (1 – 5, 1 = very important, 5 = not so important, if not applicable, leave empty)?

Competitor intelligence:

Competitor Bulletin

Competitor Information Services Ad hoc support

Strategic Insights

Competitor Model Strategic Marketing Database Ad hoc support

Market intelligence

Market Trend Report Market Research Market Research Framework Trade Database

Express Market Information Ad hoc support

Customer Intelligence

Customer Satisfaction Programs Mystery Shopper

Customer Perception Benchmarking Customer Focus Groups Ad hoc support

1 2 3 4 5

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QUESTION 20

Please indicate how often sharing information and knowledge about the competitive environment is being encouraged in the following situations?

Within your BU Between your BU and other BU's Between your BU and CMI

Always Always Always

Often Often Often

Neutral Neutral Neutral

Rarely Rarely Rarely

Not Not Not

Please explain why for all three situations:

QUESTION 21

Please indicate how often information and knowledge about the competitive environment is actually being shared in the following situation

Within your BU Between your BU and other BU's Between your BU and CMI

Always Always Always

Often Often Often

Neutral Neutral Neutral

Rarely Rarely Rarely

Not Not Not

QUESTION 22

In your opinion, does sharing information and knowledge about the competitive environment with CMI lead to company wide value added? Yes

No

Please explain why/why not:

QUESTION 23

What suggestions do you have to improve the interaction between your BU and CMI?

QUESTION 24

How would you like the output from CMI be distributed? Printed reports

Newsletters Email Central database

Company intranet (Expressnet) Presentation or staff briefing Tele, Video, Web conferencing One to one delivery Other, please specify:

QUESTION 25

Please list the THREE most important criteria when assessing the quality of competitive intelligence? Timeliness

Accuracy

Impact on strategic/tactical decision making Improvement of financial performance Successful avoidance of surprises Degree of usage of intelligence Other, please specify:

For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here

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QUESTION 26

a) Does CMI ask you for feedback on its services and products? Yes

No

b) When feedback was asked by CMI, how often did you provide it?

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

c) Was there anything specific that prevented you from providing feedback? QUESTION 27 In order to provide feedback to CMI, which method would you prefer: Standardized feedback form Personal contact Both None Other, please specify: DEFINITIONS Please be aware of the following terms and their definitions, which are used in this part of the survey. Competitive Intelligence: A process that transforms competitor, customer, industry and market data into actionable strategic information about the external environment. At TNT Express competitive intelligence is referred to as the output of CMI. Competitive Intelligence System: An information system by which data regarding the external environment is systematically collected, analyzed and disseminated as intelligence to users who can act on it. Competitor Intelligence: Part of Competitive Intelligence, which focusses on insight about individual competitors. For questions of part C, please focus only on Competitor and Express Market intelligence. Customer Intelligence will not be included in the Competitive Intelligence System needs assessment, as it currently uses its own systems. QUESTION 28 a) Do you use a competitive intelligence system not provided by CMI (Competitor Model, SMD, etc.), which supports you in your competitive intelligence activities? Yes No, but planned to be implemented No b) If you answered yes, briefly describe what kind of system you use and its functionalities. QUESTION 29 Please rate the following intelligence needs supported by your current competitive intelligence system and describe how these needs are supported (1 – 5, 1 = very good, 5 = poor)? Market Intelligence Express Market intelligence (e.g. express market growth) Macro environmental trends (e.g. GDP growth) Vertical markets intelligence (e.g. growth of automotive industry) Competitor Intelligence Competitor intelligence (e.g. DHL revenue growth) Other, please specify: For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here For definitions, click here PART C: COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM If answered “No”, please proceed to question 31 1 2 3 4 5

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QUESTION 30

Please rank the FIVE most important benefits gained from your current competitive intelligence system: (1 – 5, 1 = most important, 5 = not so important).

Economic benefits:

Save time Increase cost savings

Accelerate decision-making processes Increase quality of intelligence Error reduction

Competitive advantage:

Increase awareness of competitive environment More effective use of information

Improve the identification of threats and opportunities

Capability:

Enhance analysis methods

A more systematized way for gathering and analyzing information Standardized analysis techniques

Communication:

Improve internal distribution of intelligence Improve the sharing of intelligence with other BU/ DHO Other, please specify:

QUESTION 31

Do you see a need for a division-wide competitive intelligence system to share knowledge and provide analysis tools for your competitive intelligence process?

No, we do not need a system

Yes, we want to develop a system ourselves Yes, a standardized system delivered by CMI

Yes, a system delivered by CMI, but modified for my specific needs Please specify why:

QUESTION 32

Please select the FIVE most important benefits you would want to gain through a competitive intelligence system:

Economic benefits:

Save time Increase cost savings

Accelerate decision-making processes Increase quality of intelligence Error reduction

Competitive advantage:

Increase awareness of competitive environment More effective use of information

Improve the identification of threats and opportunities

Capability:

Enhance analysis methods

A more systematized way for gathering and analyzing information Standardized analysis techniques

Communication:

Improve internal distribution of intelligence Improve the sharing of intelligence with other BU/ DHO Other, please specify:

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QUESTION 33

Please rank the following features of a competitive intelligence system in the order of importance (1 – 5, 1 = most important, 5 = least important).

Company-wide availability of intelligence Easy to operate system

User friendly output Security

Timeliness (frequently updated)

Flexibility (to modify intelligence to user specific products) Reliability

Other, please specify: Please specify why:

QUESTION 34

Which of the following competitive intelligence methods do you currently use? Please rate the importance of the inclusion of these methods in a future competitive intelligence system (1 – 5, 1 = very important, 5 = not so important)?

Rate importance for system:

Identify threats in the industry Identify opportunities in the industry Identify the attractiveness of a express market Monitor macro environmental factors Forecast of market trends

Develop scenario planning (What if-scenarios)

Monitor express industry development (alerts, early warning systems) Identify the competition

Monitor express market life cycle development Investigate geographical coverage

Determine market indicators (growth, etc) Analyse market attractiveness

Competitor Intelligence

Create SWOT (analyse Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Forecast behaviour of competitors

Benchmark competitors

Develop scenario planning (What if-scenarios)

Monitor express industry development (alerts, early warning systems) Profile competitors

Yes No USED NOW

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

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QUESTION 35

A competitive intelligence system would contain all division-wide available information about competitors.

If CMI was to develop a competitive intelligence system, please rate the following categories in terms of importance to be included in such a competitive intelligence system (1 – 5, 1 = very important, 5 = not so important).

Please indicate if that information is available within your BU?

Information should be in database Information available about competitors General information (history, # employees)

Geographic coverage (distribution network) Infrastructure (operating facilities) Strategy (vision, mission) Products

Pricing

Capabilities (technology, transit times) Marketing (spends, campaigns) Sales and sales trends (market share) Profitability/returns

Financial strength Human Resources

Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Initiatives Customer services (e.g. web-services)

QUESTION 36

How would you like the competitive intelligence system to distribute the intelligence? Printed reports

Newsletters Email Central database

Company intranet (Expressnet) Presentation or staff briefing Tele, Video, Web conferencing One to one delivery Other, please specify:

QUESTION 37

Which of the following functions would you like to support with intelligence from the competitive intelligence system? Strategy BU management / board Finance Corporate sustainability Business development Operations Customer service Product development Marketing Special services Sales

Global Account Management (GAM) Other, please specify:

YES NO

For definitions, click here 1 2 3 4 5

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION!

Could you please give feedback on this survey. What do you think about:

The length of the survey:

The format of the survey:

Ease to complete the survey:

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APPENDIX 5:

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MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS

INTRODUCTION

One of the goals of the industry analysis, as discussed in chapter four, is determining the attractiveness of a market. The market attractiveness is determined by the collection of opportunities and threats of an industry. Is demonstrates how interesting a specific market is for a company and can be compared to another market. For TNT Express this could be used to compare Express markets in different countries to determine which are the most interesting.

STRUCTURE OF THE MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS ANALYSIS

To determine the attractiveness of the market three factors are relevant: the macro environmental factors, the aggregated market and the industry structure (Alsem, 1991; 2005).

The macro environmental factors

An organization is influenced by its external environment, of these forces the macro environmental factors are the forces that cannot be controlled by the organization itself, although they may potentially affect the success of the organization. The goal of the mapping of the environmental factors is to detect trends in the environment.

The macro environmental can be split in Political, Economic, Social-cultural and Technological (PEST) factors (Pearson, 1992; Carson, 1999). Hussey & Jenster (1999) add Infrastructural, Ecological, Legal and Demographical as factors to the business environment: Legal-Political factors: The legal and governmental systems within which an organization must function. Organizations are governed by laws that address the manner in which they function, and organizations must operate within the legal framework of the countries in which they conduct their operations (Carson, 1999).

Economic factors: The current systems of producing, distributing, and consuming wealth. Operating within economic systems, organizations are controlled, to a large degree, by economic factors over which they have little or no control, such as interest rates and inflation.

Social-cultural factors: The total collection of norms, values, beliefs and behaviours associated with the demographic characteristics of a given area or region. Multinational companies in particular are faced with the challenge of diverse socio-cultural differences in the countries within which they operate. Socio-cultural considerations are subject to change, so domestic firms must be aware of this aspect of the external environment as well as multinational firms.

Technological factors: The current state of knowledge regarding the production of goods and services in an industry.

Demographical factors: The characteristics of the population of the region or country where the organization operates. Population size and age distribution are examples of these.

Ecological factors: The influence of the condition of the environment on the way that an organization can do its business. A legal restriction on the maximum emission of a factory is an example of a relevant factor.

Infrastructural factors: The condition of the infrastructure has influence on the transportation of goods to and from a company. It has for example influence on the ability to grow.

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Input for functionality

To quantify the macro environmental factors, the World Development Indicators of the World Bank can be used. These indicators are available online and make it possible to compare the development of different countries.

Beside the World Bank Indicators, the Market Potential Indicators of Cavusgil (1997) of the Michigan State University can be used. He developed a framework to compare the potential of emerging markets, using different sources. In this framework, eight dimensions are used to represent the market potential of a country and they are given weights to contribute to the overall market potential index.

The advantage of this framework is that it is available for free and a reliable comparison is made because of the standardised input. Another advantage is that the used weight factors are based on intensive research. Since the Macro environment factors are not related to the Express Market, but to a country as a whole, there is no need to modify this model, but can be used directly.

There are some considerations (Alsem, 2005). Not all macro environmental factors have influence on an organization; they do not always create a threat or opportunity. Secondly, these factors are very temporarily. Only if they are taken over a longer period trends can be analyzed, which can lead to useful information.

The aggregated market factors

Each market has specific qualifications, the aggregated factors. These factors characterise an entire market and therefore tell something about the attractiveness of a market, compared to another. These factors can be split into the market size, the market growth, the stages of product life cycle, the conjuncture and seasonal sensitiveness, the influence of seasonal variations and the profitability (Alsem, 1991; 2005).

Market size: One of the most important characteristics of a market is the size, as a big market is often far more attractive then a small one. So is a small market share of a big market probably more interesting than a big market share on a small market. The market size is a sum of the revenues of all participants on a market.

Market growth: Another criterion to determine the attractiveness of a market is the market growth. When the growth is high, a market is more attractive as the will be more opportunities to increase the revenue and therefore profit. Competitive behaviour tends to be less aggressive when market growth rates are maintained, because each firm can achieve its growth objectives without having to obtain market share for other players (Hussey & Jenster, 1999).

Stages of industry life cycle: The goal is to forecast the growth to compare different market. The stage of the product life cycle can help with this prediction. An industry tends to go through a number of phases. It starts with an embryonic phase (a newly emerging industry), then there is a transition to maturity, and in the end it will decline, as pictured in figure x. When the current phase of a market can be identified, it can tell something about events that might be expected. Historical data can be used to evaluate current trends. Every industry has specific cycle and this

can rapidly change. The figure should therefore be used as an approximate guide to predict future events (Jenster & Hussey, 1999). Indicators of stage in the life cycle can be among others the industry sales growth, capacity and profit margins.

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Profitability: The margins on the sales are of major importance to an industry, as the ultimate goal is to earn some money. If the general level of profit is high, the competition will be less aggressive. The probability of new entrants will nonetheless be much bigger, as it will be interesting for new players to take a piece of the pie. The profitability is also influenced by other forces in the industry, which will be discussed next.

These factors characterise an entire market and therefore tell something about the attractiveness of a market compared to other markets. These factors can be split into the market size, the market growth, the stages of Express market life cycle, and the profitability. For each of the variables a separate study could be done, but since only an overall score has to be calculated only an estimate of each factor will be sufficient, based on educated and standardised guesses.

The first two variables can be delivered by the output of the Competitor Model. It already calculates market sizes and market growth can be calculated using the results of multiple years. For the stage of the industry lifecycle and profitability, other inputs are required. The first is covered with the functionality for market growth forecasting (chapter xxx). For profitability, new input has to be collected, although some information is already available about the main competitors.

The industry structure factors

With the industry structure factors, the intensity of the competition in a market is established. The intensity has a direct influence on the average profitability of competitors on a market (Alsem, 1991). When the intensity of the competition is high on a market, the average earning capacity of the average organization is low, thus a low profitability. The five-force model of Porter (1980) is used to describe the competitive forces, which have an influence on the industry structure.

Potential competition: Daems & Douma (1984) consider the threat of substitute products or services and the threat of new entrants both as the potential competition. Potential new competitors can enter a market and try to capture piece of the market. It is also possible that a substitute product is introduced, which will take away some customers and therefore a bit of the total market value. The size of the potential competition depends on the market definition. A narrow market definition will exclude some competitors from the market, and are therefore part of the potential competition.

Entry barriers will protect a market against these threats. How harder it is for a new entrant to enter the market, how higher the profitability, according to Daems & Douma (1984). They make a distinction between structural and strategic entry barriers. The first are a result of the given characteristics of a market, such as economy of scale, a superior technological knowledge and restrictions by a government. Strategic entry barriers are a result from conscious actions taken by the present market players, such as holding extra capacity or new technological knowledge, which can be used when a new entrant arrives. This will make it harder for the new entrant to compete. A price/ sales strategy can also eliminate a new competitor.

The bargaining power of suppliers: When the bargaining power of suppliers is high, this will have a negative effect on the profitability of a market, as the can use this power to fix their prices. Daems & Douma (1984) describe four forces that have a direct influence on the relative bargaining power of suppliers. The degree of concentration of suppliers will affect their power, as a single supplier will have a lot of power. The threat of backwards vertical integration by buyers will influence the power of suppliers negatively. When buyers are going to produce their own goods in stead of buying them, the suppliers are put under pressure. The degree of product differentiation has also an influence on the power of suppliers. When a buyer has to rearrange his production process to switch to another

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supplier, he is more dependent on his current own, as switching will implicate high costs. Finally, when the quality of a product is of high importance for the market value of the end-product, produced by the buyer, the power of the supplier is high. It will be difficult for the buyer to switch, as it will influence his own product.

The bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyer is the opposite of the preceding. When the bargaining power of a buyer is high, the power of the supplier is low. The four forces discussed at the bargaining power of supplier can also be used for the power of buyers, but then with reversed impact on the influence of the bargaining power.

The rivalry among existing firms: The internal competition is the rivalry between firms that operate in the same market. Many factors influence the intensity of the rivalry (Daems & Douma, 1984; Alsem, 2005). The most important will be discussed next.

- Degree of concentration: The amount of companies operating in a market and the

distribution of their market shares.

- Degree of product differentiation: The different characteristics of the offered products

within a market. Using a narrow market definition, the differentiation will be less, as more products will be outside the scope of the market.

- Development of the industry: As discussed before, the stage of the product life cycle will

influence the intensity of the competition.

- Costs structure: The split between fixed and variable costs also influences the intensity

of the internal competition. When the fixed costs are relatively high, the competition will be tougher.

- Expansion of the production capacity, (temporary) overcapacity: The expansion of

capacity has often a minimum size. If the minimum is relatively high compared with the total capacity, temporary overcapacity will occur, which will intensify the competition. Overcapacity will increase the supply of products to the market, while the demand will stay constant. This will put pressure to the price level.

- Exit barriers: Limitations to exit a market will prevent companies to withdraw a division,

which is losing money and therefore will have a negative influence on the intensity of the competition.

- Uncertainty: All the uncertainty about a market will increase the intensity of the

competition, as companies will protect themselves against unforeseen negative effects.

Only limited information is available to give an indication of the Express market structural factors except the rivalry. This can be calculated with the use of ratios, for which sufficient data is available. The other factors can be estimated, based on local management judgment.

The rivalry of the competition within an industry is one of the most important factors for the measurement of the intensity of the competition. Analysis methods, which can help with the determination of the rivalry within an industry, are among others concentration

indicators. The size distribution of the market share of the market participants can be

calculated with these indicators, like the concentration ratio and the Herfindahl index (Oster, 1999). These tell something about what kind of market position the market leader have compared to the rest of the market. In industries in which one large company dominates the market, that firm can have a lot of power.

Methods for the industry analysis

When is decided which industry and strategic groups will be analysed and all factors are mapped, using the above framework, it is still not possible to come to an overall conclusion about the attractiveness of an industry. Alsem (1991; 2005) recommends calculating “attractiveness scores”, which are the sum of the product of estimated weight factors

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for different markets and over time. The benefit is that it makes it possible to compare factors that can’t be quantified.

-2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Political Economic Social-cultural Technological Demographic Ecological Legal Infrastructural Overall Macro Env.

During the market definition phase, strategic groups were introduced to identify competitors. The distinction was made between direct, potential and indirect competitors. This method can also be used during the market attractiveness analysis. It is possible to get insight about the position of an Express market compared to others. Examples of these analysis methods are the BCG-matrix and the derived MAC-matrix