SUGGESTED CASE PREPARATION QUESTIONS

1. Based on the perceptual map, define the bases for competition in

the market. Are there any “strategic groups?”

As per the perceptual map out of the 14 attributes measured, 11 are

bases of competition.

The perceptual map tells us that there are broadly 4 strategic groups

1) Competitively Priced – Kojima, Clones – Priced lower than other

competitors

2) Innovators – Stobart, Penucchini, Cheong – These companies are

the innovators and offer new products before other competitors.
They also provide hardware service within 24-48 hours.

3) Supporters – Beta, CPS, Alliance – These companies are better at

providing support services as compared to their competitors.

4) Trainers – Attwood – These companies are better at providing

training for computers as well as training for instructors.

2. How “well-positioned” is Emergent with its proposed attribute

levels?

Emergent is late to the market by 1 month which will provide it with

insights from the performance of its competitors and at the same. At
the same time Emergent has the advantage in key variables like
Hardware Service, Training, Payment Terms and is comparable in
the other metrics.

3. In general, assess the utility of perceptual mapping by comparing

the insights available from examining Figure 1 to those obtainable
from examining the raw data of Exhibit 2.

The perceptual map acts as a strong pictorial representation of where Emergent 
stands in comparison to other strategic groups. This data will help Emergent 
 technologies make key decisions like positioning of its product.

4. Based on the Factor Level Sensitivity, what attributes are most

important to consumers? Does the factor level sensitivity report
give any insight into the segmentation of the marketplace?

The factor level sensitivity shows that the following attributes are most important 
to customers

1) Price

2) Hardware Service

3) Installation and Maintain service

4) Processor Speed

5. What are the key leverage points for Emergent?

As per the perceptual plot, the following are key leverage points for
Emergent

1) Instructor and Computer Training

2) Financing Availability

6. Emergent does not have the resources required to improve its

product line breadth in the short term. Second, it believes its
margins are just barely adequate now so it would not look too
favorably on anything like a price cut unless it gave big return.
Nevertheless, it would like to improve its market share position.
Without any cost data, you can’t get too precise on this but what
general directions would you suggest Emergent pursue? What
market share gain could they expect?

To gain market share, Emergent should concentrate on the following

1) Increase warranty from 9 to 12
 2) Reduce response times on hardware service issues

7. If Emergent follows your strategy and gains share, who would they
hurt? Can you tell anything about this from either the perceptual
map or the factor level sensitivity?

8. How does this “hands-on” capability help Emergent? What insights

do you get from Exhibit 5?

9. What other scenarios would you like to simulate?

Ideally, we should run multiple scenarios to see the impact of

attribute improvement as well as its effect on the competitors

10. For what types of products and situations do you see this type of
analysis exemplified by the Strategic Industry Model most useful?

This kind of analysis can be used for different kinds of products where the 
customer segments weigh multiple factors in order to make decisions. This 
includes various products across industries like FMCG, Furniture, IT products etc.