Going Global & Managing Global Businesses Case Study

Vodafone – Rethinking Global Strategy

OR

Abstract:
Vodafone Group Plc. (Vodafone), the leading mobile telecommunications company, followed a twin strategy of global expansion and offering mobile-only service, to achieve huge economies of scale. However, its strategy failed in two of its important markets – the US and Japan, where it had to adopt the local technology to suit the market demands. Vodafone was left isolated when almost all the telecom operators offered a combined package of fixed & mobile telephony, broadband and television services.

The case, while highlighting Vodafone’s global strategies, discusses their pitfalls and questions their viability in the long run

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To critically analyse Vodafone’s globalisation strategy vis-ŕ-vis localisation strategy
• To discuss the potential loopholes in ‘bigger is better’ strategy and the drawbacks of economies of scale
• To discuss the viability of Vodafone’s ‘mobile-only’ strategy, when majority of the other operators were focusing on bundled offering
• To understand the changing dynamics of the mobile market and the technology associated with it.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Vodafone: a brief profile
• Twin pillars of Vodafone's strategy
• Pitfalls of the strategy
• Rethinking on the strategy

Keywords : Vodafone; Growth Strategies Case Study; Economies of scale; Partner network strategy; One Vodafone; Bigger is better; Arun Sarin; Mobile-only; Verizon wireless; CDMA (code division multiple access); GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications); 3G (third generation); Average revenue per user; O2; W-CDMA (wireless CDMA)