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1) What acquisitions are mentioned in this case? What are the reasons (see Figur

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Question

1) What acquisitions are mentioned in this case? What are the reasons (see Figure 7.1) for these acquisitions? 2) What are RIM’s International corporate-level strategies. 3) Does this company have any strategic alliances? If so, with whom, what type, and how would you characterize each of these alliances at the business level?


Figure 7.1

CASE 25 Research in Motion Stephani Angelina, Rob Hammel, Julian Kahn, Morris, numayun Naqvt have increased within the telecommunications industry Research in Motion launched the business world's most recognizable gadget -the BlackBerry but today faces a hve led RIM to multiple acquisitions of developers and mounting pile of problems amid operational stumbles and manufacturers, all of which were intended to diversify a tumbling stock price. RIM's offerings and enhance its users' experience. Yet the Wall Street Journal trappings of competitiveness on a global scale have led to Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMY is the maker of the missed opportunities and nearly insurmountable errors. BlackBerry wireless device and the email services that accompany it. The Canadian-based company, headquar- tered in Waterloo, Ontario, designs, manufactures, and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile and telecommunications market. Its portfolio indudes From patent disputes and threatened international dis tribution restrictions on usage to severe service outages, the competitive marketplace has taken a crippling toll on RIM. The company that laid claim to launching the world's most recognizable electronic wireless device the rackberry," as it was affectionately known-faces mounting pressure from competitors such as iPhone and Google Androld smartphones How can RIM, a com- pany with an ailing product line but high global brand recognition, quickly make up for lost time and lost mar- ket share? Can it once again become a dominant player in the telecommunications industry, or will it become a story of a firm's failed strategic actions that were taken in wireless devices, software tools, and various other software and hardware develop- ment offerings Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin, two engineering students with a sion and wireless solutions, co-founded the firm: Since expanding from pagers into the wireless telecommuni tions market, RIM has been popular with government penchant for data transmis- and corporate buyers for its data encryption capabilities. a highly competitive market? In spite of this popularity, RIM its efforts to strongly penetrate the mainstream con- sumer market Moreover, over time, the lucrative pub- History lic and private sector contracts that had been the bread and butter of RIM for so long became targets of major has essentially failed in The consulting business co-founded by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin financed RIM's early growth. It was not until 1992 however, when Harvard Business beginnings, to its role as a dominant player in handheld alike that what was once a multimillion-dollar corpora tion with multinational ties could succumb so quickly and thoroughly to the pressures of an increasingly com plex marketplace. The rates at which business cycles that the company really gained traction. By 1995, the Interective Pager, a revolutionary two-way pager, was completed and brought to market, kickstarting a del uge of investments. After its IPO in January 1998, RIM was able to introduce the first BlackBery: essentiallys a handheld computer with wireless capabilities.' It subse- quently signed contract agreements with BellSouth and LStoethe wreng of this case studyRMchanged-nam. to deery and now trades on the Nasdaq as BBRY and as 88 in Toronto

Explanation / Answer

1) The only direct acquisition event mentioned in the case is about Google’s acquisition of Motorola. The reasons for acquisition has been to gain access to over 17000 IP (intellectual properties or patents) of Motorola. This helped google in

2) RIM’s international corporate level strategy included the following principles

In addition, RIM decided that they will continue with their current positioning (enterprise) in the developed countries. However, will begin focusing on the emerging markets (BRIC countries) with their consumer preference. The company also identified that it has a poor market share in the international market even though it has experienced decent growth. Hence, RIM’s strategy was to provide key value (e.g. pricing for India) to the consumers to drive growth in the developing markets.

3) The case mentions that RIM began a joint venture with China Broadband Capital Partner. In addition, RIM plans to form strategic alliances with software application developers, global telecom communication carriers, intranet and internet applications, social networking providers, electronic equipment manufactures and system integrators.

These strategic partnerships can be characterized as vertical alliances. This means that the end products of the partners provide a complementary benefit to the organization and do not compete directly with RIM.