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Harley Davidson External Environment

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The major forces for change in the external environment of motorcycles industry are political, economic, social-cultural, technological, environmental and legal factors (Cadle, Paul, & Turner, 2010). The political factors affect the external environment of motorcycle industry by affecting the markets. The government has influenced changes through free trade agreements, ensuring patent protection and encouraging e-commerce. Political influences provide both opportunities and threats, the free trade agreements have allowed expansion into other markets but also has increased the inflow of cheaper substitutes into the market that a company operates in. Political factors affecting this industry has brought opportunities for the Harley-Davidson. …show more content…

Technology has also increased research and development which has resulted in better and attractive products. Environmental factors influence the sustainability of the companies, they have ensured that their operations sustainable. They have also influenced the product features by ensuring that they are environmentally friendly. Legal factors in the motorcycle industry ensure that emission regulations and environment protection laws are adhered to. The Porters model is built upon the assumption that strategy development is significantly influenced by the external environment. The Porters five forces are the threat of new entrants, the intensity of rivalry, the threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and the bargaining power of suppliers (Magretta, 2012). The threat of new entrants in the motorcycle industry is moderate due to the moderate industry growth and high entry barriers. The industry is based on moderated economies of scale, moderate switching costs and the high cost of developing and promoting brands. The high barriers to entry are due to the required high initial capital and high fixed costs to set-up the provider and production facilities. The overall threat of new entrants in this industry is moderate. The overall intensity of rivalry in the motorcycle industry is strong, key players in this industry include the Harley Davidson, Winnebago, Polaris, Thor, Artic Cat and Marine Products. These top performers hold a high percentage of

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