Comcast - Leading Cable Service Provider In The US

Comcast Case Study Institution: Course: Instructor: Name: Date: Comcast Case Study Comcast is the leading cable service provider in the United States followed by Time Warner Cable and Cox Enterprises, among others. The most important macro-environmental factors for Comcast are political-legal, economic, and socio-cultural aspects. Common political-legal trends in Comcast are mergers and net neutrality that has forced the company to invest and expand fiber optic cable infrastructure, but unable to dictate prices for data network access (Jeffries, 2014). Disposable income and consumer confidence are crucial economic variables that affect sales and discretionary expenditure in the company respectively. However, consumer taste and demand for streaming services seem to be shifting from the cable model. Based on Porter’s Five Forces analysis, the key competitive forces in the industry are the threat of substitutes, industrial rivalry, and the power of suppliers. The risk of entry and buyer power has less impact on the industrial environment. Both macro and competitive environments expose Comcast to several threats as a cable service provider today. For example, rival products from rival companies are possible substitutes for Comcast's products and services. The taste and demand for cable models are gradually reducing due to alternative and better services and product models from emerging firms. Therefore, Comcast is forced to continually revise and improve its production and marketing strategies to maintain its leadership position in the industry. The company is thus forced to develop various investment and expansion initiatives (Jeffries, 2014). Without necessary precautions, such rapid changes that cover wide geographical space is usually complicated and costly. Its current service network is widely spread, but at the expense good customer relationship management. In the recent past, the company’s approach in handling its service and product consumers has been on the decline, a phenomenon that can be attributed to poor employee training and motivation mechanisms (Gavett, 2014). In an attempt to counter the dwindling consumer confidence and maintain its market dominance, Comcast adopts the strategy of merging with other promising service providers in the industry (Jeffries, 2014). In this case, it creates a kind of monolithic competing tactics against its rivals. Customer service representatives in Comcast are extrinsically motivated to perform their ...