Marketing 2014 17th Edition by William Pride,Ferrell

Exercise 4

Competitive forces are very important to companies, particularly those that operate in many different countries. However, the importance of each competitive force might vary depending upon the industry. For instance, legal and regulatory forces limit many of the activities of cigarette fi rms. While rising prices might affect the purchase of luxury goods, necessities like diapers and antibiotics will not experience as much of an impact, because people require them whether the prices are high or not. With this in mind, examine the impact that economic forces, political forces, legal and regulatory forces, technological forces, and sociocultural forces have upon ExxonMobil, General Motors, and Procter Gamble. Rate each of these factors on a scale of 1-5, from 5 meaning most important to 1 meaning least important. Based on these companies, which environmental variable do you think would be the highest priority for each company, and why? Based on these three companies, which environmental variable do you feel would be most important for marketers?