Case Scenario 3: Barracuda Inc

question 63

Essay

Case Scenario 3: Barracuda Inc.
Barracuda Inc. is a lamp-fixture manufacturer that is considering an entry strategy into the U.S. home-furnishings manufacturing industry. The existing landscape consists of many players but none with a controlling share. There are currently 2,500 home furnishings firms, and only 600 of those have more than 15 employees. Average net profit after tax is between 4 and 5 percent. While the industry still primarily comprises single-business, family-run firms that manufacture furniture domestically, imports are increasing at a fairly rapid rate. Some of the European imports are leaders in contemporary design. Relatively large established firms are also diversifying into the home- furnishings industry via acquisition. Supplier firms to the home-furnishings industry are in relatively concentrated industries (such as lumber, steel, and textiles). Retailers, the intermediate customer of the home-furnishings
industry, have been traditionally very fragmented. Customers have many products to choose from, at many different price points, and few home-furnishing products have strong brands. Also, customers can switch easily among high- and low-priced furniture and other discretionary expenditures (spanning big-screen TVs to the choice of postponing any furniture purchase entirely).
-(Refer to Case Scenario 3). How intense is competitive rivalry likely to be among incumbents of the home- furnishings manufacturing industry?

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Definitions:

Occurrence

Occurrence denotes an event or a situation that happens or takes place, often used to describe instances of varying significance.

Behavior

The actions or reactions of an individual or system in response to external or internal stimuli.

Reinforcement

In psychology and behaviorism, it’s a consequence applied that strengthens an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A reinforcement strategy in behavioral psychology where rewards are delivered at consistent, predetermined intervals of time.