Report on Lidl's International Expansion Strategy

1. Critically review the strategy of an organisation in light of international business issues, applying relevant theories and concepts.
2. Produce a creative strategic solution to a business problem for an organisation facing diverse challenges, taking into account the firm’s external and internal environments.
3. To think reflectively about the formulation and implementation of international strategy in an ethical and professional manner.

1. Apply planning, organising, decision-making and time management skills appropriate for use in an organisational context.
2. Experiment and develop personal initiative and responsibility in undertaking complex investigations in the solving of organisational problems and issues.
3. Critically analyse and apply key ideas and concepts via comprehensive research relevant both to the subject area and to professional practice in the field.
4. Use terminology associated with the subject area accurately and in a way, which demonstrates sophisticated knowledge and understanding.
5. Develop and enhance individually and/or collaboratively effective written and/or oral communication skills for both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Using Lidl as a case company, produce a report that addresses the 5 following Tasks:

Evaluate the following 2 countries to identify which represents the most potentially attractive target market for Lidl’s future international expansion strategy:

• Mexico
• Norway

In order to evaluate which of these 2 countries represents the most potentially attractive target market, you are required to undertake a comparative PESTEL analysis of those macro-environmental factors of the 2 countries that are relevant to Lidl.

• This background analysis must be included as an appendix, presented in table format and must be no more than 5 pages in length.
• Data should be recent, primarily quantitative and obtained from appropriate sources (e.g. the most recently published World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness report).
• A scoring system should be used for each macro-environmental factor / sub-factor for each country to show whether each factor / sub-factor is more or less attractive for your company. These scores should then be totalled for each country in order to arrive at an overall scoring of attractiveness for each country.
• Further guidance on undertaking the comparative analysis of the 2 countries is available in the Assignment Briefing slides on Blackboard.

Discuss the rationale for the selection of your chosen market. Your rationale should be justified with a more detailed discussion of your PESTEL analysis of the macro-environmental factors of your chosen market that you have presented in the appendix for Task 1. This discussion should explicitly consider the implications of the macro-environmental factors of your chosen market for Lidl.

• This Task must be presented in the first section of the main body of your report.

Apply the 5-Forces model to critically analyse the competitive intensity of the industrial environment of Lidl in your chosen market. A SWOT analysis is not acceptable.

• This Task must be presented in the second section of the main body of your report.

Analyse the firm’s internal environment in order to EITHER:

i) critically evaluate the resources and capabilities of Lidl and the competitive implications of these for the company when entering into your chosen market (this will require an application of the VRIO framework)

ii) identify Lidl’s internal value-adding activities and critically evaluate which of these will be most relevant in supporting the company to enter into your chosen market (this will require an application of the Value Chain model).

A SWOT analysis for either option is not acceptable.

Worth 20% of the overall mark; 825 words.

This Task must be presented in the third section of the main body of your report.

Critically evaluate the various modes of entry available to Lidl and recommend – with justification based on the findings of your analyses in Tasks 2, 3 & 4 above – the most suitable mode of entry that will enable this strategic international expansion to be a success for the company.

• This Task must be presented in the fourth and final section of the main body of your report.

Details about the indicative word count for each section of the report are outlined in the Task Details above. Additional guidance can also be found in the assignment’s ‘Indicative Structure’ document in the Assessments section of the Blackboard Module site.

- Cover page

- Contents page

- References

- Tables

- Diagrams

- Appendices

Marks for your assessment will be awarded with reference to the weighting of the Tasks outlined above and to the Level 7 grade descriptors.

Penalties for exceeding word count/ duration:  We expect all students to comply with the indicative word count outlined in the Task Details above.

“The purpose of feedback is not to provide students with a benchmark between passing and failing but to identify strengths and where there is room for improvement and development” (Assessment and Feedback for Taught Awards Policy).

Feedback will be made available within 3 weeks of submission date.

All marks will be ratified at the appropriate Board of Examiners following internal and external moderation.

Please note that being dissatisfied with your results does not constitute grounds for an academic appeal.

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