This memo is to address what StarHub could do to stay ahead in today's economy, as well as to address the impacts on StarHub TV due to potential technologies such as Smart TV. In today's economy, a firm has to be creative and constantly innovating, so as to remain competitive in the market. As such, this memo will focus on how StarHub could encourage creativity as well as from where to seek for the next technologies that would benefit the company.
Creativity is the ability to produce work that is useful and novel. Most successful firms are those that are able to transform creativity into innovation. StarHub could set up idea collection systems and events, organise creativity training programs, as well as creating a culture and working environment that promotes individual creativity. Suggestion box and online forums are well-known platforms to collect creative ideas from the individuals. However, to promote people to use these platforms, StarHub should make them feel that their feedbacks and ideas are being heard and used. To grow a culture within the company is no easy task as constant efforts are needed in the long run. StarHub could do so by timely giving out awards and organizing contests. When it comes to working environment, every individuals have different preferences and needs to ignite their creativity. As such, StarHub could be more lenient towards the employees when they are decorating their own workspace.
Being creative is important to a company but it is not enough for StarHub to stay ahead in today’s open economy where new impactful technologies may just appear without prior warning. Hence, another important factor besides encouraging creativity is to constantly keep a look out for the next technology that could impact the company or industry. To do so, StarHub has to constantly be involved in research and development(R&D). R&Ds are prone to failures and as a result, wasting of investments and capital. However, a successful innovation can also result in a new dominant design which enables StarHub to differentiate itself from other rival firms. This requires careful assessment of the stage of current technology and the nature of the market. For instance, a good understanding of technology and market S-curves can offer concrete tools for analysing the evolution of technologies and market. By understanding the current technology and market stage, StarHub would be able to have a clearer direction for R&D and therefore, increasing the success rate. Other than R&D, StarHub should also be keeping a look out for smaller firms. These smaller firms are more accessible to new ideas, and also more probable to experiment. Big firms like Google and Facebook have been buying over many other smaller companies to exploit their knowledge and expertise in new emerging technologies. This move enables the firms to remain updated and stay ahead in the economy.
Keeping a look out for the next technologies is to prepare the company for the next phase of marketing and competition. StarHub must also be alert of current potential technologies that may impact the firm in the short term. One such potential technology is Smart TV, which has growing market shares in Singapore as prices start to drop due to maturing of technology in its field. Smart TV is able to provide greater variety of shows to consumers through internet access. This places a huge threat to StarHub TV as customers may find that there is no more need for TV subscription to access foreign TV shows. Considering this potential threat, it may seem like Smart TV is a competence-destroying technology to StarHub TV. However, in my opinion, Smart TV can be a competence-enhancing technology too.
StarHub can sell its media content through Smart TV, thus earning additional revenues other than from TV subscriptions alone. Another strategy is to compete head on with Smart TV’s manufacturers. StarHub can innovate and develop a new TV box that features the functions provided by Smart TV, in addition to the current available TV subscriptions. Assuming the innovation is successful, StarHub should be able to enjoy huge advantages over Smart TV as there is already a huge installed base(current StarHub TV subscribers) and also availability of complementary goods(broadband services) provided by StarHub.
All in all, StarHub has to be careful with its strategies, so as to remain competitive in today’s economy. The points mentioned above are guides and examples of what StarHub could take into account to when planning out its strategies for future market, as well as when facing potential technologies that would impact the firm in the short term. The final goal is to increase the number of subscriptions and the sales of TV contents as this would reap exponential benefits due to network externalities. As the number of subscriptions increases, more media companies would want to sell their shows to StarHub. This in turn increases the number and varieties of shows StarHub TV can offer. Consequently, this would attract more customers to subscribe, and thus increasing the number of subscriptions again.