Blackberry Competitive Advantage Perspectives
Blackberry’s Reasons for Success
Based on the information presented in the 2021 company report, one of the reasons for Blackberry’s success is its intelligent security services and software. Blackberry believes it provides the best security capabilities to protect, connect and manage endpoints in the Internet of Things (IoT). The company takes advantage of its executive technology selection to provide the best cyber security, reliability, and safety to enterprise clients in regulated industries, governments, and other major verticals. The company expects the revenue generated from cyber security services to be higher, from a minimum of $495 million to a maximum of $515 million (SEC, 2021). The other reason for success is the patent portfolio. Based on the company report, Blackberry’s patent portfolio creates a competitive advantage in its key product areas and provides leverage in the licensing programs and future technologies in adjacent and core vertical markets.
According to (SEC, 2021), Blackberry owns the rights to a wide range of patent technologies, including networking infrastructure, operating systems, messaging, acoustics, automotive subsystems, enterprise software, cryptography, wireless communications, and cyber security. Blackberry also operates a licensing program to increase recurring revenue from its licensing program (License Global, 2018). The company has also licensed its service suite, security software, and related brand assets to outsourcing associates who manufacture, design, provide and market client support for the company’s branded phones.
Another reason for success is the company’s differentiation strategy, which includes a sophisticated network operations centre and uses a complex architecture to efficiently and reliably route messages across mobile devices. The company has also extended its capabilities to support end-to-end secure exchange of information between applications, endpoints, and company networks (SEC, 2021). The company uses research and development to develop unique software services and products and IoT solutions meeting the needs of end-users and company IT departments. The leading solutions comprise security capabilities at every level of the Blackberry Spark platform to meet customers’ needs for securing applications, devices, work, and content data in transit and at rest.
Focus on Shareholder Value
Blackberry seems most focused on shareholder value. Müller (2014) argues that shareholder value is the value offered to individuals owning equity in a company because of the company’s ability to upsurge earnings, sales, and free flow of cash within the organization resulting in an increase in capital gains and dividends for the shareholders. The company emphasizes increasing employee productivity to meet customer demands (Ward & Steptoe-Warren, 2013). It offers employees an equitable, fair, and competitive rewards program to recognize and reward company and individual performance. The company offers a wide range of benefit and financial programs such as employee recognition programs, employee share purchases, retirement savings plans, health, and wellness, leave and family assistance programs, and corporate discounts to support its employees’ overall welfare and their families. The company also focuses on shareholder value by offering high-quality services to its customers.
Its main goal is to provide more innovative security solutions that need fewer resources to support, are more effective, and offer a better return on investment for clients than what is provided by competitors (SEC, 2021). The company extends the functionality of its artificial intelligence software platform through strategic acquisitions, organic investments, and partnerships. The company leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to offer innovative solutions in data privacy, safety, and cyber security and is a leader in endpoint management, security, embedded systems, and encryption (SEC, 2021). In addition, Blackberry is launching different products to offer a detailed security approach in a single agent across all endpoints offered from one console leveraging one threat data repository sourced from the crowd and managed in a single cloud environment. The company has also invested in the security of cyber security suctions by hiring and retaining experienced data engineers and scientists in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Corporate social responsibility is among the things organizations are embracing to create a competitive advantage. Toft (2020) defines corporate social responsibility as the policies and practices used by an organization to integrate environmental and social concerns in their interaction with stakeholders and business operations. Blackberry’s annual report outlines the company’s corporate responsibility approaches. The report indicates that the company observes ethical standards in its operations and has created practices and policies requiring the same from its business partners. The company has founded its operations on trust and has maintained its position as a leader in data privacy and security in the global market by introducing new technologies observing the established and changing regulatory structures, adhering to responsible business practices, and acting with integrity.
According to (SEC, 2021), the company is also committed to sustainable operations to protect the environment, the communities in which it operates, business partners, and employees. The company also conducts due diligence to identify conflict minerals that may be required in manufacturing (SEC, 2021). It also focuses on positively impacting the communities it operates in by investing in charity programs and building community relationships through local governing bodies. According to (SEC,2021), Blackberry has various policies to demonstrate its pledge to responsible business practices, such as the Privacy Policy, Human Rights Policy, and Supplier Diversity Policy.
References
License Global. (2018). BlackBerry to Continue Through Licensing. License Global. https://www.licenseglobal.com/corporate-brands/blackberry-continue-through-licensing
Müller, T. (2014). A study on the integrated approach of shareholder value analysis. Anchor Academic Publishing (aap_verlag).
SEC. (2021). Securities and Exchange Commission: BlackBerry Limited. https://www.blackberry.com/content/dam/blackberry-com/Documents/pdf/financial-reports/2021/q4y2021/blackberry-annual-report-10k-q4fy21.pdf
Toft, K. H. (2020). Aristotelian organizations and corporate responsibility. Corporate Responsibility and Political Philosophy, 71-82. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315159621-7
Ward, S., & Steptoe-Warren, G. (2013). A conservation of resources approach to BlackBerry use, work-family conflict and well-being: Job control and psychological detachment from work as potential mediators. Engineering Management Research, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.5539/emr.v3n1p8Competitive Advantage Perspectives
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Question 
Competitive advantage leads to superior firm performance. To explain differences in firm performance and to derive strategic implications—including new strategic initiatives—firms must understand how to measure and assess competitive advantage.
Blackberry Competitive Advantage Perspectives
Complete or answer the following:
1. Based on information in the annual reports or published on the firm’s website, summarize what the firm views as the reasons for its successes (either past or expected in the future). Search for both quantitative and qualitative success factors provided in the report.
2. Does the firm seem most focused on accounting profitability, shareholder value creation, or economic value creation? Give quotes or information from these sources to support your view.
3. Many firms are now including annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports on their websites. See whether your firm does so. If it does not, are there other indications of a triple-bottom-line approach, including social and ecological elements, in the firm’s strategies?
Competitive Advantage Perspectives
Competitive advantage leads to superior firm performance. To explain differences in firm performance and to derive strategic implications—including new strategic initiatives—firms must understand how to measure and assess competitive advantage.
Complete or answer the following:
1. Based on information in the annual reports or published on the firm’s website, summarize what the firm views as the reasons for its successes (either past or expected in the future). Search for both quantitative and qualitative success factors provided in the report.
2. Does the firm seem most focused on accounting profitability, shareholder value creation, or economic value creation? Give quotes or information from these sources to support your view.
3. Many firms are now including annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports on their websites. See whether your firm does so. If it does not, are there other indications of a triple-bottom-line approach, including social and ecological elements, in the firm’s strategies?