Entrepreneurial Strengths and Actions to Increase Value Creation Worksheet

Entrepreneurial Strengths of the Company

Diverse product portfolio- Target offers a wide range of products, including electronics, groceries, home products, and clothing, among others (Target, 2021). The presence of a wide product range offers customers the benefit of getting a one-stop experience, which means they can shop from a single location.

Heavy digital presence and the omnichannel strategy- Target has also succeeded in integrating its brick-and-mortar operations with online shopping. This combination enables the company to offer customers convenient shopping options, including in-store pick-up, same-day delivery through a subsidiary, and drive-up services. Multiple shopping options have driven the retailer’s sales upwards since customers can now shop at their own convenience, anytime.

Robust supply chain network and distribution network- Target attributes its success partly to effective inventory management. The retailer has a robust supply chain and distribution networks, ensuring products arrive in stores timely and customers get same-day deliveries (Target, 2021). Specifically, the company has invested heavily in ports to ensure regular container access and movement. Some actions implemented to ensure this is possible include hiring enough employees.

Major Elements of the Company’s Approach to Entrepreneurship and Value Creation

One of Target’s main value propositions is the convenience it offers its customers. Convenience influences customers’ purchase decisions (Dess et al., 2021). Target has avoided the out-of-stock problem by maintaining an extensive distribution network that ensures customers receive their orders timely. Another factor that ensures convenience is the availability of a diverse product offering, which enables customers to get their products from a single store. Most customers want to spend limited time and effort shopping, and Target offers exactly this.

Additionally, Target participates in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to enhance its reputation. The Target Circle is one of the company’s most successful programs. Customers vote on how the company will distribute the CSR funding among educational scholarships, food banks, and youth programs. In the program’s first year, 58 million guests voted to influence how the company would spend its $7 million fund (Target, 2021). Today, Target partners with over 600 non-profit organizations to provide social services (Target, 2021). Participating in CSR programs bolsters Target’s acceptance in the community. The company leverages its economies of scale to benefit the community, the planet, and the business.

One Action the Company Could Take to Increase Entrepreneurial Value Creation

Target Company should consider expanding its operations beyond the American market to other international markets. The company has a limited global presence and heavily relies on the American market. However, trends show that the American retail industry is gradually getting saturated (Joseph & Kuby, 2015). With time, revenues in the American market will start falling, hence the need to exploit global markets. Global dynamics influence other companies to completely restructure their operations. For instance, Procter and Gamble moved its skincare, cosmetic, and personal care business headquarters from Cincinnati to Singapore to leverage Asia’s fast-growing market (Dess et al., 2021). Also, starting operations in the international market will bolster the Target company’s online shopping revolution. Some customers may be interested in Target’s products globally, but such customers will turn away if they have to wait for weeks for their orders to be delivered.

References

Dess, G. G., Mcnamara, G., Eisner, A. B., Lee, S.-H., & Sauerwald, S. (2021). Strategic management :management: Text & cases (10th ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Education.

Joseph, L., & Kuby, M. (2015). Modeling retail chain expansion and maturity through wave analysis: theory and application to Walmart and target. International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research (IJAGR), 6(4), 1-26.

Target. (2021). Target Corporate Responsibility Report. Corporate.target.com. https://corporate.target.com/_media/TargetCorp/Sustainability-ESG/PDF/2021_Target_Corporate-Responsibility-Report.pdf