Case Study

Singapore Airlines (A): The India decision (Abridged)

5 pages
October 2014
Reference: IMD-7-1615

The case highlights the key features of the domestic Indian aviation industry in terms of its growth potential and contrasts this with the operational challenges. The exhibits hold significant information which students can analyse to get a deeper understanding. First, a discussion about the attractiveness (or not) of the Indian aviation market can be carried out. This will help to position Singapore Airlines as a new entrant and discuss its competitive advantages vis-a-vis local players. Some students might focus on the parallel entry of Air Asia, a leader in the low-cost aviation arena, with the same potential local partner – the Tata Group. This will allow for a richer discussion and enable decision making on the question posed in the case – to enter the highly competitive Indian aviation market or not? This abridged case has been designed for use in either MBA or executive classes where advanced readings are not possible. It can also be used as a standalone case to explore Porter’s 5 Forces and STEEP frameworks in the context of the Indian Airline Industry without a detailed discussion of Singapore Airline’s strategy specifically. As a short case, it can be read in-class in approximately 10 minutes.

Learning Objective

1) Learn to gauge the attractiveness of an industry based on Porter’s five forces analysis; 2) understand how each of the five forces (supplier power, customer power, substitutes, new entrants and degree of competitive rivalry) affect industry profitability; 3) apply a STEEP analysis (social, technological, economic, environmental, political) to predict the future attractiveness of an industry.

Keywords
Airline, Aviation, Market Analysis, Five Forces Framework, New Market Entry
Settings
Asia, India
Singapore Airlines, Travel and Leisure, Airlines and Aviation
2007-2013
Type
Published Sources
Copyright
© 2014
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note
Case clearing houses
IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Discover our latest research
IMD's faculty and research teams publish articles, case studies, books and reports on a wide range of topics