According to (Thai & Turkina, 2014), the macro-level analysis goes deeper into the relationship between society in all its layers and the institutions of this society. That is why this type of analysis concerns what is beyond the immediate environment and background of the individuals already known.
In this discussion, I will analyze Apple using the PESTEL analysis tool, which concerns political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors (Investopedia, 2019). This analysis includes these factors' impact on this giant company's long-term growth prospects.
Political Factors:
Apple increased its annual lobbying budget to $7.41 million last year, considered minor compared to Google and Microsoft. There are always doubts and concerns about using Apple devices to spy on government personnel, whether hackers use them inside or outside the United States. On the other hand, since Apple keeps most of its operations abroad, it avoids paying hefty taxes to the US government (Froud, Johal, Leaver & Williams, 2012).
Economic Factors:
Approximately 59% of the company's sales come from outside the United States, but it is negatively affected by the US government's tendency to strengthen the US dollar. Another point about employment is that Apple was and still relies more on Chinese labor for the abundance of materials and resources in this market. However, the cost of Chinese labor exceeded $6.5 per hour in 2020, which made the company seriously consider moving its factories to India and other countries. Finally, the company is affected by inflation rates in the United States because they are closely related to cash reserves. Interest rates also significantly affect Apple's revenue (Yie, Zhi & Ping, 2021).
Social Factors:
It is known that Apple's sales target the wealthy and upper middle class to sell its devices in the developing world, where these social groups can change their Apple devices every year or two, but marketing in this direction is no longer strong enough to upgrade the devices, where most users stick to their current devices for a more extended period than it was ten years ago; this is due to the large number of personal data saved in the devices (Zhang, Shi, Abdullahi, Shao & Huo, 2020).
Technological Factors:
Apple's competitors, such as Samsung and Google, are the most substantial companies in the technology sector. However, competition is still in favor of Apple, as it always imposes its prices on the market due to innovations and unique services with each release (Froud, Johal, Leaver & Williams, 2012)
Environmental Factors:
The emissions problem still needs to be solved due to the disposal of Apple factory waste and unused devices. As a result, China is implementing stricter emissions laws (Zhang, Shi, Abdullahi, Shao & Huo, 2020).
Legal Factors:
The company bears significant expenses to cover legal disputes and cases filed by or against it regarding intellectual property rights and product protection (Froud, Johal, Leaver & Williams, 2012).
Challenges and Opportunities:
Challenges: This section includes trade and political disputes between the United States and China and international sentiments against Apple as a major American company. It also consists of the emerging technology capabilities of some technology companies worldwide, increasing privacy laws in the European Union, legal challenges, and disputes against company policies (IvyPanda, 2022).
Opportunities Stable policies in developed countries, led by the United States, are increasing access to mobile phones and their extreme importance in individuals' lives due to the growing reliance on the Internet and the growth of the telephone market. Finally, the trade environment between countries should be improved (IvyPanda, 2022).
References
Froud, J., Johal, S., Leaver, A., & Williams, K. (2012). Apple business model. Manchester: CRESC Working Paper, (111), 1-29.
GURL, E. (2017). SWOT analysis: A theoretical review.
https://www.scirp.org/(S(czeh2tfqw2orz553k1w0r45))/reference/references papers. aspx?referenceid=3040380
Investopedia (2019). Understanding Porter's five forces vs. PESTLE analysis(2019). New York: Newstex. Retrieved from ProQuest Central
IvyPanda. (2022). Apple's Macro and Competitive Environment.
https://ivypanda.com/essays/individual-report-apple-company/
Thai, M. T. T., & Turkina, E. (2014). Macro-level determinants of formal entrepreneurship versus informal entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing,
29(4), 490-510.
Yie, C. E., Zhi, C. E., & Ping, N. T. S. (2021). A Critical Analysis of Internal and External Environment: Case Study of Apple Inc. Journal of International
Business and Management, 4(10), 01-14.
Zhang, Q., Shi, F., Abdullahi, N. M., Shao, L., & Huo, X. (2020). An Empirical study on spatial-temporal dynamics and Influencing Factors of apple
Production in China. Plos one, 15(10), e0240140.