Introduction
Hong Kong MTR Corporation is a company that looks for products that will help it grow both in domestic and international markets. Although the main focus of the organization is the railroad and other transportation network development, the company strives to transcend this main product and offer additional commercial and private real estate services. In the century of environmental consciousness, it would be an optimal decision to expand to the developed markets of European Union countries and offer project development that will be based on renewable energy. With expansion to developed markets, such as Sweden, MTR Corp. will have an opportunity to meet the needs of the locals with real estate projects run on green energy, especially during the energy crisis. For MTR, a new product can be a separate neighborhood with an integrated system of the railroad, real estate, and business offices that completely work on renewable energy.
Idea and Expansion Country
Before delving deeper into the new product, it is first vital to give an overview of the firm’s primary services. MTR is considered to be among the best railway companies in the world for cost-effectiveness, dependability, and customer relations (MTR, n.d.-a). The MTR Corporation was founded in 1975 with the goal of building and running an urban subway system on strong business concepts to satisfy Hong Kong’s need for public transportation (MTR, n.d.-a). The organization now engages in a variety of commercial endeavors as a complement to its railroad services. The production of residential and commercial projects, renting and managing real estate, marketing, communication services, and global consulting services are some of the examples of organizations’ services (MTR, n.d-a). Therefore, when introducing the new product, it is vital to consider different areas of focus of MTR Corp.
Since MTR focuses on constructing commercial and real state buildings and connecting them to railway systems, it is possible to offer a new product. It can be a separate neighborhood with an integrated system of the railroad, real estate, and business offices that completely work on renewable energy. Thus, organizations should develop ways to generate and store sufficient green energy to satisfy the needs of people in expanding cities. On the one hand, the new product is justified because it meets the company’s goal and vision. MTR (n.d.- c) is well known for providing stakeholders with innovative and sustainable services. On the other hand, a greater use of renewable energy is a popular trend in Europe. Eurostat Statistics Explained (2022) indicates that a growing number of EU member states are drawing more attention and efforts to rely on green energy. Thus, the identified product seems a suitable option for the organization to implement. Figure 1 indicates how the process of the service introduction should go, with additional emphasis on the creation of a website, which will allow the MTR to display its projects and communicate with customers.
The chosen product is expected to be advantageous for multiple stakeholder groups. Firstly, ordinary people of all genders, ages, and socio-economic characteristics will benefit from improved transportation. Secondly, residential areas will be good for wealthy adults who want to purchase apartments. Thirdly, organizations and entrepreneurs will find positive aspects because commercial areas will provide these stakeholders with improved business opportunities. This information denotes that the product plans to target the developed market (Figure 2).
The product is excepted to target a specific country, Sweden, and a few aspects support this suggestion. This country has decided to produce 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040 (Sweden, 2021). Simultaneously, the EU issued the Clean Energy for All Europeans packages that included measures and the importance of clean energy transition to achieve high competitiveness levels (The Ministry of Infrastructure, 2020). In addition to that, MTR has already completed some projects in Stockholm, which denotes that the organization is familiar with the country and its market properties. That is why the unique selling proposition is to implement a single project to satisfy many expectations and target numerous stakeholder groups. Meanwhile, it is possible to use PESTEL analysis to discuss the new project on new locations of MTR.
Non-Market Forces
Media Coverage
The first non-market force involves media coverage of the new beneficial initiatives. For example, another Asian company, Japanese Panasonic, has experienced the effect of this factor. Panasonic now generates 2.2 million tons of CO2 annually, mostly from plant activities. Additionally, 86 million tons of carbon dioxide are thought to be emitted daily by more than 1 billion consumers who use Panasonic goods globally (Panasonic, 2022). In 2022, Panasonic released its plans for more sustainable practices and claimed that in order to achieve the Panasonic Environmental Vision 2050, the firm has pledged to achieve net zero CO2 emissions at all of its operational companies by 2030 (Panasonic, 2022). By converting consumers to energy-saving goods and delivering energy-saving alternatives and green power technology to B2B/B2G clients, the firm also communicated its objectives for reducing CO2 emissions on a societal level by 2050 (Panasonic, 2022). Thus, such initiatives to improve products positively influenced the company’s brand recognition.
Consequently, this received positive media coverage, with news outlets focusing on the initiatives of the company. For example, in one of the outlets, Euronews Green, the company is seen as a business “committed to pursuing new value through collaborative innovation” (Murphy, 2022). Additionally, GreenBiz accentuated that “Panasonic understands the challenges and our responsibilities as a leading global corporation” (Werner, 2022, para. 10). Therefore, with its new initiatives, the company was given media attention, which will make it more desirable to investors.
In this case, MTR Corp. could be positively impacted by such media coverage. Considering that the organization’s initiatives, similarly to Panasonic Group, are aimed at more sustainable and healthy measures to protect the communities and lead to good growth, the media coverage will be, therefore, positive. Given the fact that MTR Corp. has a goal of having a global presence, the media coverage and more customers, and higher demand could lead to expansion to neighboring countries of the EU.
Environmental Sustainability
The non-market force, which has been briefly mentioned in the previous paragraphs, is environmental sustainability, on which the new service of MTR Corporation is built. Among the examples of companies that experience the benefits from incorporating environmentally sustainable methods is IKEA. By 2030, IKEA wants to transform into a people and planet-friendly company that inspires and enables as many people as possible to live better lives in the world (IKEA, 2021). The creation of an open-source online circular product development platform and advancements made across the value chain to significantly lower IKEA’s overall climate impact from 2016 are two significant sustainability accomplishments of the year (IKEA, 2021). According to Mallin (2021), the company’s sustainable approaches have been recognized in 2017 and are essential nowadays. As a result, IKEA improves its brand awareness through the incorporation of new products, such as energy-efficient light bulbs, as well as other initiatives.
Incorporating such initiatives can also positively influence MTR Corporation due to its emphasis on sustainable materials and renewable energy sources. With the sustainable approach and the growing demand for environmentally friendly products and services, companies increase their brand recognition and attract more customers (Boone et al., 2021). As mentioned, the mission of MTR Corp. is to improve the community, and it will be possible with these initiatives and non-market forces.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is another non-market force that can significantly affect organizations. Starbucks is among the organizations that show decent performance in this area. In particular, the company promotes diversity and equality among the workforce, welcomes inclusion, and helps communities respond to COVID-19 challenges (Starbucks, 2021). There is no doubt that these efforts contribute to providing societies and communities with positive outcomes. This information demonstrates that MTR is expected to succeed in corporate social responsibility since the suggested product will provide significant benefits to society. Consequently, the given non-market force can result in important advantages for MTR.
Political Force
However, when it comes to the non-market force, which could negatively influence the launch of the new service in Sweden, it involves political factors. Nowadays, there is growing tension between the Chinese government and Western countries (Tsang and Fuschi, 2020). For example, several Chinese companies have recently been scrutinized by U.S. authorities. As a result of the “unacceptable risk” to American national defense, China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE companies have been barred from receiving certification for new communication systems (Bartz and Alper, 2022). The finalized regulations, which essentially forbid the selling or importing of new devices built by Chinese manufacturers Dahua Technology Co., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., and Hytera Communications Corp., were announced by the U.S. FCC as having been enacted (Bartz and Alper, 2022). As emphasized by Reuters, due to the escalation of the relationships between the two countries, new technologies by the Chinese manufacturer can allegedly be used to “spy on Americans” (Bartz and Alper, 2022). As a result, political factors are among the risks which can impede expansion.
This type of impact of the given political non-market force could negatively impact the company. Political risks affect the company in terms of customers and investors (Jones and Lopes, 2020). With the escalation of tension between countries, many companies experience outcomes of not being able to offer services and work on the projects of other governments, businesses, or individuals (Hong and Park, 2020). Consequently, the goal of the organization in terms of global expansion will fail, and it will be unable to increase its revenue or customer base in other markets aside from the Asian ones.
Among the methods which can be used to alleviate the risks or eliminate them, it is possible to create web platforms that will not require the immediate presence of the company on site. For example, considering that the company not only constructs but designs the projects, the given services can be provided to the customers. With the help of web platforms, MTR can be able to collect the required metrics and build prototypes of the buildings as 3D models. Considering that the organization has a portfolio of well-known projects in China, contributing to the establishment of domestic metro systems and railroad networks, there will be demand for the services of the business.
Conclusion
In sum, MTR Corp. will have the chance to satisfy local demand with green energy-powered real estate and commercial developments by expanding into mature countries like Sweden, particularly amid the current energy crisis. MTR is regarded as one of the most efficient railroad enterprises in the world. Real estate and commercial construction in Sweden that is entirely powered by renewable energy should be the new MTR’s product. Media attention, environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and political aspects are the non-market forces that can significantly impact the organization. The latter can be managed by focusing on online services of design.
Reference List
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