In: Economics
Explore the overall market for First Solar.
a) Discuss the market share of First Solar and its top competitors by providing details on current percentages for each firm and describing the trend over time. You might consider presenting the data graphically.
b) Analyze the barriers to entry in this market to illustrate the potential for new competition and its impact on First Solar's future in the market.
c) Describe the market structure for First Solar and analyze how this affects the firm’s ability to influence the market.
a)First solar is an American manufacturer of solar panels. Comparing the market for first solar with its competitors , First solar reported total revenue increase in the first quarter of 2020 by 0.03% year on year. But the competitors experienced contraction in revenue of -9.19%in the first quarter of 2020.
b)There are several barriers to entry in the solar power industry.One of the important barriers to entry is the huge research and development required in order to manufacture a competitive technology at the competitive price.This impacted first solar's future expansion in other regions.Solar is outpacing other energy sources.Global market is looking for renewable energy more than ever before.
c)First solar could fast adjust the entire solar business in a period of a year.In the traditional hierarchical structure , decisions were taken very fast and were implemented quickly.It is opposed to the bureaucratized model.First solar could repond to changes in the market.When first solar realized that demand in Europe was falling and Chinese companies were trying to capture the market , first solar reacted quickly to capture the market.