There are more Yahoo! Mail users around the world than two times the population of Mexico" (Yahoo! Website, 2008).
One cannot deny the success of Yahoo! over the last decade. However, the reason why Yahoo! is catching a lot of media attention today does not lie in its success but more on its uncertain future. Will Microsoft take over Yahoo!? Will Yahoo! privilege a partnership with Google or AOL? Whatever decision Yahoo! takes, it will certainly have an impact on the whole Internet industry. Therefore, it is worthwhile and challenging to carry out a strategic analysis of Yahoo!. That is the reason why we choose Yahoo!.
In the first part of this paper, we will briefly give the company's overview; we will explain its history and the strategic issues it faces today.
In order to understand Yahoo!'s position, we will present an analysis of its external environment through the PESTEL and the MICHAEL PORTER's 5 FORCES models. We will also focus on the internal issues using the SWOT and the 'Strategic Drift' analyses.
Finally, we will bring to light the different strategic directions that Yahoo! can consider. More precisely, we will analyze the opportunities of a potential Microsoft takeover and see how it impacts Yahoo!'s BCG MATRIX. Thanks to the 'Cultural Web' model, we will also discuss the cultural compatibility of the two companies. We will then turn to other strategic directions that Yahoo! can take. We will especially focus on a partnership with Google and an acquisition of AOL.
[...] acquired commerce companies, Internet online services, and online advertising companies in order to enhance the overall product portfolio of the company. Project PANAMA In 2006, Yahoo! launched a new search marketing system: Project Panama. The new search marketing system is expected to provide a more relevant search experience to users, more valuable customer leads to advertisers, and additional opportunities to its distribution partners. Yahoo!'s new search marketing system, coupled with the growth of the Internet as an advertising medium could increase the company's revenues in future.( Forbes Website 2006). New services Yahoo! launched new services such as Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! [...]
[...] This will enable us to identify the key drivers of change for Yahoo!, thus providing scenarios for any strategy that Yahoo! might need to change or implement. Political Encounters restrictions from governments regarding sharing of information with third parties. Pressure from human rights organizations and media groups in making available the personal details of customers. In China, however, Yahoo! cooperates with the authorities (Gunther 2006). Currently, Yahoo! has antitrust clearance for its search and advertising division with other companies such as Google. Economic More businesses are moving into the internet domain, with increasing transactions across companies. [...]
[...] Every Yahoo! employee is friendly, creative and team-oriented.? When discussing whether or not Microsoft's takeover could be successful, one needs to remember that Yahoo! builds its identity on fighting against large multinational companies. years, free-wheeling Internet companies like Yahoo! saw Microsoft as the enemy?, said journalist Key Rissdal. one company Silicon Valley loves to hate is the Borg, the evil empire, aka Microsoft. Microsoft is the reference for everything Silicon Valley companies aren't: big, slow, evil and old.? (Market Place Publici Radio, 2008). [...]
[...] Crayton Harrison and Amy Thomson, Available from URL: . (Accessed 2008 May 6). E Marketer Google Expected to Pocket 25% of Online Ad Revenue in 2006. (Online). Kris Oser, Available from URL: (Accessed 2006 October 17) Forbes Website Yahoo! Tests New Search-Engine Ad Model. (Online). Mary Crane, Available from URL: . (Accessed 2006 May 4). Gunther, M Tech exes get grilled over mainland china business: Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft and Cisco, facing attack in congress, say they're doing more good than harm in china. [...]
[...] The sound ?Yahooooo!' is also symbolic. It gives Yahoo! a young, funny and optimistic feeling. An employee of Yahoo! asks himself what could be the result of the Yahoo! sound combined with the Microsoft Vista Sounds (Market Place Publici Radio, 2008). Additionally, when surfing the company website, one can notice that Yahoo! uses symbolic Facts' to describe its success. ?More people use Yahoo! Answer than an IPod' or Yahoo! users join hands to form a chain, they would wrap around the earth eleven times'. [...]
