This is the Capstone Project for Strategic Management and Innovation Specialization, conducted by Copenhagen Business School on coursera.org In this project, I have briefed a strategic plan and implementation for Spotify to respond to Apple Music

1. SPOTIFY
Strategic Plan
MAHDI
SABAMEHR

2. MAHDISABAMEHR
Strategic
Options
Should Spotify be worried about Apple’s entry into streaming music? If so, how
worried?
At the first glance, facing a tough
competitor in a business seems to be
terrifying for an enterprise, especially
when it comes from a company, which
might have every resource and
capability needed for success, so
naturally, it is a kind of stressful
situation for Spotify. On the other
hand, never does a business succeed
unless it beats serious competitors
and such a circumstance would be so
much inspiring for a business, which
has the mindset to compete. In a
strategic view, I would say Apple
Music is what can drive Spotify
towards redemption! If the
organization is in a competing setting,
this is what they need to expand their
borders.

3. MAHDISABAMEHR
Strategy
Formulation
trenghts eaknesses
pportunities hreats
Dual SWOT Analysis
In order to make an appropriate response to
Apple music, Spotify managers first start
with a comparative SWOT analysis to clarify
the realities about the situation of these two
competitors
This approach is a competition focused
strategy attachment, which will be
influencing the organization at higher level
of strategic planning.
• Apple Only: Plan to create/Plan to disrupt
• Spotify Only: Initiate Patterns to improve further to a
Position
• Mutual: Plan and Pattern to improve / Ploy to disrupt
• Apple Only: Plan to build on it to a Position
• Spotify Only + Mutual: Plan and Pattern to diagnose
• Apple Only: Plan to create equivalent or disrupt it
• Spotify Only: Plan, Pattern, and Position to build on it
• Mutual: Plan and Pattern to exploit / Ploy to disrupt
• Apple Only: Plan to make an advantage
• Spotify Only: Plan and Pattern to resolve/ Ploy to
overcome
• Mutual: Plan to make advantages on
Strategic Response

4. MAHDISABAMEHR
Strategy
Formulation
PLAN
PATTERN
PLOY
POSITION
PERSPECTIVE
Grow user base/ Grow profit margin/ Partnership/ Create market
User-centered view/ Independent teams/ High Integration
Adding long-shot non-profitable features/ Entering hard non-promising
markets
Winning and holding the position of number one music sharing and stream
platform for producers and listeners/ Build pure brand image for music & etc
Create a bottom-up organization/ Shape the future of music industry/
Implement lean processes

5. MAHDISABAMEHR
Strategy
Implementation
Strategy to day to day routines
Balance Scorecard
In order to translate high-level strategic
objectives to day to day routines, we
can use balance scorecard. In my
proposed version of it, each initiative
becomes the lower departments
objective until reaching to one or a
group of employees in charge for an
action.
Structure
• The preferred structure would be a flat, team-
based structure, combined with a set of
functional teams, serving the product teams
horizontally.
• Product owners and managers directly manage
project managers, teams, and functional groups.
Culture • As a principal “JOY” would be the biggest value for
the organization, the core value proposed to
customers.
• Clarity, openness, object orientation, and
dedication, alongside with “Autonomy,
Relatedness, and Competence” are the praised
characteristics in the organization.
Goals and
Metrics,
PMS
• Knowledge and Performance management
systems will be designed to deliver clear
objectives for individuals and ensure the transfer
of knowledge among the employees.
• Each week KPIs will be checked and evaluated in
order to learn from organization’s behaviors.