The Rise and Fall of Tanin: Another Survival of the Fittest?

Abstract

This case study demonstrates a guideline for strategic international business management based on the real case of Tanin, one of the leading electric companies in Thailand. Tanin, during the 1980s, faced problems with its continuous declining sales and prof it, eventually resulting in its illiquidity. After several attempts and unrelenting dedication, experts discovered some internal problems at Tanin. F irst, the organizational management was convoluted and unsophisticated. Second, it still used the same old marketing strategies that used to be very successful in the past but eventually became very ineffective. Third, Tanin’s R&D did not place emphasis on establishing new technology; instead, it concentrated too much on developing pre-existing technology. Fourth, Tanin was the only supplier in the industry that allowed retailers to resell unsold products to Tanin. This policy did not motivate retailers to promote Tanin products since they knew well that even if they could not move the product, they were still able to resell it to Tanin for a refund. It is suggested that Tanin might adapt the Three Generic Strategies by Porter (1980) to increase the plausibility of its organization.