“Twitter, Inc. in 2019
Read in your textbook Case #5, “Twitter, Inc. in 2019: Are the Growth and Profit Sustainable?” and watch the following two videos. For the latest information
on developments at Twitter, please visit the Investor Relations section at www.twitter. com and review the company’s recent press releases and financial
results.
Twitter Inc (TWTR) IPO: Watch Social Media Giant Go Public At NYSE (Links to an external site.)
Resale Is Big Business (Links to an external site.)
Write a 3–5 page paper answering the questions below. The page count does not include the cover page, reference page, any charts, graphs, etc.
At least 3 references of an academic or scholarly source are required for this case study to support your analyses and conclusions.
Use APA 7th Edition writing style for your entire paper. Include narrative or parenthetical citations in the body of your paper and a reference page. Remember,
all information that is not your own work or that is not common knowledge must be cited.
Include headings to help organize your paper. Convert the questions to short descriiptors. For example, an appropriate heading for Question 1 is: Macroenvironmental Impact and Factors.
Set your margins to 1-inch on all sides and double-space your entire paper, including the reference page.
Case Study Questions:
1. What does a PESTEL analysis suggest for the macro-environmental impact on the social media industry? Which of the macro-environmental factors
appear to have the greatest potential impact on Twitter? Why?
2. Identify the driving forces in the social media industry. What appears to be the impact of these driving forces on the industry?
3. Prepare a SWOT analysis for Twitter. What does the SWOT suggest for Twitter’s future?
4. Using the data in Case Exhibits 1 & 2, what is your assessment of Twitter’s financial position? Based on your analysis, what financial performance can
reasonably be expected in the near-term future for Twitter? Support your answer.
5. From the data provided in the case (Exhibits 1, 2, 6 & 7), how does Twitter’s performance stack up with Facebook and Snap? Is there a clear winner based
on your analysis?
Sample Solution
A PESTEL analysis of the macro-environmental impact on the social media industry suggests a number of potential impacts from external factors. Political factors could include changes in government regulations or policies related to the social media sector, as well as increased competition from foreign companies. Economic factors may include changes in economic conditions which can lead to reduced user growth and advertising revenue for social media companies like Twitter. Social forces might involve shifts in public opinion related to privacy concerns or the use of technology, while technological forces can bring about changes in internet infrastructure or advancements in AI which create more opportunities but also more challenges for the industry. Environmental and legal issues may involve challenges with data management and compliance with international laws (Wang et al., 2020).
Of these macro-environmental factors, political and technological ones appear to have the greatest potential impact on Twitter due to their broad scope of influence across many industries. Changes in government regulations around data privacy could have significant implications for how Twitter collects, stores, and uses user data (Yin & Becker 2019). Additionally, advances in artificial intelligence technologies offer opportunities for improved services offerings but can also mean increased competition from new players entering the space (Ferrari 2021).
In sum, a PESTEL analysis offers useful insight into understanding how external macro-environmental conditions can affect an organization such as Twitter. Of particular importance are political and technological forces which have potentially far reaching consequences that can shape how Twitter operates both now and into the future.
