Merger and Acquisition Strategies for Baidu:

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1. Perform a STEEP analysis to understand the general environment facing Baidu. How will the firm be affected by external factors?

We first see the social elements of the general environment for Baidu. The company operates in a Chinese environment in which language is paramount. Further, the social environment is such that the Chinese want click on one website for most their needs. With increasing education, lifestyle that supports online education and shopping, and the younger generation glued to the internet, Baidu has an attractive market in China.

The technological advances in China mostly relate to higher use of information technology. The enhanced use of notebooks, tablets, and internet enabled smart phones has increased the opportunities for Baidu.

The economy of China is climbing up at an encouraging rate. High growth rate, decreasing levels of unemployment, and an increasing value of the Yuan present several opportunities for Baidu.

There is limited ecological awareness in China. There are customers that seek organic food and biodegradable products. These customers turn to the internet to find such products. Baidu has good opportunities in such a market.

The political forces in China force internet companies to censor internet browsing. There are certain key words that cannot be searched for by Chinese Internet users. This form of censorship can drive out foreign internet companies from the Chinese market and provide opportunities for Baidu.

Baidu has triumphed on the social factors and has used its language and social advantage to market a large variety of services in China. The current list of services includes Baidu experience, library, smart phone operating system, web-browser, bookmarks, index, encyclopedia, and maps. Baidu has also gained from the growing of technology and has increased its market share. Baidu has increased its number of services, revenues, and influence because of the country's economic growth. Baidu has become more relevant because of ecological initiatives of the government, and consumers. Finally, the greatest opportunity that Baidu has obtained is from the political forces. It has executed censorship as required by the government of China and has emerged as ...