The economic segment includes factors such as interest rates, inflation, trade factors, personal, and business savings. These factors affect the income received by individuals, business, and the company in question in this discussion. …show more content…
By the two entering into a partnership, this increases the level of competition among the companies providing the similar services. The substitutes pose a threat to this corporation. In the past, the UnitedHealth Group has invested in product differentiation in order to tackle the threat of the substitutes. The company target is making its product and services distinct from competing institutions products. For example, in 2010, UnitedHealth Group came up with an innovative cancer care payment model. This is a distinct service that is not offered by most competitors, this caused the company to gain a competitive edge over others.
Rivalry among competing firms is not only a prominent competitive force in the insurance industry, but this is also the case for other industries such as in the banking industry. The insurance industry has many companies; most of which increases the intensity of rivalry among the competing firms. The firms in this industry offer products and services that are very difficult to distinguish from. This raises the competition level, and ultimately, the rivalry among the competing firms. The UnitedHealth Group has invested in research and development to address the issue of rivalry and substitute products. This is intended to make the corporation products and services different from others. The company has supported various ground breaking ideas in order to survive in this volatile and competitive industry. In 2012, the