With Nokia continuing to play second fiddle to the likes of Apple and Samsung, CEO Stephen Elop has come under heavy pressure from investors to rethink his strategy of sticking with Windows Phone as its only mobile platform. Investors are concerned that the plan just isn’t working, as Windows Phone struggles to gain market share from Android and iOS platforms. But Elop has stuck rigidly to his guns, insisting that if Nokia’s “Plan A” fails, its “Plan B” will be to redouble its efforts to make sure that “Plan A” succeeds.

Elop is clearly making a big gamble, and one has to expect that if Nokia cannot reverse its fortunes within the next 12 months or so, shareholders could well move to oust the CEO from his position and replace him with someone that’s prepared to consider making Android phones as well.

“The executive team is doing its best,” moaned one investor in an interview with Reuters. “But it’s not enough. Are you aware the results are what matter? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Please switch to another road.”

The assertion is that a change in direction towards Android would automatically see Nokia’s fortunes improve, but how realistic is that? There’s no doubt that the Lumia range is decent enough hardware, but unfortunately I can’t see that making an Android version would necessarily result in a boost in sales. Fact is, most companies that sell Android phones aren’t doing that well. Samsung is quite some distance ahead of its rivals, the only Android maker that enjoys consistent growth. Meanwhile, vendors like Motorola, LG and HTC are left to fight for the scraps that Samsung leaves behind.

This could change if the HTC One has the kind of impact that its Taiwanese maker hopes, but that outlook is clearly an overly-optimistic one from a company that has been struggling outside of its home market for some time now. Its hard to make money selling Android phones if your name isn’t Samsung, and there’s little reason to suggest that Nokia would fare any better.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Elop is absolved of any responsibility for the predicament that Nokia finds itself in. For one thing, his policy of giving certain carriers exclusivity of specific devices is very difficult to get my head around – how does this benefit Nokia? All it serves to do is limit exposure of its devices to a smaller audience, something that offers no real advantage to the company. Samsung and Apple have proved time and again that offering the full range of their devices to all carriers is one that works. Then there’s Nokia’s confusing naming strategy – who honestly knows the difference between a Lumia 928 and a Lumia 920? Or a Lumia 710 and Lumia 720?

Nokia’s strategy certainly has its faults, but for all that, moving to Android is unlikely to help it gain much more traction. As things stand, Samsung and Apple have an unassailable lead in their respective markets and they’re unlikely to let anyone else slip in anytime soon. At least by partnering with Microsoft, which despite all the criticism its received is finally showing signs of increased competitiveness, it has one very powerful ally on its side.