THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
For over 125 years, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (the Club) had been Hong Kong's only organizer of horse races. Although it had made horse race betting a popular game in Hong Kong, its customers were aging. To change this, the Club launched a project to make the game more enjoyable for its customers of the technology-savvy generation. Based on market research and the latest technological developments, the project team set out to develop the world's largest betting entertainment tables. The team aimed to design them in a way that matched the lifestyle of the young and tech-savvy customers, allowing them to enjoy horse race betting in a more intuitive and social way. But this meant major technical and organizational hurdles along the way. Two years after its conception, two tables were launched. The target customers were satisfied with the betting experience, but to what extent would these tables improve the Club's long-term outlook?
Swot Analysis of "THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY" written by Ali Farhoomand, Sander Zwanenburg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Betting Horse facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customer service, Design, Marketing, Product development, Project management, Psychology, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Betting Horse, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Betting Horse operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Betting Horse
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Betting Horse
Strengths THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Betting Horse in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Betting Horse has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Betting Horse to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Betting Horse to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Betting Horse digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Betting Horse has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High brand equity
– Betting Horse has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Betting Horse to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Betting Horse has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Betting Horse in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Betting Horse is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Innovation driven organization
– Betting Horse is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Betting Horse has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Betting Horse is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Betting Horse in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Betting Horse is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Betting Horse, firm in the HBR case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, is just above the industry average. Betting Horse needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Betting Horse has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Betting Horse has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Betting Horse is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Betting Horse needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Betting Horse to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Betting Horse supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Betting Horse vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali Farhoomand, Sander Zwanenburg suggests that, Betting Horse is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Betting Horse is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Betting Horse has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, in the dynamic environment Betting Horse has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Betting Horse has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Betting Horse has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY are -
Manufacturing automation
– Betting Horse can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Betting Horse can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Betting Horse can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Betting Horse can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Betting Horse can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Betting Horse can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Betting Horse to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Buying journey improvements
– Betting Horse can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Betting Horse in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Betting Horse has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Betting Horse to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY case study. Betting Horse can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Betting Horse is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Betting Horse can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Betting Horse can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Betting Horse to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Betting Horse to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY are -
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Betting Horse in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Betting Horse has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Betting Horse needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Betting Horse with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Betting Horse
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Betting Horse.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Betting Horse business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Betting Horse needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Betting Horse demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Betting Horse needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Betting Horse can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Betting Horse can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Betting Horse will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Betting Horse can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Betting Horse high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Betting Horse is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Betting Horse needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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