Swot Analysis of "ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001)" written by Paul Strebel, Nanci Govinder includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lindahl Abb facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions, Negotiations, Organizational structure, Reorganization and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lindahl Abb, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lindahl Abb 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 ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lindahl Abb
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Lindahl Abb
Strengths ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lindahl Abb in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Lindahl Abb has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Lindahl Abb is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lindahl Abb is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lindahl Abb has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lindahl Abb has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Lindahl Abb are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lindahl Abb has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Lindahl Abb
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lindahl Abb does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Lindahl Abb is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Paul Strebel, Nanci Govinder can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lindahl Abb 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.
Learning organization
- Lindahl Abb is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Lindahl Abb is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lindahl Abb is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Lindahl Abb 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 Lindahl Abb in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lindahl Abb 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001), is just above the industry average. Lindahl Abb 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lindahl Abb products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lindahl Abb needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) HBR case study mentions - Lindahl Abb takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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 Lindahl Abb has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul Strebel, Nanci Govinder suggests that, Lindahl Abb 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lindahl Abb, firm in the HBR case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Lindahl Abb supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lindahl Abb vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001), it seems that the employees of Lindahl Abb don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lindahl Abb is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Lindahl Abb needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lindahl Abb to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) | 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 ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) are -
Manufacturing automation
– Lindahl Abb can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lindahl Abb 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lindahl Abb 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lindahl Abb in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Lindahl Abb 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. Lindahl Abb 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lindahl Abb can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Lindahl Abb in the consumer business. Now Lindahl Abb can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lindahl Abb has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lindahl Abb to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) case study. Lindahl Abb can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Lindahl Abb can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Lindahl Abb has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lindahl Abb has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lindahl Abb to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Lindahl Abb can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Lindahl Abb to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lindahl Abb has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lindahl Abb needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lindahl Abb 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lindahl Abb with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Lindahl Abb business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lindahl Abb is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Lindahl Abb in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lindahl Abb in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing wage structure of Lindahl Abb
– 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 Lindahl Abb.
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. Lindahl Abb 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Lindahl Abb needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lindahl Abb 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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 ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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 ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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 ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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 ABB (B): The Lindahl Era (1997-2001) 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 Lindahl Abb needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
