Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage
The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has become a prominent management theory that firms can use to analyze resources as potential sources of competitive advantage. Theorists have suggested sponsorship of sport properties as one such resource, yet specific cases of sponsorship's role in a firm's achievement of a sustained advantage over competitors have yet to be explored. This article illuminates the case of Visa's longstanding global sponsorship of the Olympic Games, which was initiated and leveraged to counteract competitor American Express' advantage with global business travelers. Evidence is presented that supports Visa's achievement of a competitive advantage during the term of the sponsorship. The case is then used to develop a conceptual model based on the RBV to identify the key characteristics of sponsored properties capable of assisting the sponsoring firm in achieving a sustained competitive advantage. From a managerial perspective, the model is designed to assist marketing managers tasked with the identification and evaluation of potential sponsorship properties.
Authors :: Jonathan A. Jensen, Joe B. Cobbs, Brian A. Turner
Swot Analysis of "Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage" written by Jonathan A. Jensen, Joe B. Cobbs, Brian A. Turner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sponsorship Advantage facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions,
technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sponsorship Advantage, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sponsorship Advantage 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sponsorship Advantage
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sponsorship Advantage
Strengths Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sponsorship Advantage in Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sponsorship Advantage 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Sponsorship Advantage 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 Sponsorship Advantage is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Sponsorship Advantage
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sponsorship Advantage does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sponsorship Advantage in the sector have low bargaining power. Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sponsorship Advantage to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Training and development
– Sponsorship Advantage has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sponsorship Advantage has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Sponsorship Advantage is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sponsorship Advantage digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Sponsorship Advantage 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 Sponsorship Advantage in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sponsorship Advantage in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage, in the dynamic environment Sponsorship Advantage has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sponsorship Advantage has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage, it seems that the employees of Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sponsorship Advantage products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sponsorship Advantage needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sponsorship Advantage 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Sponsorship Advantage 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage HBR case study mentions - Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sponsorship Advantage has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Sponsorship Advantage even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sponsorship Advantage is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sponsorship Advantage 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 - Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sponsorship Advantage is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Sponsorship Advantage needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sponsorship Advantage to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Sponsorship Advantage has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage | 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sponsorship Advantage 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 Sponsorship Advantage to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sponsorship Advantage can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sponsorship Advantage is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Sponsorship Advantage can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sponsorship Advantage can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sponsorship Advantage can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sponsorship Advantage 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.
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 Sponsorship Advantage in the consumer business. Now Sponsorship Advantage can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sponsorship Advantage 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. Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sponsorship Advantage 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, Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Sponsorship Advantage in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Sponsorship Advantage needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Sponsorship Advantage 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sponsorship Advantage is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sponsorship Advantage can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Increasing wage structure of Sponsorship Advantage
– 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 Sponsorship Advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sponsorship Advantage with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sponsorship Advantage can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Sponsorship Advantage 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Evaluating Sponsorship through the Lens of the Resource-Based View: The Potential for Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Sponsorship Advantage needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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