Futbol Club Barcelona SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Futbol Club Barcelona
In June 2015, FC Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu sees his team lift the UEFA Champions League trophy, completing an impressive trophy haul in the 2014-2015 season. Unique for a club of its caliber, five of the starting eleven are products of FC Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia. Yet none of the trophies and accolades guarantee future success. Bartomeu faces pressing questions about the club's business model-and in particular about the tensions between local and global activities-as well as decisions about the ongoing investment in the youth academy, funding for the club's Foundation and other sports, and its relatively low ticket prices. How could BarA?a continue to win on and off the field in the increasingly competitive and global world of European football, while still protecting its local focus and traditions?
Swot Analysis of "Futbol Club Barcelona" written by Anita Elberse includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bartomeu Fc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Futbol Club Barcelona case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Talent management and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Futbol Club Barcelona casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Futbol Club Barcelona
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Futbol Club Barcelona case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bartomeu Fc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bartomeu Fc 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 Futbol Club Barcelona can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Futbol Club Barcelona case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bartomeu Fc
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 Bartomeu Fc
Strengths Futbol Club Barcelona | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bartomeu Fc in Futbol Club Barcelona Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bartomeu Fc 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 Futbol Club Barcelona HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Bartomeu Fc 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 Bartomeu Fc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Futbol Club Barcelona Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Bartomeu Fc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Bartomeu Fc has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Futbol Club Barcelona 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Futbol Club Barcelona firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bartomeu Fc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bartomeu Fc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Bartomeu Fc 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 Anita Elberse 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bartomeu Fc in the sector have low bargaining power. Futbol Club Barcelona has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bartomeu Fc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Bartomeu Fc is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Futbol Club Barcelona Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Bartomeu Fc 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 Bartomeu Fc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bartomeu Fc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bartomeu Fc 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bartomeu Fc is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Futbol Club Barcelona 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bartomeu Fc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bartomeu Fc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Futbol Club Barcelona | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Futbol Club Barcelona are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Futbol Club Barcelona, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bartomeu Fc has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
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 Bartomeu Fc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Futbol Club Barcelona, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bartomeu Fc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Futbol Club Barcelona HBR case study mentions - Bartomeu Fc 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bartomeu Fc 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 - Futbol Club Barcelona should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bartomeu Fc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Futbol Club Barcelona can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bartomeu Fc 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Bartomeu Fc 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bartomeu Fc 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Futbol Club Barcelona can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bartomeu Fc is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bartomeu Fc has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities Futbol Club Barcelona | 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 Futbol Club Barcelona are -
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 Bartomeu Fc 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bartomeu Fc 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, Futbol Club Barcelona, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bartomeu Fc 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 Bartomeu Fc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bartomeu Fc in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Bartomeu Fc can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bartomeu Fc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Futbol Club Barcelona 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.
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. Bartomeu Fc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Bartomeu Fc 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. Bartomeu Fc 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bartomeu Fc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bartomeu Fc to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Futbol Club Barcelona case study. Bartomeu Fc can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Bartomeu Fc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Futbol Club Barcelona 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bartomeu Fc 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bartomeu Fc 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 Futbol Club Barcelona - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bartomeu Fc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Futbol Club Barcelona External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Futbol Club Barcelona are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bartomeu Fc is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bartomeu Fc 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bartomeu Fc 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Futbol Club Barcelona, Bartomeu Fc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bartomeu Fc 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. Bartomeu Fc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bartomeu Fc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bartomeu Fc in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bartomeu Fc 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.
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 Bartomeu Fc in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Bartomeu Fc
– 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 Bartomeu Fc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bartomeu Fc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bartomeu Fc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Futbol Club Barcelona 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 Bartomeu Fc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
