AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market
The Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") was established in December 2000 in Hong Kong to provide a formal, government-supervised retirement protection vehicle for the local population. As a major MPF service provider, AIA-JF made a revolutionary move in launching the first socially responsible investment ("SRI") fund, the Green Fund, in the MPF market. SRI was a relatively new concept in Hong Kong, though it had been growing rapidly in the U.S. and Europe since the mid-1980s. In the first year of its launch, the Green Fund attracted US$5 million, as targeted. However, the company had to quadruple the fund size to US$20 million in three years' time with economically viable marketing approaches. Illustrates the special characteristics of marketing investment products, particularly in target market selection, and allows students the opportunity to recommend marketing strategies targeted at corporate and individual consumers.
Swot Analysis of "AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market" written by Ricky Chan, Amy Tang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mpf Fund facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Social responsibility and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mpf Fund, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mpf Fund 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mpf Fund
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 Mpf Fund
Strengths AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mpf Fund in AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mpf Fund in the sector have low bargaining power. AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mpf Fund to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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.
High brand equity
– Mpf Fund has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mpf Fund to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mpf Fund 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Mpf Fund 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 Mpf Fund digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mpf Fund 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.
Learning organization
- Mpf Fund 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 Mpf Fund is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mpf Fund in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mpf Fund is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mpf Fund to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mpf Fund to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mpf Fund 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.
Organizational Resilience of Mpf Fund
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mpf Fund does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mpf Fund has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mpf Fund 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mpf Fund 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market HBR case study mentions - Mpf Fund 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Mpf Fund 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mpf Fund needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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 Mpf Fund 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market, in the dynamic environment Mpf Fund has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mpf Fund has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ricky Chan, Amy Tang suggests that, Mpf Fund 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mpf Fund 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 - AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mpf Fund, firm in the HBR case study AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market | 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mpf Fund 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mpf Fund to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mpf Fund is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mpf Fund can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mpf Fund operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Mpf Fund can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mpf Fund 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.
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. Mpf Fund 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. Mpf Fund 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Mpf Fund 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mpf Fund 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.
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. Mpf Fund can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mpf Fund has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mpf Fund to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market case study. Mpf Fund can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mpf Fund 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mpf Fund 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mpf Fund 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 Mpf Fund to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market are -
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. Mpf Fund 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 Mpf Fund with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mpf Fund has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mpf Fund 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mpf Fund 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
– Mpf Fund 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mpf Fund 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market .
Regulatory challenges
– Mpf Fund 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 Mpf Fund is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market, Mpf Fund 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 .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Mpf Fund.
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 Mpf Fund business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Mpf Fund
– 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 Mpf Fund.
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. Mpf Fund 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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 AIA-JF Green Fund--Differentiation in Funds Market 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 Mpf Fund needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
