Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives
Although companies are devoting significant resources to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, insights into the optimal formulation, implementation, and effectiveness estimation of CSR strategies are currently scarce. Takes an in-depth look at when, why, and how CSR works from a consumer's perspective. In contrast to the simple, monotonic relationships between CSR and consumer purchase behavior evident in marketplace polls, this article proposes a more complex, contingent model of consumer responses to CSR. Articulates both the internal outcomes (e.g., awareness, attitudes, attachment) and external outcomes (e.g., word of mouth, purchase, loyalty) of CSR initiatives for not just the company, but also the consumer and the CSR issue/cause. Delineates the key factors that are likely to moderate the extent to which the inputs lead to the internal outcomes and the internal outcomes lead to the external ones. This framework can help guide companies in formulating and implementing their CSR initiatives as well as measuring the effectiveness of these initiatives.
Swot Analysis of "Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives" written by C.B. Bhattacharya, Sankar Sen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Csr Initiatives facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Csr Initiatives, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Csr Initiatives 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Csr Initiatives
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 Csr Initiatives
Strengths Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Csr Initiatives in Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Csr Initiatives to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Csr Initiatives to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Csr Initiatives has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Csr Initiatives 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.
Training and development
– Csr Initiatives has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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.
Organizational Resilience of Csr Initiatives
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Csr Initiatives does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Csr Initiatives is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Csr Initiatives 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Csr Initiatives 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 Csr Initiatives in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Csr Initiatives 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 Csr Initiatives is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Csr Initiatives in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Csr Initiatives digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Csr Initiatives 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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.
Analytics focus
– Csr Initiatives 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 C.B. Bhattacharya, Sankar Sen 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.
Weaknesses Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Csr Initiatives products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Csr Initiatives needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Csr Initiatives 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Csr Initiatives 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, C.B. Bhattacharya, Sankar Sen suggests that, Csr Initiatives 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives, is just above the industry average. Csr Initiatives needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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 Csr Initiatives 's lucrative customers.
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 Csr Initiatives supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Csr Initiatives vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives HBR case study mentions - Csr Initiatives 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives, in the dynamic environment Csr Initiatives has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Csr Initiatives has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Csr Initiatives 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Csr Initiatives 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. Csr Initiatives 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.
Opportunities Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives | 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Csr Initiatives is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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
– Csr Initiatives can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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, Csr Initiatives 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Csr Initiatives 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.
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 Csr Initiatives 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.
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. Csr Initiatives can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Csr Initiatives can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Csr Initiatives operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Csr Initiatives can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Csr Initiatives 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, Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Csr Initiatives 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 Csr Initiatives to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Csr Initiatives 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. Csr Initiatives 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
– Csr Initiatives 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Csr Initiatives 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.
Threats Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Csr Initiatives 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Csr Initiatives 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Csr Initiatives 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.
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 Csr Initiatives business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Csr Initiatives can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Csr Initiatives is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Csr Initiatives with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Csr Initiatives 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.
Increasing wage structure of Csr Initiatives
– 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 Csr Initiatives.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Csr Initiatives 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.
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.
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.
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 Csr Initiatives in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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 Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives 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 Csr Initiatives needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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