How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students
The last of four module notes for students taking an advanced course on competitive strategy. Examines patterns that distinguish successful strategic change efforts from unsuccessful ones.
Swot Analysis of "How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students" written by Jan W. Rivkin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Module Advanced facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Module Advanced, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Module Advanced 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Module Advanced
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Module Advanced
Strengths How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Module Advanced in How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Module Advanced 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 Module Advanced is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Module Advanced is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Module Advanced has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Module Advanced 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.
High brand equity
– Module Advanced has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Module Advanced to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Module Advanced is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Module Advanced 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Module Advanced 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 Module Advanced in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Module Advanced 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.
Organizational Resilience of Module Advanced
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Module Advanced does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Module Advanced 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 Jan W. Rivkin 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Module Advanced 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Module Advanced to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Module Advanced to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Module Advanced 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. Module Advanced 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Module Advanced '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 Module Advanced supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Module Advanced vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Module Advanced is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Module Advanced has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Module Advanced 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Module Advanced products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Module Advanced needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Module Advanced 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jan W. Rivkin suggests that, Module Advanced is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Module Advanced, firm in the HBR case study How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students | 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are -
Buying journey improvements
– Module Advanced can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Module Advanced 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Module Advanced can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Module Advanced 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 Module Advanced to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Module Advanced 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Module Advanced is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Module Advanced to increase its market reach. Module Advanced will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
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. Module Advanced can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Module Advanced 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.
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 Module Advanced in the consumer business. Now Module Advanced can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Module Advanced in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Module Advanced 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Module Advanced to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Module Advanced 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.
Threats How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Module Advanced is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Module Advanced 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Module Advanced 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students .
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. Module Advanced needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Module Advanced needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Module Advanced can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Module Advanced has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Module Advanced needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Module Advanced with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Module Advanced 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Module Advanced in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
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.
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. Module Advanced 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.
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 Module Advanced in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 How Do Firms Change Their Strategies Successfully? Advanced Competitive Strategy, Module Note for Students 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 Module Advanced needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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