Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993
Aberlyn Capital Management, a venture leasing firm specializing in providing capital to biotechnology firms, proposes to introduce a new product. Aberlyn will base a lease on an intangible product: the patent of a biotechnology firm. This poses a series of short and longer run challenges.
Swot Analysis of "Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993" written by Josh Lerner, Peter Tufano includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Aberlyn Biotechnology facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Financial management, Intellectual property, Technology and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aberlyn Biotechnology, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aberlyn Biotechnology
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Aberlyn Biotechnology
Strengths Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aberlyn Biotechnology in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Aberlyn Biotechnology has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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
– Aberlyn Biotechnology has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aberlyn Biotechnology to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Aberlyn Biotechnology in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Aberlyn Biotechnology is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Aberlyn Biotechnology is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Finance & Accounting industry
– Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Aberlyn Biotechnology to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Aberlyn Biotechnology to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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
– Aberlyn Biotechnology has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Aberlyn Biotechnology is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Weaknesses Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 are -
Need for greater diversity
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Biotechnology 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Aberlyn Biotechnology is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Aberlyn Biotechnology needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Aberlyn Biotechnology to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Aberlyn Biotechnology products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Aberlyn Biotechnology needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Josh Lerner, Peter Tufano suggests that, Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aberlyn Biotechnology is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Aberlyn Biotechnology supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Aberlyn Biotechnology vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Opportunities Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 | 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Aberlyn Biotechnology 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. Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
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. Aberlyn Biotechnology can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Aberlyn Biotechnology to increase its market reach. Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Aberlyn Biotechnology has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Aberlyn Biotechnology to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 case study. Aberlyn Biotechnology can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Aberlyn Biotechnology 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, Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Aberlyn Biotechnology can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Finance & Accounting segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Aberlyn Biotechnology in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Aberlyn Biotechnology in the consumer business. Now Aberlyn Biotechnology can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Aberlyn Biotechnology can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Aberlyn Biotechnology can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 .
Environmental challenges
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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. Aberlyn Biotechnology can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Aberlyn Biotechnology is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Aberlyn Biotechnology 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aberlyn Biotechnology in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993, Aberlyn Biotechnology may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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 Aberlyn Biotechnology.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Aberlyn Biotechnology with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Capital Management: July 1993 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 Aberlyn Biotechnology needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.