Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking
In 2001, Citibank's Cash and Trade Group division transformed itself into an e-business, with the strategic intent of converting traditional money management business into an e-business framework. This case discusses how Citibank is using its traditional assets and integrating Internet initiatives into its e-business strategy to create sustainable competitive advantages. Competition in the cash and trade business is becoming intense and a new breed of competent and aggressive competitors is vying for the market, including technology companies interested in B2B e-payment. Citibank is responding to the competition by continually evolving its e-business strategy--connect, transform, extend. Also looks into the challenges that Citibank e-Business Group is facing in developing a single global web platform for the corporate market. The focus is on how Citibank is developing an e-business product that would serve the highly segmented market and how to encourage these markets to use a global single platform online. At one end of the spectrum are multinationals and top-level domestic corporates that operate sophisticated treasuries, and at the other end are companies and small- and medium-size businesses that are not yet ready to upgrade and transform their systems.
Authors :: Julie Yu, Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley, Shamza Khan
Swot Analysis of "Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking" written by Julie Yu, Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley, Shamza Khan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Citibank Citibank's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Citibank Citibank's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Citibank Citibank's 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Citibank Citibank's
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 Citibank Citibank's
Strengths Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Citibank Citibank's in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Citibank Citibank's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Citibank Citibank's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Citibank Citibank's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Citibank Citibank's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Citibank Citibank's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Citibank Citibank's 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Citibank Citibank's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Citibank Citibank's 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
- Citibank Citibank's 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 Citibank Citibank's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Citibank Citibank's 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Citibank Citibank's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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.
Training and development
– Citibank Citibank's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Citibank Citibank's in the sector have low bargaining power. Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Citibank Citibank's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Citibank Citibank's 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking, in the dynamic environment Citibank Citibank's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Citibank Citibank's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking HBR case study mentions - Citibank Citibank's 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Citibank Citibank's 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. Citibank Citibank's 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Citibank Citibank's has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank Citibank's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Julie Yu, Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley, Shamza Khan suggests that, Citibank Citibank's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking, 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Citibank Citibank's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Citibank Citibank's 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 - Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking, is just above the industry average. Citibank Citibank's 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Citibank Citibank's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking | 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Citibank Citibank's 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, Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Citibank Citibank's 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.
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 Citibank Citibank's in the consumer business. Now Citibank Citibank's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Citibank Citibank's 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. Citibank Citibank's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Citibank Citibank's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Citibank Citibank's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Citibank Citibank's 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Citibank Citibank's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Citibank Citibank's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking case study. Citibank Citibank's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Citibank Citibank's 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Citibank Citibank's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Citibank Citibank's 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.
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. Citibank Citibank's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Citibank Citibank's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Citibank Citibank's 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 Citibank Citibank's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking are -
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. Citibank Citibank's 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.
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 Citibank Citibank's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Citibank Citibank's 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.
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 Citibank Citibank's.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Citibank Citibank's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Citibank Citibank's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Citibank Citibank's 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. Citibank Citibank's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing wage structure of Citibank Citibank's
– 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 Citibank Citibank's.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Citibank Citibank's 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Citibank Citibank's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Citibank Citibank's 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Citibank Citibank's 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.
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. Citibank Citibank's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking 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 Citibank Citibank's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
