The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?
This case depicts the current and future challenges faced by The Tantramarsh Club, more commonly referred to as The Pub, Mount Allison University's (MTA) non-profit club. The case is set in April 2008 as the winter semester was finishing up in the small town of Sackville, New Brunswick, located on the southeast coast of Canada. The Pub had experienced several years of financial difficulties, however, the 2007 / 08 year was expected to be a financially sound year. The primary protagonist, Manager, Jonathan "Scooter" Clark, was worried about the organization's ability to sustain financial stability once The Pub moved to its new location, planned for August 2008. Members of the board, who were involved in discussions around the future of The Pub, were secondary protagonists in the case. The board and Scooter had to determine the most appropriate business model for The Pub as it moved to its new location. The case draws attention to a changing external environment and the impact this had upon The Pub. Competition in Sackville was friendly, but relatively fierce. The most significant consumer group for The Pub, students, were price sensitive, fickle and quick to move onto a different bar if a competitor offered something more appealing. National trends indicated less spending on alcoholic beverages and increased spending on food. Moreover, campus pubs across the country were changing their business models, moving from a focus on alcohol to food and diversified entertainment options.
Authors :: Gina Grandy, Moritz P Gunther, Andrew Couturier, Ben Goldberg
Swot Analysis of "The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?" written by Gina Grandy, Moritz P Gunther, Andrew Couturier, Ben Goldberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pub Sackville facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pub Sackville, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pub Sackville 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pub Sackville
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 Pub Sackville
Strengths The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pub Sackville in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pub Sackville 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pub Sackville has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Pub Sackville
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pub Sackville does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pub Sackville 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.
Training and development
– Pub Sackville has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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
– Pub Sackville is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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.
Learning organization
- Pub Sackville 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 Pub Sackville is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Pub Sackville 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.
High brand equity
– Pub Sackville has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pub Sackville to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pub Sackville in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Pub Sackville is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pub Sackville digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pub Sackville 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.
Weaknesses The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Pub Sackville products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pub Sackville needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? HBR case study mentions - Pub Sackville takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High 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 Pub Sackville supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pub Sackville vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Pub Sackville 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pub Sackville, firm in the HBR case study The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 Pub Sackville 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 Pub Sackville has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gina Grandy, Moritz P Gunther, Andrew Couturier, Ben Goldberg suggests that, Pub Sackville 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pub Sackville has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pub Sackville 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?, is just above the industry average. Pub Sackville 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.
Opportunities The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? | 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Pub Sackville can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pub Sackville 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, The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Pub Sackville can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Pub Sackville 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pub Sackville to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Pub Sackville in the consumer business. Now Pub Sackville can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pub Sackville to increase its market reach. Pub Sackville 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pub Sackville can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Pub Sackville 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.
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. Pub Sackville can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Pub Sackville can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pub Sackville 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pub Sackville 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.
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. Pub Sackville can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?, Pub Sackville may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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 Pub Sackville in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Pub Sackville 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pub Sackville is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Pub Sackville business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Pub Sackville
– 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 Pub Sackville.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pub Sackville has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pub Sackville 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.
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. Pub Sackville 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.
Environmental challenges
– Pub Sackville 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. Pub Sackville can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pub Sackville 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pub Sackville 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.
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 Pub Sackville.
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. Pub Sackville can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? 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 Pub Sackville needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
