VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid
Awarded 1st place in the 2008 oikos Casewriting Competition. VisionSpring sells affordable reading glasses to the poor at the base of the pyramid through Vision Entrepreneurs and, more recently, through franchise partners. Winner of the prestigious 2008 Oikos Case Competition, this case explores how to scale VisionSpring's approach to serving the poor. (Note: In 2008, The Scojo Foundation changed its name to Vision Spring.)
Swot Analysis of "VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid" written by Ted London includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oikos Visionspring facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Venture capital and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oikos Visionspring, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oikos Visionspring 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oikos Visionspring
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 Oikos Visionspring
Strengths VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Oikos Visionspring in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Oikos Visionspring has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Oikos Visionspring 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.
Analytics focus
– Oikos Visionspring 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 Ted London 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.
Training and development
– Oikos Visionspring has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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.
Learning organization
- Oikos Visionspring 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 Oikos Visionspring is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Oikos Visionspring 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 Oikos Visionspring in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Oikos Visionspring in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Oikos Visionspring in the sector have low bargaining power. VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Oikos Visionspring to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Oikos Visionspring is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Oikos Visionspring 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Oikos Visionspring is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Oikos Visionspring is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid, in the dynamic environment Oikos Visionspring has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Oikos Visionspring 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid HBR case study mentions - Oikos Visionspring 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 Oikos Visionspring supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Oikos Visionspring vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid, it seems that the employees of Oikos Visionspring don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Oikos Visionspring is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Oikos Visionspring 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. Oikos Visionspring 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Oikos Visionspring is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Oikos Visionspring 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ted London suggests that, Oikos Visionspring 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Oikos Visionspring 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Oikos Visionspring 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.
Opportunities VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid | 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Oikos Visionspring 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Oikos Visionspring can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Oikos Visionspring 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.
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. Oikos Visionspring can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Oikos Visionspring 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. Oikos Visionspring 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Oikos Visionspring 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 Oikos Visionspring to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Oikos Visionspring in the consumer business. Now Oikos Visionspring can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Oikos Visionspring 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.
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. Oikos Visionspring can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Oikos Visionspring is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Oikos Visionspring 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Oikos Visionspring 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Oikos Visionspring 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Oikos Visionspring has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Oikos Visionspring 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
– Oikos Visionspring 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Oikos Visionspring 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Oikos Visionspring is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Oikos Visionspring 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.
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 Oikos Visionspring.
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 Oikos Visionspring in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Oikos Visionspring business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Oikos Visionspring with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Oikos Visionspring 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. Oikos Visionspring can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Oikos Visionspring 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Oikos Visionspring 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Oikos Visionspring 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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 VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid 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 Oikos Visionspring needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.