Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision
Harlequin Enterprise, a well-known publisher of series romantic fiction, is facing threats to its leading position as the world's largest romance publisher, posed by the growing popularity of single-title, women's fiction novels. Harlequin was the dominant and very profitable producer of series romance novels, but research indicates that many customers are reading as many single-title romance and women's fiction books as series romances. Facing a steady loss of share in a growing total women's fiction market, Harlequin convened a task force to study the possibility of relaunching a single-title, women's fiction program.
Authors :: Roderick E. White, Mary M. Crossan, Ken Mark
Swot Analysis of "Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision" written by Roderick E. White, Mary M. Crossan, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fiction Harlequin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Design, Product development and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fiction Harlequin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fiction Harlequin 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fiction Harlequin
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 Fiction Harlequin
Strengths Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fiction Harlequin in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Fiction Harlequin 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 Fiction Harlequin in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fiction Harlequin is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Fiction Harlequin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fiction Harlequin digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fiction Harlequin 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
- Fiction Harlequin 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 Fiction Harlequin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Fiction Harlequin has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Fiction Harlequin is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fiction Harlequin 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Fiction Harlequin has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Organizational Resilience of Fiction Harlequin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Fiction Harlequin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fiction Harlequin to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fiction Harlequin to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fiction Harlequin in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Fiction Harlequin is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Fiction Harlequin has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision, 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision HBR case study mentions - Fiction Harlequin 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fiction Harlequin 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 - Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Roderick E. White, Mary M. Crossan, Ken Mark suggests that, Fiction Harlequin 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Fiction Harlequin products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fiction Harlequin needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Fiction Harlequin 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Fiction Harlequin 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Fiction Harlequin 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fiction Harlequin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Fiction Harlequin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fiction Harlequin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision | 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Fiction Harlequin 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 Fiction Harlequin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fiction Harlequin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fiction Harlequin 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Fiction Harlequin 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fiction Harlequin 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fiction Harlequin can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fiction Harlequin operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Fiction Harlequin 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fiction Harlequin to increase its market reach. Fiction Harlequin 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fiction Harlequin has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fiction Harlequin to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision case study. Fiction Harlequin can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Fiction Harlequin can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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.
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. Fiction Harlequin can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Fiction Harlequin 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fiction Harlequin can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fiction Harlequin has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fiction Harlequin 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fiction Harlequin 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Fiction Harlequin with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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. Fiction Harlequin can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Fiction Harlequin 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Fiction Harlequin 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.
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. Fiction Harlequin 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.
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 Fiction Harlequin.
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 Fiction Harlequin in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fiction Harlequin 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision .
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. Fiction Harlequin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision 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 Fiction Harlequin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.