Swot Analysis of "Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum" written by Michael E. Porter, Mark B. Fuller includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Addendum Polaroid facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Intellectual property, Marketing, Regulation, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum casestudy better are - – technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Addendum Polaroid, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Addendum Polaroid 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Addendum Polaroid
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 Addendum Polaroid
Strengths Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Addendum Polaroid in Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Addendum Polaroid 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Addendum Polaroid has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Addendum Polaroid 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.
High brand equity
– Addendum Polaroid has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Addendum Polaroid to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Addendum Polaroid is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Addendum Polaroid in the sector have low bargaining power. Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Addendum Polaroid to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Addendum Polaroid is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Addendum Polaroid digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Addendum Polaroid 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Addendum Polaroid 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Addendum Polaroid 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 Michael E. Porter, Mark B. Fuller 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Addendum Polaroid to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Addendum Polaroid to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Addendum Polaroid
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Addendum Polaroid does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum HBR case study mentions - Addendum Polaroid 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 Addendum Polaroid 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 - Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Addendum Polaroid 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Addendum Polaroid is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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, Addendum Polaroid 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. Addendum Polaroid 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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 Addendum Polaroid has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Addendum Polaroid, firm in the HBR case study Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Addendum Polaroid supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Addendum Polaroid vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Addendum Polaroid products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Addendum Polaroid needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Addendum Polaroid 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Addendum Polaroid 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.
Opportunities Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum | 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Addendum Polaroid to increase its market reach. Addendum Polaroid 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Addendum Polaroid is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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
– Addendum Polaroid 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Addendum Polaroid 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 Addendum Polaroid has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Addendum Polaroid to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum case study. Addendum Polaroid can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Addendum Polaroid 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. Addendum Polaroid 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Addendum Polaroid 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Addendum Polaroid to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Addendum Polaroid to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Buying journey improvements
– Addendum Polaroid can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Addendum Polaroid 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, Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Addendum Polaroid can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Addendum Polaroid operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Addendum Polaroid 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Addendum Polaroid 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.
Threats Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum are -
Regulatory challenges
– Addendum Polaroid 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Addendum Polaroid 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum, Addendum Polaroid 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Addendum Polaroid
– 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 Addendum Polaroid.
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 Addendum Polaroid.
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 Addendum Polaroid in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Addendum Polaroid can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Addendum Polaroid 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Addendum Polaroid 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Addendum Polaroid 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Addendum Polaroid has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Addendum Polaroid 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
– Addendum Polaroid 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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 Polaroid-Kodak, Addendum 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 Addendum Polaroid needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
