Case Study Description of Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A)
Personal computer game maker Blizzard filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the developers of the bnetd project. The bnetd project was a volunteer effort of game enthusiasts and programmers frustrated with difficulties encountered playing Blizzard's personal computer games on its 24-hour Battle.net online gaming service. Via reverse engineering of Blizzard's software, the bnetd developers created and disseminated a free open source software program that mimicked the Battle.net playing experience while improving on some of its deficiencies. Blizzard, one of the world's most successful PC game publishers and a part of international media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, charged the bnetd developers with breach of contract and various counts of intellectual property infringement. The defendants maintained that U.S. law, in an effort to spur innovation in the United States, protected their activities. Describes the events leading up to a court-ordered mediation session between the two parties in October 2003. Students are asked, as business managers, to determine the legal and non-legal alternatives available to Blizzard and the bnetd developers, and to decide which strategy to pursue from each party's perspective. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/multimedia/flv/100618-Case-Blizzard1.html
Swot Analysis of "Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A)" written by V. Brian Viard, Pamela Yatsko includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bnetd Blizzard facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Intellectual property, Internet, IT, Regulation and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bnetd Blizzard, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bnetd Blizzard 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bnetd Blizzard
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 Bnetd Blizzard
Strengths Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bnetd Blizzard in Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bnetd Blizzard to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bnetd Blizzard to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Bnetd Blizzard is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Bnetd Blizzard has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bnetd Blizzard to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Bnetd Blizzard 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 V. Brian Viard, Pamela Yatsko 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bnetd Blizzard has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bnetd Blizzard in the sector have low bargaining power. Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bnetd Blizzard to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Bnetd Blizzard
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bnetd Blizzard does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bnetd Blizzard digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bnetd Blizzard 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Bnetd Blizzard is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A), is just above the industry average. Bnetd Blizzard 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Bnetd Blizzard 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A), it seems that the employees of Bnetd Blizzard 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bnetd Blizzard has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Bnetd Blizzard has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bnetd Blizzard 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A), 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) HBR case study mentions - Bnetd Blizzard 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, V. Brian Viard, Pamela Yatsko suggests that, Bnetd Blizzard 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bnetd Blizzard vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bnetd Blizzard is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) | 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) are -
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. Bnetd Blizzard can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bnetd Blizzard 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, Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bnetd Blizzard 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 Bnetd Blizzard to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bnetd Blizzard 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bnetd Blizzard to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bnetd Blizzard is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bnetd Blizzard 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.
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. Bnetd Blizzard 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. Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bnetd Blizzard 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bnetd Blizzard can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bnetd Blizzard operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bnetd Blizzard has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bnetd Blizzard to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) case study. Bnetd Blizzard can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bnetd Blizzard 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bnetd Blizzard 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) .
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bnetd Blizzard 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bnetd Blizzard has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bnetd Blizzard 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
– Bnetd Blizzard 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A), Bnetd Blizzard 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 Bnetd Blizzard
– 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 Bnetd Blizzard.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bnetd Blizzard 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.
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. Bnetd Blizzard can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Bnetd Blizzard 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. Bnetd Blizzard can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property (A) 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 Bnetd Blizzard needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.