Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World
Examines the strategic opportunities available to Samsung Electronics in 2004 and beyond as the company attempts to penetrate the digital home. Key issues include the role of horizontal industry models versus vertical industry models in consumer electronics, and how a global conglomerate like Samsung can best participate in the fast-changing, digital-based consumer electronics industry.
Authors :: Robert A. Burgelman, Jean-Bernard Rolland
Swot Analysis of "Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World" written by Robert A. Burgelman, Jean-Bernard Rolland includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Electronics Samsung facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Electronics Samsung, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Electronics Samsung 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Electronics Samsung
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 Electronics Samsung
Strengths Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Electronics Samsung in Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Electronics Samsung has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Electronics Samsung 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Electronics Samsung is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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.
Organizational Resilience of Electronics Samsung
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Electronics Samsung does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Electronics Samsung 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
– Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Electronics Samsung to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Electronics Samsung to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Electronics Samsung 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.
Learning organization
- Electronics Samsung 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 Electronics Samsung is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Electronics Samsung in the sector have low bargaining power. Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Electronics Samsung to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Electronics Samsung 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Electronics Samsung 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Electronics Samsung digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Electronics Samsung has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World, 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Electronics Samsung 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. Electronics Samsung 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World, in the dynamic environment Electronics Samsung has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Electronics Samsung has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Electronics Samsung is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Electronics Samsung products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Electronics Samsung needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Electronics Samsung 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 Electronics Samsung is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Electronics Samsung needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Electronics Samsung to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Electronics Samsung 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Electronics Samsung, firm in the HBR case study Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Electronics Samsung has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World, it seems that the employees of Electronics Samsung 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.
Opportunities Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World | 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Electronics Samsung 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Electronics Samsung 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Electronics Samsung 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Electronics Samsung 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 Electronics Samsung to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Electronics Samsung 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, Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Electronics Samsung 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Electronics Samsung 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 Electronics Samsung can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Electronics Samsung can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Electronics Samsung operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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. Electronics Samsung 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. Electronics Samsung 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.
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 Electronics Samsung in the consumer business. Now Electronics Samsung can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Electronics Samsung 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Electronics Samsung 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Electronics Samsung to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Electronics Samsung 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Electronics Samsung is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Electronics Samsung can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Electronics Samsung 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.
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 Electronics Samsung in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Electronics Samsung 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Electronics Samsung with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Electronics Samsung has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Electronics Samsung needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Electronics Samsung 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Electronics Samsung 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.
Increasing wage structure of Electronics Samsung
– 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 Electronics Samsung.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Electronics Samsung 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Samsung Electronics in 2004: Conquering the Wireless Digital World 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 Electronics Samsung needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.