FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry
Describes the changing competitive landscape in the European mobile industry in 2003/2004. In April 2003, four of the leading mobile operators in Europe, Telefonica Moviles of Spain, T-Mobile of Germany, Telecom Italia Mobile, and Orange of France, had formed the "FreeMove" alliance to counter the ever-growing market presence of Vodafone Plc. Only six months later, nine smaller European operators formed a similar alliance named "Starmap" under the leadership of mmO2, the former mobile subsidiary of British Telecom.
Swot Analysis of "FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry" written by Africa Arino, Frank Reihl, Frank Riehl includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mobile Freemove facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Joint ventures and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry casestudy better are - – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mobile Freemove, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mobile Freemove 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mobile Freemove
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 Mobile Freemove
Strengths FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mobile Freemove in FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mobile Freemove 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mobile Freemove to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mobile Freemove to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mobile Freemove 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mobile Freemove is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Mobile Freemove has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mobile Freemove to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mobile Freemove in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Mobile Freemove 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 Mobile Freemove is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mobile Freemove 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mobile Freemove 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
– Mobile Freemove has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mobile Freemove 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.
Training and development
– Mobile Freemove has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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.
Weaknesses FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry are -
Need for greater diversity
– Mobile Freemove has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mobile Freemove 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Africa Arino, Frank Reihl, Frank Riehl suggests that, Mobile Freemove 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mobile Freemove 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mobile Freemove products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mobile Freemove needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry, is just above the industry average. Mobile Freemove 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry, in the dynamic environment Mobile Freemove has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mobile Freemove has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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 Mobile Freemove 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mobile Freemove is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Mobile Freemove needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mobile Freemove to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mobile Freemove 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 - FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mobile Freemove 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.
Opportunities FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry | 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mobile Freemove can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mobile Freemove operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mobile Freemove 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mobile Freemove has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mobile Freemove to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry case study. Mobile Freemove can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mobile Freemove to increase its market reach. Mobile Freemove 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mobile Freemove 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 Mobile Freemove to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Mobile Freemove can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mobile Freemove can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Mobile Freemove 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. Mobile Freemove 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mobile Freemove 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, FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mobile Freemove is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mobile Freemove 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mobile Freemove 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mobile Freemove to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Mobile Freemove 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.
Threats FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry are -
Increasing wage structure of Mobile Freemove
– 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 Mobile Freemove.
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. Mobile Freemove can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mobile Freemove is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mobile Freemove 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry .
Regulatory challenges
– Mobile Freemove 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.
Environmental challenges
– Mobile Freemove 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. Mobile Freemove can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Mobile Freemove in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline 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. Mobile Freemove 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 Mobile Freemove 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 Mobile Freemove 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.
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. Mobile Freemove needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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 FreeMove: Creating Value Through Strategic Alliances in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry 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 Mobile Freemove needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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