The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience
This article proposes a framework to address a central conundrum in strategic management: How can firms transcend the trade-off between the momentum that results from the strong strategic commitments needed to gain industry leadership with the need for strategic agility in the face of strategic discontinuities? The article develops an analysis of the meta-capabilities underlying strategic agility, which is clustered around strategic sensitivity (both the sharpness of perception and the intensity of awareness and attention), resource fluidity (the internal capability to reconfigure business systems and redeploy resources rapidly), and leadership unity (the ability of the top team to make bold decisions fast, without getting bogged down in "win-lose" politics at the top). Based on an in-depth study of Nokia's evolution over the past twenty years, this article shows how these three meta-capabilities interact over time and proposes a framework to enable a firm to maintain and regain strategic agility as it matures.
Swot Analysis of "The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience" written by Yves L. Doz, Mikko Kosonen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Agility Strategic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy execution and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Agility Strategic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Agility Strategic 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Agility Strategic
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 Agility Strategic
Strengths The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Agility Strategic in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Agility Strategic is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Agility Strategic 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 Agility Strategic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Agility Strategic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Agility Strategic 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.
Analytics focus
– Agility Strategic 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 Yves L. Doz, Mikko Kosonen 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
– The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Agility Strategic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Agility Strategic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Agility Strategic is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Agility Strategic in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Agility Strategic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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.
Organizational Resilience of Agility Strategic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Agility Strategic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Agility Strategic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Agility Strategic is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Agility Strategic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Agility Strategic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Agility Strategic 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience, 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, Agility Strategic 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. Agility Strategic 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Agility Strategic 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Agility Strategic, firm in the HBR case study The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience HBR case study mentions - Agility Strategic 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Agility Strategic 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 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 Agility Strategic supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Agility Strategic vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Agility Strategic 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Agility Strategic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Agility Strategic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Agility Strategic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience, it seems that the employees of Agility Strategic 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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 Agility Strategic 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience | 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience are -
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 Agility Strategic 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.
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. Agility Strategic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Agility Strategic can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Agility Strategic 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Agility Strategic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Agility Strategic 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 Agility Strategic 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, Agility Strategic 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, The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience, 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 Agility Strategic 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Agility Strategic 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Agility Strategic 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.
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. Agility Strategic 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. Agility Strategic 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 Agility Strategic in the consumer business. Now Agility Strategic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Agility Strategic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Agility Strategic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience case study. Agility Strategic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Agility Strategic 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Agility Strategic 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.
Increasing wage structure of Agility Strategic
– 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 Agility Strategic.
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 Agility Strategic in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Agility Strategic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Agility Strategic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Agility Strategic 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Agility Strategic 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Agility Strategic 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, Agility Strategic 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience .
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.
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. Agility Strategic can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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 The Dynamics of Strategic Agility: Nokia's Rollercoaster Experience 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 Agility Strategic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.