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Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building


The case discusses the entrepreneurial paths taken by two men, a father and son team, who created a highly successful business venture in regional marine offshore industry in the first decade of the 21st century. The factors that contributed to venture's rapid growth are examined as well as the challenges they faced in taking their company, Ezra Holdings, to the next level of fast growth. Started in 1992, the entrepreneurs leveraged on their knowledge of the regional oil and gas (O&G) and marine engineering businesses to grow the firm into a global offshore support services company with market capitalisation of US$1.2 billion by the end of January 2010. The firm began as a small company managing and operating supply vessels supporting offshore O&G activities in the region. From managing small vessels, they moved on to build the essential capabilities needed to operate efficient offshore support services for O&G exploration and production projects of major global firms. To drive growth, they embarked on a series of asset acquisitions and joint ventures with other players. In a highly capital-intensive business, they were successful in prospecting for funds needed to secure the operating assets of their business. As they moved up the value chain in their segment of the industry, they also kept a lookout for industry veterans or specialists and technical staff from acquired companies to build their human resource pool. Ezra's decade of rapid growth is examined from several perspectives: a?? Entrepreneurship as the dynamic process of structure and action. a?? Capability building as an essential condition for new venture success as reflected in Ezra's resource acquisition strategies for funds, human capital and technical knowhow.

Authors :: Beng Geok Wee, Yvonne Chong

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Financial analysis, International business, Manufacturing, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building" written by Beng Geok Wee, Yvonne Chong includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Offshore Ezra facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, International business, Manufacturing, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Offshore Ezra, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Offshore Ezra 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Offshore Ezra
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 Offshore Ezra




Strengths Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Offshore Ezra in Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Offshore Ezra is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

– Offshore Ezra is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High brand equity

– Offshore Ezra has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Offshore Ezra to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Offshore Ezra digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Offshore Ezra 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Offshore Ezra is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Offshore Ezra has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Offshore Ezra 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.

Learning organization

- Offshore Ezra 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 Offshore Ezra is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Offshore Ezra 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Analytics focus

– Offshore Ezra 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 Beng Geok Wee, Yvonne Chong 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.

Organizational Resilience of Offshore Ezra

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Offshore Ezra does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Offshore Ezra 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Offshore Ezra 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.






Weaknesses Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Offshore Ezra 's lucrative customers.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building, in the dynamic environment Offshore Ezra has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Offshore Ezra 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Offshore Ezra is planning to shift buying processes online.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Offshore Ezra 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Beng Geok Wee, Yvonne Chong suggests that, Offshore Ezra 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building, is just above the industry average. Offshore Ezra 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Offshore Ezra, firm in the HBR case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Offshore Ezra supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Offshore Ezra vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Offshore Ezra 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 - Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building, 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Offshore Ezra has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building | 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building are -

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Offshore Ezra 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Offshore Ezra 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, Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Developing new processes and practices

– Offshore Ezra 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Offshore Ezra 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.

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. Offshore Ezra 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. Offshore Ezra 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Offshore Ezra to increase its market reach. Offshore Ezra 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Offshore Ezra 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Offshore Ezra can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Manufacturing automation

– Offshore Ezra 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Offshore Ezra can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Offshore Ezra operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.

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 Offshore Ezra in the consumer business. Now Offshore Ezra can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Offshore Ezra 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Offshore Ezra to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Offshore Ezra 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.




Threats Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Offshore Ezra has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Offshore Ezra 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.

Increasing wage structure of Offshore Ezra

– 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 Offshore Ezra.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Offshore Ezra 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.

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.

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 Offshore Ezra in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Offshore Ezra 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

– Offshore Ezra 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.

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. Offshore Ezra 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 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. Offshore Ezra 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 Offshore Ezra with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building, Offshore Ezra 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 .

Environmental challenges

– Offshore Ezra 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. Offshore Ezra can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Offshore Ezra 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building .




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Ezra Holdings: Entrepreneurship and Capability Building 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 Offshore Ezra needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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