Case Study Description of Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015
In the years after 2009, Qualcomm navigated the wireless industry's transition from 3G to 4G, retaining its technological leadership and experiencing dramatic growth in revenue and profit. In March 2014, Qualcomm appointed a new CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, who had to contend with a rash of new challenges, ranging from new technologies and new competitors to anti-trust battles and an activist shareholder disappointed by weak stock performance. This brief case brings the analysis of Qualcomm's competitive position up to 2015, when it was preparing for the evolution to 5G, while also investing in new areas, such as IoT, automobiles, eHealth, and eEducation, despite a mixed record in diversifying beyond wireless communications technology.
Swot Analysis of "Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015" written by David B. Yoffie includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Qualcomm Wireless facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Qualcomm Wireless, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Qualcomm Wireless
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 Qualcomm Wireless
Strengths Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Qualcomm Wireless in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Qualcomm Wireless in the sector have low bargaining power. Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Qualcomm Wireless to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Qualcomm Wireless 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 lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Wireless in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Qualcomm Wireless is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Qualcomm Wireless has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Qualcomm Wireless 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
- Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Wireless is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Qualcomm Wireless has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Qualcomm Wireless is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Qualcomm Wireless is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Qualcomm Wireless to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Qualcomm Wireless to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015, in the dynamic environment Qualcomm Wireless has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Qualcomm Wireless has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Qualcomm Wireless 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. Qualcomm Wireless 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, David B. Yoffie suggests that, Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Qualcomm Wireless is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 HBR case study mentions - Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Qualcomm Wireless is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Qualcomm Wireless products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015, is just above the industry average. Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015, it seems that the employees of Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Opportunities Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 | 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Wireless to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Qualcomm Wireless is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Qualcomm Wireless has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Qualcomm Wireless to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 case study. Qualcomm Wireless can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Qualcomm Wireless can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Qualcomm Wireless operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Qualcomm Wireless to increase its market reach. Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Qualcomm Wireless 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.
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 Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Qualcomm Wireless 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.
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 Qualcomm Wireless in the consumer business. Now Qualcomm Wireless can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Qualcomm Wireless can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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. Qualcomm Wireless can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 are -
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. Qualcomm Wireless 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. Qualcomm Wireless needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Qualcomm Wireless 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. Qualcomm Wireless can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Qualcomm Wireless 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Qualcomm Wireless 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. Qualcomm Wireless can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Qualcomm Wireless.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Qualcomm Wireless 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Qualcomm Wireless 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Qualcomm Wireless 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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 Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015 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 Qualcomm Wireless needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.