Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong
In 2003, the Hong Kong government opened the market for electronic trading services. It awarded a license, the second of two, to GO-Business to design, implement, operate and maintain the front-end system of the Government Electronic Trading Service (GETS). The first license had gone to Tradelink, which had enjoyed a monopoly in the market for six years. GETS was a system that enabled traders to submit and apply for trade documents electronically. As a latecomer in the market for a compulsory government service that had been monopolized, GO-Business faced formidable barriers in competing with Tradelink. How could GO-Business position itself and what could it do to compete with Tradelink and gained market share?
Swot Analysis of "Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong" written by Benjamin Yen, Grace Loo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tradelink Trading facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tradelink Trading, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tradelink Trading 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tradelink Trading
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 Tradelink Trading
Strengths Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tradelink Trading in Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tradelink Trading digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tradelink Trading 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Tradelink Trading 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.
Organizational Resilience of Tradelink Trading
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Tradelink Trading does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Tradelink Trading 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tradelink Trading is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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
– Tradelink Trading is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Tradelink Trading 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 Tradelink Trading in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Tradelink Trading 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tradelink Trading to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tradelink Trading to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Tradelink Trading has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Tradelink Trading has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Tradelink Trading 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
– Tradelink Trading 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 Benjamin Yen, Grace Loo 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.
Weaknesses Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong, it seems that the employees of Tradelink Trading 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tradelink Trading products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tradelink Trading needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tradelink Trading 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. Tradelink Trading 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Tradelink Trading 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 - Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Tradelink Trading has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong, in the dynamic environment Tradelink Trading has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Tradelink Trading has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong, is just above the industry average. Tradelink Trading 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Tradelink Trading 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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 Tradelink Trading 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Tradelink Trading 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong | 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tradelink Trading 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Tradelink Trading 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tradelink Trading 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tradelink Trading 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 Tradelink Trading 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tradelink Trading has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tradelink Trading to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong case study. Tradelink Trading can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Tradelink Trading can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Tradelink Trading can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Tradelink Trading 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Tradelink Trading 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, Tradelink Trading can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tradelink Trading operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Tradelink Trading 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tradelink Trading 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.
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 Tradelink Trading in the consumer business. Now Tradelink Trading can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong are -
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. Tradelink Trading needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong, Tradelink Trading 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 .
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. Tradelink Trading 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.
Environmental challenges
– Tradelink Trading 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. Tradelink Trading can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Tradelink Trading 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Tradelink Trading has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tradelink Trading 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tradelink Trading 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.
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. Tradelink Trading can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tradelink Trading 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
– Tradelink Trading 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.
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 Tradelink Trading in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Tradelink Trading.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Tradelink Trading 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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 Go-Business: Competition in the Newly Deregulated Government Electronic Trading Service Market Hong Kong 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 Tradelink Trading needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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