Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up
A young Aboriginal entrepreneur faces three major challenges to growing his lifestyle apparel business. First, he has been unable to find a trusted partner who is both competent and passionate about the venture. Second, he is spread thinly across the multiple roles involved with running and growing the business. Third, he has not yet fully tested any of the proposed business models to determine whether they will require considerable investment or abandonment. The entrepreneur lacks the time and space to think strategically about his best course of action. The case challenges students to evaluate his company's business model and performance and to chart a successful strategy for the future, considering the dual perspectives of being a solo entrepreneur and an Aboriginal businessperson.
Authors :: Peter Moroz, Simon Parker, Edward Gamble
Swot Analysis of "Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up" written by Peter Moroz, Simon Parker, Edward Gamble includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Aboriginal Entrepreneur facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aboriginal Entrepreneur, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aboriginal Entrepreneur
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur
Strengths Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aboriginal Entrepreneur in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Aboriginal Entrepreneur digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Learning organization
- Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Aboriginal Entrepreneur in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Aboriginal Entrepreneur in the sector have low bargaining power. Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Aboriginal Entrepreneur to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aboriginal Entrepreneur to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are -
Need for greater diversity
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aboriginal Entrepreneur is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Peter Moroz, Simon Parker, Edward Gamble suggests that, Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Aboriginal Entrepreneur has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 - Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Aboriginal Entrepreneur is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Aboriginal Entrepreneur needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Aboriginal Entrepreneur to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Aboriginal Entrepreneur is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up HBR case study mentions - Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Opportunities Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up | 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aboriginal Entrepreneur can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Aboriginal Entrepreneur can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aboriginal Entrepreneur operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Aboriginal Entrepreneur to increase its market reach. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur in the consumer business. Now Aboriginal Entrepreneur can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aboriginal Entrepreneur is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Threats Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are -
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Aboriginal Entrepreneur business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Aboriginal Entrepreneur is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.