Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage
This note focuses on organizational "competencies" or "capabilities" as a potential source of sustained competitive advantage. Research in this area hypothesizes that some firms outperform their competition because they can do things that their rivals cannot.
Swot Analysis of "Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage" written by Rebecca Henderson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sustained Hypothesizes facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sustained Hypothesizes, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sustained Hypothesizes
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 Sustained Hypothesizes
Strengths Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sustained Hypothesizes in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sustained Hypothesizes has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sustained Hypothesizes in the sector have low bargaining power. Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sustained Hypothesizes to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Sustained Hypothesizes is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Sustained Hypothesizes
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sustained Hypothesizes does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sustained Hypothesizes is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Training and development
– Sustained Hypothesizes has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sustained Hypothesizes digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sustained Hypothesizes to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sustained Hypothesizes to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Sustained Hypothesizes is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Weaknesses Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sustained Hypothesizes 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, Rebecca Henderson suggests that, Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sustained Hypothesizes 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. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sustained Hypothesizes products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sustained Hypothesizes needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage, it seems that the employees of Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage, is just above the industry average. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage HBR case study mentions - Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage, in the dynamic environment Sustained Hypothesizes has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sustained Hypothesizes has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage | 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage are -
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 Sustained Hypothesizes in the consumer business. Now Sustained Hypothesizes can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Sustained Hypothesizes 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. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Sustained Hypothesizes can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sustained Hypothesizes can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sustained Hypothesizes is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sustained Hypothesizes can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sustained Hypothesizes 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, Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sustained Hypothesizes to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Sustained Hypothesizes has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sustained Hypothesizes to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage case study. Sustained Hypothesizes can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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. Sustained Hypothesizes needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
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 Sustained Hypothesizes business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Sustained Hypothesizes.
Environmental challenges
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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. Sustained Hypothesizes 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, Sustained Hypothesizes 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage .
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. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sustained Hypothesizes with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Sustained Hypothesizes 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. Sustained Hypothesizes 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Relational Contracts and the Roots of Sustained Competitive Advantage 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 Sustained Hypothesizes needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
