Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.North Sails is the world's leading sailmaker. The company commands a global market share of more than 50% and is largely responsible for the rapid technological progress in the sailmaking industry over the past 30 years. CEO Tom Whidden needs to consider how to best defend the company's leading position. Specifically, North currently uses neither patents nor copyright to protect its technology. The company even allows its designers to use its software when they do independent work. The case encourages a discussion of the role of intellectual property rights in safeguarding technology and know-how. By highlighting the costs and benefits of patents and copyright, the case points to a challenge that is common across many companies: Their most valuable assets are largely intangible, and these assets cannot easily be pinned down and protected. North's solution to this challenge is highly unusual and creative.
Authors :: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, William W. Fisher III
Swot Analysis of "Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind" written by Felix Oberholzer-Gee, William W. Fisher III includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Copyright Patents facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Operations management, Sales, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Copyright Patents, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Copyright Patents 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Copyright Patents
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 Copyright Patents
Strengths Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Copyright Patents in Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Copyright Patents
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Copyright Patents does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Copyright Patents 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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
– Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Copyright Patents to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Copyright Patents to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Copyright Patents 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Copyright Patents is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Copyright Patents 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
– Copyright Patents is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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.
Analytics focus
– Copyright Patents 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 Felix Oberholzer-Gee, William W. Fisher III 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Copyright Patents has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Copyright Patents 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.
High brand equity
– Copyright Patents has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Copyright Patents to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Copyright Patents 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind - 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Copyright Patents 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. Copyright Patents 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind, it seems that the employees of Copyright Patents 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Copyright Patents products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Copyright Patents needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Copyright Patents is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Copyright Patents 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 - Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Copyright Patents has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Copyright Patents is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Copyright Patents needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Copyright Patents to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Copyright Patents 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind HBR case study mentions - Copyright Patents 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, Copyright Patents is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Copyright Patents 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.
Opportunities Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind | 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Copyright Patents 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Copyright Patents can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Copyright Patents operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Copyright Patents 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Copyright Patents 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Copyright Patents 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Copyright Patents is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Copyright Patents can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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.
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. Copyright Patents 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. Copyright Patents 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.
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 Copyright Patents in the consumer business. Now Copyright Patents can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Copyright Patents has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Copyright Patents to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind case study. Copyright Patents can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Copyright Patents can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Copyright Patents 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 Copyright Patents to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Copyright Patents 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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. Copyright Patents needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Copyright Patents with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Copyright Patents
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Copyright Patents.
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. Copyright Patents 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.
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 Copyright Patents.
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. Copyright Patents can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Copyright Patents 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Copyright Patents 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Copyright Patents 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.
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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Copyright Patents 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind .
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 Copyright Patents in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group-Sailing Downwind 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 Copyright Patents needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.