Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que
In the last few years, Metro News has successfully developed a position as one of the most important newspapers in Spain, at the same time enjoying an expansion into 16 countries worldwide. A new business model, sustained entirely by publicity revenues, and a fast-paced expansion, can, at least partially, explain this success. However, at the present moment, Metro has to defend its positioning against the traditional press groups and other new entrants in the free press. Focuses on Spain, where Recoletos, one of the largest Spanish media groups, is planning to launch a free newspaper, Que, in 15 cities. Such a launch could represent a major threat to Metro's further expansion and positioning in Spain.
Swot Analysis of "Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que" written by Josep Valor, Luis Vives includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Spain Metro facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Spain Metro, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Spain Metro 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Spain Metro
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 Spain Metro
Strengths Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Spain Metro in Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Spain Metro 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 Josep Valor, Luis Vives 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
– Spain Metro has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Spain Metro 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 Spain Metro in the sector have low bargaining power. Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Spain Metro to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Spain Metro 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Spain Metro is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Spain Metro is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Spain Metro 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 Spain Metro in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Spain Metro is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Spain Metro
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Spain Metro does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Spain Metro has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Spain Metro to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Spain Metro 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Spain Metro in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Spain Metro 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. Spain Metro even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Spain Metro has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Spain Metro is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Spain Metro supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Spain Metro vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Spain Metro 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Josep Valor, Luis Vives suggests that, Spain Metro 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
– Spain Metro 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Spain Metro 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que, is just above the industry average. Spain Metro 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Spain Metro 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que | 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Spain Metro 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, Spain Metro is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Spain Metro 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, Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Spain Metro in the consumer business. Now Spain Metro 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 Spain Metro has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Spain Metro to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que case study. Spain Metro can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Spain Metro can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Spain Metro 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.
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. Spain Metro 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. Spain Metro 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Spain Metro 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Spain Metro 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Spain Metro 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 Spain Metro to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Spain Metro 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Spain Metro 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.
Threats Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Spain Metro has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Spain Metro 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 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. Spain Metro needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Spain Metro 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 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.
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. Spain Metro 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 Spain Metro.
Environmental challenges
– Spain Metro 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. Spain Metro 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, Spain Metro 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que, Spain Metro 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 .
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.
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 Spain Metro in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Spain Metro
– 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 Spain Metro.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Spain Metro 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Competing for the Free Newspaper Industry in Spain: Metro vs Que 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 Spain Metro needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
