Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations
Business regulation is greatly shaped by a theory from economics and political science called "public choice." Public choice argues that regulation is sought by existing business organizations as a means to create barriers to entry for new competitors--something incumbent firms cannot do alone in the competitive environment. The Internet introduces different, and more complex, relationships between business and regulatory institutions as the territorial jurisdiction of traditional governmental agencies erodes and control over technology standards by business and nongovernmental organizations arises. With some important caveats, public choice theory offers important insights into exchange relationships between regulatory institutions and firms operating on the Internet. Examines a specific application of public choice to the case of the Linux Standards Base, an Internet-based governing board for the open-source operating system. The Linux Standards Base provides an example of regulation where the regulatory institution is a nongovernmental entity.
Authors :: Robert L. Simons, Emerson Tiller, Sirkka Jarvenpaa
Swot Analysis of "Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations" written by Robert L. Simons, Emerson Tiller, Sirkka Jarvenpaa includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Choice Regulation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Internet and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Choice Regulation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Choice Regulation 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Choice Regulation
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Choice Regulation
Strengths Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Choice Regulation in Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Choice Regulation 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Choice Regulation in the sector have low bargaining power. Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Choice Regulation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Choice Regulation 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 Robert L. Simons, Emerson Tiller, Sirkka Jarvenpaa 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Choice Regulation 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Choice Regulation 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 Choice Regulation in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Choice Regulation is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Choice Regulation 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Choice Regulation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Choice Regulation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Choice Regulation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Choice Regulation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Choice Regulation 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Choice Regulation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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 Choice Regulation has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Choice Regulation 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Choice Regulation 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. Choice Regulation 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Choice Regulation 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations, in the dynamic environment Choice Regulation has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Choice Regulation has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Choice Regulation 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 - Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Choice Regulation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Choice Regulation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Choice Regulation 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations, it seems that the employees of Choice Regulation 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Choice Regulation is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Choice Regulation needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Choice Regulation to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations | 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Choice Regulation 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. Choice Regulation 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Choice Regulation can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Choice Regulation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Choice Regulation can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Choice Regulation 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Choice Regulation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Choice Regulation 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Choice Regulation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Choice Regulation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Choice Regulation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Choice Regulation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations case study. Choice Regulation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Choice Regulation 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Choice Regulation in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Choice Regulation to increase its market reach. Choice Regulation 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Choice Regulation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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.
Threats Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Choice Regulation in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Choice Regulation 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Choice Regulation is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Choice Regulation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Choice Regulation needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
Environmental challenges
– Choice Regulation 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. Choice Regulation can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Choice Regulation 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Choice Regulation 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 Choice Regulation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Choice Regulation 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. Choice Regulation 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Choice Regulation 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.
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 Choice Regulation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations, Choice Regulation may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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 Regulation and the Internet: Public Choice Insights for Business Organizations 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 Choice Regulation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.