Case Study Description of NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations
Discusses the impact of limited market size on epilepsy therapies and shows how an early-stage venture fund can catalyze faster development of new treatments.
Swot Analysis of "NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations" written by Henry W. Chesbrough includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Neurologic Neurotherapy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Technology, Venture capital and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Neurologic Neurotherapy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Neurologic Neurotherapy
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 Neurologic Neurotherapy
Strengths NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Neurologic Neurotherapy in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Neurologic Neurotherapy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Neurologic Neurotherapy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Neurologic Neurotherapy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 Henry W. Chesbrough 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Neurologic Neurotherapy in the sector have low bargaining power. NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Neurologic Neurotherapy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Neurologic Neurotherapy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Neurologic Neurotherapy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Neurologic Neurotherapy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Neurologic Neurotherapy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Neurologic Neurotherapy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Neurologic Neurotherapy is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Neurologic Neurotherapy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 Neurologic Neurotherapy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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. Neurologic Neurotherapy 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
Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 Neurologic Neurotherapy 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations, is just above the industry average. Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations, in the dynamic environment Neurologic Neurotherapy has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Neurologic Neurotherapy has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Neurologic Neurotherapy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Neurologic Neurotherapy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Neurologic Neurotherapy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Neurologic Neurotherapy products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Neurologic Neurotherapy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Neurologic Neurotherapy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Neurologic Neurotherapy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations | 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Neurologic Neurotherapy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Neurologic Neurotherapy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
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. Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 Neurologic Neurotherapy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Neurologic Neurotherapy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Neurologic Neurotherapy to increase its market reach. Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Neurologic Neurotherapy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Neurologic Neurotherapy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Neurologic Neurotherapy is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
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 Neurologic Neurotherapy in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
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. Neurologic Neurotherapy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Environmental challenges
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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. Neurologic Neurotherapy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of Neurologic Neurotherapy
– 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 Neurologic Neurotherapy.
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 Neurologic Neurotherapy.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 Neurologic Neurotherapy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.