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 - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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, 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 -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Neurologic Neurotherapy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
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.
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 -
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Neurologic Neurotherapy, firm in the HBR case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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.
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Neurologic Neurotherapy is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 - NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Neurologic Neurotherapy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Neurologic Neurotherapy to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
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.
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.
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.
Buying journey improvements
– Neurologic Neurotherapy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations 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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 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. Neurologic Neurotherapy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Neurologic Neurotherapy 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Neurologic Neurotherapy 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 NeuroTherapy Ventures: Catalyzing Neurologic Innovations .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
