Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge
Open source software (OSS) is a dramatically disruptive force in the software industry. While businesses see OSS succeeding, many of them have trouble gleaning the lessons that can be learned from the OSS phenomenon, since OSS development appears to be far removed from traditional business practices and principles. A major observation resulting from research on OSS products is that OSS product development is not only enabling innovations by its users, but also providing a structure for them to back-propagate into OSS products, a process that enhances compatibility in OSS products and presents a low-cost solution to the more general problem of servicing highly segmented markets. Argues that this innovative management process carries important insights for both commercial software vendors and companies outside the software industry.
Authors :: Christian Hicks, Dessislava Pachamanova
Swot Analysis of "Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge" written by Christian Hicks, Dessislava Pachamanova includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oss Compatibility facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oss Compatibility, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oss Compatibility 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oss Compatibility
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 Oss Compatibility
Strengths Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Oss Compatibility in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Oss Compatibility 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Oss Compatibility digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Oss Compatibility has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Oss Compatibility to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Oss Compatibility to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Oss Compatibility 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 Oss Compatibility in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Oss Compatibility is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Oss Compatibility 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge - 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 Oss Compatibility 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.
Analytics focus
– Oss Compatibility 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 Christian Hicks, Dessislava Pachamanova 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Oss Compatibility 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Oss Compatibility 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 Oss Compatibility is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Oss Compatibility has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Oss Compatibility is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Oss Compatibility 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 - Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Oss Compatibility is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Oss Compatibility 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge, in the dynamic environment Oss Compatibility has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Oss Compatibility has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Oss Compatibility is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Oss Compatibility 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Oss Compatibility 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Oss Compatibility has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Oss Compatibility products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Oss Compatibility needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge, 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Oss Compatibility 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.
Opportunities Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge | 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge are -
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 Oss Compatibility in the consumer business. Now Oss Compatibility can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Oss Compatibility can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Oss Compatibility 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, Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Oss Compatibility 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 Oss Compatibility 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 Oss Compatibility to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Oss Compatibility 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. Oss Compatibility 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
– Oss Compatibility 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Oss Compatibility can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Oss Compatibility 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Oss Compatibility can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Oss Compatibility operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Oss Compatibility 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Oss Compatibility 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Oss Compatibility to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Oss Compatibility can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge are -
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Oss Compatibility needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Oss Compatibility 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Oss Compatibility has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Oss Compatibility 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
– Oss Compatibility 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. Oss Compatibility can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of Oss Compatibility
– 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 Oss Compatibility.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Oss Compatibility is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Oss Compatibility.
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 Oss Compatibility demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Oss Compatibility 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.
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 Oss Compatibility in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge, Oss Compatibility 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 .
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. Oss Compatibility 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Back-Propagation of User Innovations: The Open Source Compatibility Edge 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 Oss Compatibility needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.