Case Study Description of Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout
Xerox has established a new spinoff that utilizes software technology developed at its PARC research facility. This spinoff, Inxight Software, is formulating its plans to commercialize PARC's technology via an OEM component business model.
Swot Analysis of "Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout" written by Henry W. Chesbrough, Christina Darwall includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Inxight Spinoff facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Inxight Spinoff, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Inxight Spinoff
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 Inxight Spinoff
Strengths Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Inxight Spinoff in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Inxight Spinoff 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, Christina Darwall 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Inxight Spinoff is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Inxight Spinoff is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Inxight Spinoff has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight Spinoff is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Inxight Spinoff
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Inxight Spinoff does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Inxight Spinoff has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Inxight Spinoff 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Inxight Spinoff to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Inxight Spinoff to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight Spinoff in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Inxight Spinoff 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 - Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout HBR case study mentions - Inxight Spinoff takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Inxight Spinoff 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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 Inxight Spinoff 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Inxight Spinoff 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Inxight Spinoff, firm in the HBR case study Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Inxight Spinoff products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout, 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Inxight Spinoff is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Inxight Spinoff 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Inxight Spinoff 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.
Opportunities Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout | 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Inxight Spinoff can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Inxight Spinoff to increase its market reach. Inxight Spinoff 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.
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. Inxight Spinoff 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. Inxight Spinoff 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Inxight Spinoff can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Inxight Spinoff operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Inxight Spinoff 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.
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 Inxight Spinoff 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Inxight Spinoff 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Inxight Spinoff 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Inxight Spinoff 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
– Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Inxight Spinoff to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Inxight Spinoff 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, Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Inxight Spinoff can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight Spinoff to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout are -
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.
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. Inxight Spinoff needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Inxight Spinoff 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.
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.
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. Inxight Spinoff 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 Inxight Spinoff in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Inxight Spinoff can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Inxight Spinoff is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout, Inxight Spinoff 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Inxight Spinoff 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Inxight Spinoff with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Inxight Spinoff business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Inxight Spinoff.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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 Inxight: Incubating a Xerox Technology Spinout 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 Inxight Spinoff needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.