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Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge


The Wikimedia Foundation is responsible for supporting Wikipedia and various other projects through administration, technical and financial support. Since its founding, Wikipedia has changed the way people around the world research information by allowing individuals to document and write history in a collaborative and decentralized fashion. The case follows Lila Tretikov as she takes on her new role as the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, and how she and the organization have to balance fundraising, technology development and managing an organization through influence and strategy.

Authors :: Robert E. Siegel, Robert A. Burgelman, Arla Xhaxho

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Government, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge" written by Robert E. Siegel, Robert A. Burgelman, Arla Xhaxho includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wikimedia Wikipedia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Technology and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wikimedia Wikipedia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wikimedia Wikipedia
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 Wikimedia Wikipedia




Strengths Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Wikimedia Wikipedia in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge Harvard Business Review case study are -

Diverse revenue streams

– Wikimedia Wikipedia is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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.

Learning organization

- Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wikimedia Wikipedia digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Wikimedia Wikipedia is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Wikimedia Wikipedia 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

– Wikimedia Wikipedia is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Robert E. Siegel, Robert A. Burgelman, Arla Xhaxho 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Wikimedia Wikipedia in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Training and development

– Wikimedia Wikipedia has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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.






Weaknesses Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge are -

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Wikimedia Wikipedia is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Wikimedia Wikipedia needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wikimedia Wikipedia to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Lack of clear differentiation of Wikimedia Wikipedia products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wikimedia Wikipedia needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Wikimedia Wikipedia, firm in the HBR case study Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge, in the dynamic environment Wikimedia Wikipedia has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wikimedia Wikipedia has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Wikimedia Wikipedia 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. Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wikimedia Wikipedia vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wikimedia Wikipedia is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge HBR case study mentions - Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.




Opportunities Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge | 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wikimedia Wikipedia is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Wikimedia Wikipedia has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wikimedia Wikipedia to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge case study. Wikimedia Wikipedia can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wikimedia Wikipedia 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, Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wikimedia Wikipedia can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wikimedia Wikipedia operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Loyalty marketing

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wikimedia Wikipedia can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

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. Wikimedia Wikipedia 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. Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.




Threats Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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.

Environmental challenges

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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. Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge .

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

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. Wikimedia Wikipedia needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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.

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 Wikimedia Wikipedia business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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. Wikimedia Wikipedia 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wikimedia Wikipedia with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wikimedia Wikipedia 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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 Wikimedia Foundation in 2015: Changing How Humans Share Knowledge 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 Wikimedia Wikipedia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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