Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy
In December 2000, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) launched the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme, a flagship e-government project. The overall e-government strategy was to use a portal for the provision of electronic public services and commercial services, making the ESD portal (www.esd.gov.hk) a key element. The government contracted a single private operator to implement and provide ESD services for five years. The contract was awarded in November 1999 to ESD Services Ltd. (ESDSL). This case discusses how the HKSAR developed ESD's business model, which is a combination of government-to-citizen and business-to-citizen models, and how ESDSL is implementing it. Also focuses on the major challenges and issues that the private operator, ESDSL, faced in building, implementing, and managing an e-government project. ESD is in its second year of implementation and an immediate issue is the slow adoption of online transactions by the public, which is important in relation to the viability of the ESD's business model.
Swot Analysis of "Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy" written by Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Esd Esdsl facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Strategy execution and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Esd Esdsl, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Esd Esdsl 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Esd Esdsl
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 Esd Esdsl
Strengths Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Esd Esdsl in Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Esd Esdsl to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Esd Esdsl to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Esd Esdsl is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Esd Esdsl digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Esd Esdsl 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Esd Esdsl 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
– Esd Esdsl 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 Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley 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.
Learning organization
- Esd Esdsl 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 Esd Esdsl is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Esd Esdsl in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Esd Esdsl is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Esd Esdsl
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Esd Esdsl does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Esd Esdsl 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Esd Esdsl 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley suggests that, Esd Esdsl is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Need for greater diversity
– Esd Esdsl has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Lack of clear differentiation of Esd Esdsl products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Esd Esdsl needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Esd Esdsl 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy, 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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 Esd Esdsl has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Esd Esdsl 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 - Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Esd Esdsl 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy HBR case study mentions - Esd Esdsl 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Esd Esdsl is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Esd Esdsl needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Esd Esdsl to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Esd Esdsl 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.
Opportunities Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy | 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Esd Esdsl 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Esd Esdsl 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, Esd Esdsl is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Esd Esdsl 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 Esd Esdsl to increase its market reach. Esd Esdsl 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.
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 Esd Esdsl 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Esd Esdsl has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Esd Esdsl to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy case study. Esd Esdsl can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Esd Esdsl 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.
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. Esd Esdsl can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Esd Esdsl 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Esd Esdsl can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Esd Esdsl operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Esd Esdsl 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Esd Esdsl can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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.
Threats Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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. Esd Esdsl 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 Esd Esdsl 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.
Environmental challenges
– Esd Esdsl 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. Esd Esdsl can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Esd Esdsl 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Esd Esdsl with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Esd Esdsl.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Esd Esdsl is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Esd Esdsl has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Esd Esdsl 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.
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. Esd Esdsl can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Esd Esdsl in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Esd Esdsl 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.
Increasing wage structure of Esd Esdsl
– 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 Esd Esdsl.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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 Electronic Service Delivery Implementation and Acceptance Strategy 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 Esd Esdsl needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
