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The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions


Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are an important tool for improving a firm's competitive positioning and performance. Despite M&As' promise, however, they often fail to meet performance goals. Challenges often arise when managers try to integrate two companies' information technology (IT) systems, and the difficulties encountered often create both short- and long-term performance problems for companies. To help address these challenges, we highlight important issues that managers involved in M&As must consider. We also present some best practices that managers should follow to improve the odds of successful IT integration.

Authors :: Franz T. Lohrke, Cynthia Frownfelter-Lohrke, David Ketchen Jr.

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Mergers & acquisitions, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions" written by Franz T. Lohrke, Cynthia Frownfelter-Lohrke, David Ketchen Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Performance Mergers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Performance Mergers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Performance Mergers 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Performance Mergers
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 Performance Mergers




Strengths The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Performance Mergers in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions Harvard Business Review case study are -

Innovation driven organization

– Performance Mergers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Performance Mergers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Performance Mergers 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Performance Mergers is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Organizational Resilience of Performance Mergers

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Performance Mergers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Diverse revenue streams

– Performance Mergers is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Performance Mergers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Performance Mergers 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Training and development

– Performance Mergers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Performance Mergers 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Performance Mergers 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Performance Mergers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Performance Mergers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.






Weaknesses The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions are -

Need for greater diversity

– Performance Mergers 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Performance Mergers, firm in the HBR case study The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions, it seems that the employees of Performance Mergers don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

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 Performance Mergers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Performance Mergers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Performance Mergers 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Performance Mergers 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Performance Mergers 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 - The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Performance Mergers 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 dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 Performance Mergers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Franz T. Lohrke, Cynthia Frownfelter-Lohrke, David Ketchen Jr. suggests that, Performance Mergers 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Performance Mergers 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. Performance Mergers 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.




Opportunities The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions | 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 Performance Mergers in the consumer business. Now Performance Mergers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Performance Mergers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Performance Mergers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions case study. Performance Mergers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Performance Mergers to increase its market reach. Performance Mergers 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Performance Mergers 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.

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. Performance Mergers 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. Performance Mergers 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Performance Mergers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Performance Mergers 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Performance Mergers 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Performance Mergers 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Performance Mergers 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 Performance Mergers to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Performance Mergers 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Performance Mergers 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.




Threats The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions are -

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Performance Mergers 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions, Performance Mergers may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

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. Performance Mergers 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 Performance Mergers 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Performance Mergers 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.

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 Performance Mergers 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 Performance Mergers.

Increasing wage structure of Performance Mergers

– 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 Performance Mergers.

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. Performance Mergers 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 Performance Mergers in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Performance Mergers 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 The role of information technology systems in the performance of mergers and acquisitions 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 Performance Mergers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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