Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video)
Blizzard, one of the world's most successful PC game publishers and a part of international media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the developers of the bnetd project. Via reverse engineering of Blizzard's software, the bnetd developers created and disseminated a free open source software program that mimicked Blizzard's Battle.net playing experience while improving on some of its deficiencies. Blizzard charged the bnetd developers with breach of contract and various counts of intellectual property infringement. The defendants maintained that U.S. law, in an effort to spur innovation in the United States, protected their activities. In this video, Paul Grewal, a lawyer at Silicon Valley firm Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder, who agreed to work pro bono as co-counsel for bnetd, talks about the lawsuit. He discusses Blizzard's motivations, potential damages, and the importance of venue.
Swot Analysis of "Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video)" written by V. Brian Viard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bnetd Blizzard's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Internet, IT, Regulation and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bnetd Blizzard's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bnetd Blizzard's
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 Bnetd Blizzard's
Strengths Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bnetd Blizzard's in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bnetd Blizzard's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bnetd Blizzard's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bnetd Blizzard's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Bnetd Blizzard's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Bnetd Blizzard's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 brand equity
– Bnetd Blizzard's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bnetd Blizzard's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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 V. Brian Viard 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Bnetd Blizzard's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bnetd Blizzard's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bnetd Blizzard's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bnetd Blizzard's 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. Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bnetd Blizzard's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bnetd Blizzard's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 Bnetd Blizzard's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, V. Brian Viard suggests that, Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video), it seems that the employees of Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video), in the dynamic environment Bnetd Blizzard's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bnetd Blizzard's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video), is just above the industry average. Bnetd Blizzard's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bnetd Blizzard's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bnetd Blizzard's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bnetd Blizzard's has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) | 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bnetd Blizzard's to increase its market reach. Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bnetd Blizzard's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bnetd Blizzard's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) case study. Bnetd Blizzard's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Bnetd Blizzard's 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. Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bnetd Blizzard's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bnetd Blizzard's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Bnetd Blizzard's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard's in the consumer business. Now Bnetd Blizzard's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Bnetd Blizzard's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bnetd Blizzard's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bnetd Blizzard's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bnetd Blizzard's 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. Bnetd Blizzard's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Bnetd Blizzard's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Bnetd Blizzard's
– 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 Bnetd Blizzard's.
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.
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. Bnetd Blizzard's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video), Bnetd Blizzard's 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bnetd Blizzard's is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard's.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bnetd Blizzard's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) 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 Bnetd Blizzard's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.