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 - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, 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 -
Organizational Resilience of Bnetd Blizzard's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bnetd Blizzard's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bnetd Blizzard's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bnetd Blizzard's in the sector have low bargaining power. Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bnetd Blizzard's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Bnetd Blizzard's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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.
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 -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video), 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bnetd Blizzard's 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 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bnetd Blizzard's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Bnetd Blizzard's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bnetd Blizzard's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bnetd Blizzard's, firm in the HBR case study Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) HBR case study mentions - Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bnetd Blizzard's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bnetd Blizzard's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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.
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.
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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Bnetd Blizzard's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 -
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bnetd Blizzard's 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 Blizzard vs. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, Paul Grewal (Video) .
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Bnetd Blizzard's will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bnetd Blizzard's 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.
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 Bnetd Blizzard's in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Bnetd Blizzard's 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. Bnetd Blizzard's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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.
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.
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.
