Case Study Description of The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science
Professor Robert Langer's laboratory at MIT is the source of an unusually large number of published papers, patents, and technology licenses to start-up and established companies in the biomedical industry. Explores Langer's leadership and other factors that create a successful research enterprise.
Authors :: H. Kent Bowen, Alex Kazaks, Ayr Muir-Harmony, Bryce C. Lapierre
Topics :: Technology & Operations
Tags :: IT, Research & development, Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science" written by H. Kent Bowen, Alex Kazaks, Ayr Muir-Harmony, Bryce C. Lapierre includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Langer's Langer facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Research & development, Social enterprise and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, increasing energy prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Langer's Langer, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Langer's Langer 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Langer's Langer
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 Langer's Langer
Strengths The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Langer's Langer in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Langer's Langer 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 H. Kent Bowen, Alex Kazaks, Ayr Muir-Harmony, Bryce C. Lapierre 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.
Organizational Resilience of Langer's Langer
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Langer's Langer does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Langer's Langer 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.
Learning organization
- Langer's Langer 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 Langer's Langer is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Langer's Langer 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 Langer's Langer digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Langer's Langer 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Langer's Langer is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Langer's Langer 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Langer's Langer is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Langer's Langer has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Langer's Langer to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Langer's Langer to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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.
Weaknesses The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science HBR case study mentions - Langer's Langer 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Langer's Langer 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science, in the dynamic environment Langer's Langer has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Langer's Langer has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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 Langer's Langer has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Langer's Langer 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Langer's Langer 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 The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science, 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 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 Langer's Langer supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Langer's Langer vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Langer's Langer products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Langer's Langer needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Langer's Langer, firm in the HBR case study The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Langer's Langer 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science | 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Langer's Langer 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 Langer's Langer to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Langer's Langer has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Langer's Langer to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science case study. Langer's Langer 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. Langer's Langer 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. Langer's Langer 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.
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 Langer's Langer 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Langer's Langer 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 The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Langer's Langer to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Langer's Langer can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Langer's Langer can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Langer's Langer 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 Langer's Langer 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Langer's Langer to increase its market reach. Langer's Langer 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.
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 Langer's Langer in the consumer business. Now Langer's Langer can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Langer's Langer is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Langer's Langer 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Langer's Langer 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.
Threats The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science are -
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 Langer's Langer.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Langer's Langer with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Langer's Langer 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 Langer's Langer in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Langer's Langer 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Langer's Langer 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Langer's Langer is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Langer's Langer 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Langer's Langer has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Langer's Langer 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.
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. Langer's Langer needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Langer's Langer business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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 Langer Lab: Commercializing Science 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 Langer's Langer needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
