Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy
This case focuses on Bridges Fund Management (Bridges), an early leader in the impact investing space, with offices located in both the U.K. and the U.S. Bridges has been in operation for fifteen years and has raised, through early 2017, over $1billion in capital across its 12 funds. While the firm was originally founded by two members the U.K.'s Social Investment Task Force (SITF), Sir Ronald Cohen (now Advisory Board Chair) and Michele Giddens (now one of Bridges most senior partners), the firm now has seventeen partners located either in its U.K. or U.S. offices. Bridges' third co-founder, Philip Newborough, serves as Bridges' overall Managing Partner. The case asks: how might the changing political environment in both the U.S. and U.K. in early 2017 impact Bridges in its ability to raise future funds and in the level of support (financial or otherwise) available to its investments, also known as portfolio companies? Bridges addresses social issues by investing in companies that provide both a financial return and social impact. For example, Bridges improves unemployment through investments in the Babington Group which provides job training to youth; improves healthcare and well-being by investments in Alina and Home Care which serve aging populations; and improves access to housing through its property funds with investments in the Old Vinyl Factory in the U.K. and the Spoke housing complex in the U.S.
Swot Analysis of "Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy" written by Jennifer Walske, Laura D'Andrea Tyson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bridges U.k facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Government, Social responsibility and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bridges U.k, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bridges U.k 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bridges U.k
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bridges U.k
Strengths Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bridges U.k in Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bridges U.k to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bridges U.k to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bridges U.k in the sector have low bargaining power. Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bridges U.k to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bridges U.k 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Bridges U.k 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 Bridges U.k in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bridges U.k digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bridges U.k 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Bridges U.k is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Bridges U.k 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 Jennifer Walske, Laura D'Andrea Tyson 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bridges U.k
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bridges U.k does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bridges U.k has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Bridges U.k 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
– Bridges U.k has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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.
Weaknesses Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bridges U.k 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 - Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy, is just above the industry average. Bridges U.k 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bridges U.k is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Bridges U.k needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bridges U.k to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy, in the dynamic environment Bridges U.k has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bridges U.k has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bridges U.k is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bridges U.k 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bridges U.k 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bridges U.k 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy HBR case study mentions - Bridges U.k 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bridges U.k 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. Bridges U.k 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.
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 Bridges U.k supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bridges U.k vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy | 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Bridges U.k 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. Bridges U.k 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, Bridges U.k is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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.
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 Bridges U.k in the consumer business. Now Bridges U.k can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bridges U.k can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bridges U.k has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bridges U.k to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy case study. Bridges U.k 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 Bridges U.k to increase its market reach. Bridges U.k will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Bridges U.k 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bridges U.k can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Bridges U.k can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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. Bridges U.k can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bridges U.k 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bridges U.k 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
– Bridges U.k can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Threats Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy are -
Environmental challenges
– Bridges U.k 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. Bridges U.k can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
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 Bridges U.k 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.
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. Bridges U.k 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.
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 Bridges U.k in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bridges U.k is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Bridges U.k business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Bridges U.k 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bridges U.k 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy .
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 Bridges U.k.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bridges U.k 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bridges U.k has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bridges U.k needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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 Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy 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 Bridges U.k needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
