7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships
As more of the world's population moves to cities, businesses have myriad opportunities to carve out new, lucrative niches, using their expertise, knowledge and access to cutting-edge technology and data to help tackle the growing list of challenges being faced by local authorities. This article, based on work by IESE Cities in Motion and PPP for Cities, outlines what businesses can bring to public-private partnerships. The authors explore the types of partnerships available as well as break down the seven forces for success in today's PPPs.
Authors :: Pascual Berrone, Joan E. Ricart, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Jordi Salvador
Swot Analysis of "7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships" written by Pascual Berrone, Joan E. Ricart, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Jordi Salvador includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cities Ppps facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cities Ppps, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cities Ppps 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cities Ppps
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cities Ppps
Strengths 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cities Ppps in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cities Ppps is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cities Ppps 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cities Ppps is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cities Ppps 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cities Ppps 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cities Ppps in the sector have low bargaining power. 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cities Ppps to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Cities Ppps is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cities Ppps in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Cities Ppps has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cities Ppps is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cities Ppps to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cities Ppps to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships, in the dynamic environment Cities Ppps has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cities Ppps has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cities Ppps 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships, is just above the industry average. Cities Ppps 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cities Ppps 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cities Ppps, firm in the HBR case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cities Ppps is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cities Ppps 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cities Ppps is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Cities Ppps 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cities Ppps 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Opportunities 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships | 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships are -
Buying journey improvements
– Cities Ppps can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cities Ppps is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cities Ppps in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cities Ppps has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cities Ppps to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships case study. Cities Ppps can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Cities Ppps can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cities Ppps can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cities Ppps operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cities Ppps can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cities Ppps 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, 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cities Ppps can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cities Ppps 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.
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. Cities Ppps can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Cities Ppps in the consumer business. Now Cities Ppps can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cities Ppps 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.
Threats 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cities Ppps has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cities Ppps needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Cities Ppps.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cities Ppps with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Cities Ppps 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. Cities Ppps can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Cities Ppps in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Cities Ppps 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.
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 Cities Ppps business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cities Ppps in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cities Ppps 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 wage structure of Cities Ppps
– 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 Cities Ppps.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cities Ppps 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cities Ppps is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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 7 Forces to Success in PPPs: Smart Cities via Public-Private Partnerships 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 Cities Ppps needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
