How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms
Innovative companies are building their business upon the participation of crowds. These crowdsourcing business models are powerful because they are scalable. By encouraging external innovators to contribute to value creation, crowdsourcing innovation platforms have the capability to grow significantly in size and revenue without equally increasing its costs. However, quickly and sustainably scaling crowdsourcing platforms is a daunting challenge. This article considers more than 20 leading crowdsourcing ventures to identify scaling challenges and strategies. The resulting framework presents scaling paths for managers of crowdsourcing ventures as well as executives of traditional companies who seek to build scalable crowdsourcing platforms.
Swot Analysis of "How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms" written by Thomas Kohler includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Crowdsourcing Platforms facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, IT and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Crowdsourcing Platforms, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Crowdsourcing Platforms
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Crowdsourcing Platforms
Strengths How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Crowdsourcing Platforms in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Crowdsourcing Platforms has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Training and development
– Crowdsourcing Platforms has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Crowdsourcing Platforms in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Crowdsourcing Platforms is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Crowdsourcing Platforms is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 Thomas Kohler 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Crowdsourcing Platforms in the sector have low bargaining power. How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Crowdsourcing Platforms to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 Crowdsourcing Platforms in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Crowdsourcing Platforms is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Learning organization
- Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 Crowdsourcing Platforms is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Crowdsourcing Platforms has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms, it seems that the employees of Crowdsourcing Platforms don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Crowdsourcing Platforms is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Crowdsourcing Platforms is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Crowdsourcing Platforms needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Crowdsourcing Platforms to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms, is just above the industry average. Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms, in the dynamic environment Crowdsourcing Platforms has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Crowdsourcing Platforms has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Thomas Kohler suggests that, Crowdsourcing Platforms is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Crowdsourcing Platforms products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Crowdsourcing Platforms needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms | 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Crowdsourcing Platforms can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Crowdsourcing Platforms operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Crowdsourcing Platforms can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Crowdsourcing Platforms can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Manufacturing automation
– Crowdsourcing Platforms can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Crowdsourcing Platforms has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Crowdsourcing Platforms to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms case study. Crowdsourcing Platforms can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 Crowdsourcing Platforms to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Crowdsourcing Platforms 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, How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Crowdsourcing Platforms 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. Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
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. Crowdsourcing Platforms can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Crowdsourcing Platforms to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Crowdsourcing Platforms can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Crowdsourcing Platforms can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms are -
Increasing wage structure of Crowdsourcing Platforms
– 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 Crowdsourcing Platforms.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Crowdsourcing Platforms 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, Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Crowdsourcing Platforms can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Crowdsourcing Platforms business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Crowdsourcing Platforms needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Crowdsourcing Platforms is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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.
Environmental challenges
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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. Crowdsourcing Platforms can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms, Crowdsourcing Platforms may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Crowdsourcing Platforms with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 How to Scale Crowdsourcing Platforms 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 Crowdsourcing Platforms needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
