Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Companies today will have to reinvent themselves to survive, and every large and ambitious company should be trying to figure out how to become a destination for its customers. Consumers are voting with their mobile devices and choosing from a handful of dominant "ecosystem drivers"-businesses such as Amazon and WeChat, which become destinations for their customers'needs by offering complementary or sometimes competing services -for each domain in their lives.
Swot Analysis of "Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem" written by Peter Weill, Stephanie Woerner includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ecosystem Customers'needs facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ecosystem Customers'needs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ecosystem Customers'needs
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ecosystem Customers'needs
Strengths Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ecosystem Customers'needs in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ecosystem Customers'needs has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ecosystem Customers'needs is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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.
Analytics focus
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Peter Weill, Stephanie Woerner 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Ecosystem Customers'needs in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Ecosystem Customers'needs is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ecosystem Customers'needs in the sector have low bargaining power. Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ecosystem Customers'needs to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Ecosystem Customers'needs has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Leadership & Managing People industry
– Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ecosystem Customers'needs to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ecosystem Customers'needs to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Ecosystem Customers'needs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Ecosystem Customers'needs is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem, is just above the industry average. Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ecosystem Customers'needs is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Ecosystem Customers'needs supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ecosystem Customers'needs vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ecosystem Customers'needs 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. Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Ecosystem Customers'needs 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Peter Weill, Stephanie Woerner suggests that, Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem, in the dynamic environment Ecosystem Customers'needs has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ecosystem Customers'needs has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem HBR case study mentions - Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Opportunities Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem | 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Ecosystem Customers'needs to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Ecosystem Customers'needs can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ecosystem Customers'needs can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ecosystem Customers'needs can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ecosystem Customers'needs operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ecosystem Customers'needs can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ecosystem Customers'needs is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ecosystem Customers'needs in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
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 Ecosystem Customers'needs in the consumer business. Now Ecosystem Customers'needs can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ecosystem Customers'needs can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem are -
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.
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. Ecosystem Customers'needs needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
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 Ecosystem Customers'needs.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem, Ecosystem Customers'needs may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ecosystem Customers'needs in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem .
Increasing wage structure of Ecosystem Customers'needs
– 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 Ecosystem Customers'needs.
Regulatory challenges
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ecosystem Customers'needs is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ecosystem Customers'needs has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ecosystem Customers'needs needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ecosystem Customers'needs 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem 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 Ecosystem Customers'needs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
