Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification
In November 2016, the co-founders of Poppy Barley Inc. (Poppy Barley) had just finished discussing the company's fiscal projections and sustainability goals for the upcoming 2017 year. Poppy Barley, a made-to-measure footwear retailer in Edmonton, Alberta, had grown rapidly. The co-founders, who were sisters, wanted to further both their product line and their commitments to corporate sustainability. Would becoming certified as a sustainable business publicize their commitments and values, and improve their triple bottom line? If so, which certification should they choose? On the other hand, given the company's growth stage, would directing finite resources toward certification detract from other important business areas? Joel Gehman and Peter Loginov and Aimee Van Dam and Brittnay Verstraete are affiliated with University of Alberta.
Authors :: Joel Gehman, Greg Dobbelsteyn, Peter Loginov, Aimee Van Dam
Swot Analysis of "Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification" written by Joel Gehman, Greg Dobbelsteyn, Peter Loginov, Aimee Van Dam includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Barley Poppy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy, Supply chain, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
technology disruption, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Barley Poppy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Barley Poppy 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Barley Poppy
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 Barley Poppy
Strengths Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Barley Poppy in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Barley Poppy 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 Barley Poppy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Barley Poppy 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 Barley Poppy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Barley Poppy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Barley Poppy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Barley Poppy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Barley Poppy 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 Joel Gehman, Greg Dobbelsteyn, Peter Loginov, Aimee Van Dam 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Barley Poppy are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Barley Poppy digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Barley Poppy 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Barley Poppy 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Barley Poppy 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Barley Poppy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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
– Barley Poppy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Barley Poppy 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, Barley Poppy is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Barley Poppy, firm in the HBR case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Barley Poppy 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. Barley Poppy 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification, is just above the industry average. Barley Poppy 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Barley Poppy products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Barley Poppy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Barley Poppy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Barley Poppy 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Barley Poppy 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification, in the dynamic environment Barley Poppy has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Barley Poppy has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification | 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Barley Poppy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Barley Poppy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Barley Poppy to increase its market reach. Barley Poppy 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Barley Poppy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Barley Poppy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification case study. Barley Poppy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Barley Poppy 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.
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. Barley Poppy 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 Barley Poppy in the consumer business. Now Barley Poppy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Barley Poppy 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. Barley Poppy 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Barley Poppy 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Barley Poppy 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Barley Poppy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Barley Poppy in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Barley Poppy 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Barley Poppy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Barley Poppy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Barley Poppy needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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. Barley Poppy 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Barley Poppy is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Barley Poppy in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Barley Poppy 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Barley Poppy in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification, Barley Poppy 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Barley Poppy 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. Barley Poppy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Barley Poppy 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 Barley Poppy
– 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 Barley Poppy.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Barley Poppy 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.
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 Barley Poppy business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Barley Poppy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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 Poppy Barley: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Sustainability Certification 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 Barley Poppy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
