Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments
Supplement to case W18285. In 2016, with success in its two main business lines, mobile phones and electronics retailing, Mobile World Joint Stock Company (Mobile World) faces the challenge of expansion. It is considering geographic expansion into the nearby markets of Cambodia and Myanmar. It is also considering business line expansion into either pharmaceutical or mid-market fresh produce. The founders of Mobile World and the partners of its private equity investor, Mekong Capital, are debating the chances of success of entry into one or more of these new geographic or product areas. Use with 9B18M078 and 9B18M079. Andrew Karl Delios is affiliated with National University of Singapore. Markus Taussig is affiliated with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Swot Analysis of "Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments" written by Andrew Karl Delios, Markus Taussig includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mobile Mekong facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mobile Mekong, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mobile Mekong
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 Mobile Mekong
Strengths Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mobile Mekong in Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mobile Mekong in the sector have low bargaining power. Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mobile Mekong to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mobile Mekong to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mobile Mekong to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mobile Mekong 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Mobile Mekong 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 Mobile Mekong in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mobile Mekong 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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
– Mobile Mekong has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mobile Mekong 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
– Mobile Mekong is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Mobile Mekong has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Mobile Mekong is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mobile Mekong digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mobile Mekong 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.
Weaknesses Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mobile Mekong is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mobile Mekong has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mobile Mekong products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mobile Mekong needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mobile Mekong is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Mobile Mekong needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mobile Mekong to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrew Karl Delios, Markus Taussig suggests that, Mobile Mekong 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mobile Mekong 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. Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments, 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.
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 Mobile Mekong supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mobile Mekong vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mobile Mekong has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mobile Mekong, firm in the HBR case study Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments, it seems that the employees of Mobile Mekong 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.
Opportunities Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments | 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mobile Mekong has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mobile Mekong to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments case study. Mobile Mekong can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mobile Mekong to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Mobile Mekong can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mobile Mekong 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, Mobile Mekong is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mobile Mekong 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mobile Mekong to increase its market reach. Mobile Mekong 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mobile Mekong 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 Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mobile Mekong can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Mobile Mekong in the consumer business. Now Mobile Mekong 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, Mobile Mekong 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Mobile Mekong can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mobile Mekong can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mobile Mekong operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mobile Mekong 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.
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 Mobile Mekong.
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. Mobile Mekong 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mobile Mekong
– 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 Mobile Mekong.
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. Mobile Mekong needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mobile Mekong 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Mobile Mekong 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Mobile Mekong 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. Mobile Mekong can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments .
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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Mobile Mekong can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mobile Mekong 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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 Mekong Capital and Mobile World (C): Venturing into New Countries and Segments 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 Mobile Mekong needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
