Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries
This article explores how to get companies engaged in value-creating cooperation regarding residual materials. Within different contexts, industrial ecology needs matchmakers who act as network orchestrators to facilitate new forms of interorganizational cooperation on what were previously perceived as "junk materials." Three case studies of eco-industrial networks in Denmark (Kalundborg), Canada (the Quebec region), and France (Dunkirk) demonstrate the various roles of the matchmakers to ensure the implementation of industrial ecology at the interorganizational level. This article highlights four strategic activities for matchmakers: revealing value in industrial ecology, generating trust, activating industrial ecology, and institutionalizing industrial ecology.
Swot Analysis of "Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries" written by Anne-Ryslene Zaoual, Xavier Lecocq includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ecology Industrial facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ecology Industrial, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ecology Industrial 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ecology Industrial
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 Ecology Industrial
Strengths Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ecology Industrial in Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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.
High brand equity
– Ecology Industrial has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ecology Industrial to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ecology Industrial to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ecology Industrial to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ecology Industrial digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ecology Industrial 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ecology Industrial
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ecology Industrial does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Ecology Industrial 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 Anne-Ryslene Zaoual, Xavier Lecocq 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 Ecology Industrial in the sector have low bargaining power. Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ecology Industrial to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ecology Industrial 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 Ecology Industrial in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ecology Industrial 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Ecology Industrial has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ecology Industrial 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ecology Industrial 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.
Weaknesses Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ecology Industrial is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ecology Industrial 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. Ecology Industrial 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ecology Industrial is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ecology Industrial needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ecology Industrial to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries, in the dynamic environment Ecology Industrial has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ecology Industrial has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ecology Industrial is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ecology Industrial 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 - Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Ecology Industrial has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ecology Industrial 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ecology Industrial needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ecology Industrial, firm in the HBR case study Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries, is just above the industry average. Ecology Industrial 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.
Opportunities Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries | 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ecology Industrial 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ecology Industrial can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ecology Industrial is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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.
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 Ecology Industrial in the consumer business. Now Ecology Industrial can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ecology Industrial has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ecology Industrial to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries case study. Ecology Industrial 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
– Ecology Industrial 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ecology Industrial to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ecology Industrial 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, Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ecology Industrial to increase its market reach. Ecology Industrial 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ecology Industrial can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ecology Industrial operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ecology Industrial can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Ecology Industrial 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ecology Industrial 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ecology Industrial 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.
Threats Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ecology Industrial with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Ecology Industrial
– 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 Ecology Industrial.
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 Ecology Industrial in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries, Ecology Industrial 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ecology Industrial 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ecology Industrial high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ecology Industrial can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ecology Industrial 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.
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 Ecology Industrial.
Environmental challenges
– Ecology Industrial 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. Ecology Industrial can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ecology Industrial has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ecology Industrial 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ecology Industrial 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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 Orchestrating Circularity within Industrial Ecosystems: Lessons from Iconic Cases in Three Different Countries 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 Ecology Industrial needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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