John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow
The Cardboard Snowplow tells the story of an inventor who has a novel idea that he believes represents a business opportunity. In response to this story, students are asked to summarize the problem (the high cost and physical exertion of clearing snow) and proposed solution (a corrugated cardboard snowplow). They are asked to (1) assess the solution's likely potential as a business opportunity; (2) identify what they perceive as the most likely sources of business launch vulnerability; and (3) propose potential tests that might inform a data-driven "go / no go" decision. Finally, they are told the true story of the cardboard snowplow - a story that motivates thoughtful discussion about not solely the perils of making assumptive leaps when assessing opportunities, but also the important pre-start questions that people sometimes forget to ask. The case is designed to (1) introduce or review the various component parts of a new business concept; (2) expose students to feasibility screening; and (3) begin breaking the habit of using subjective, assumption-driven, personal opinions in evaluating new ideas.
Swot Analysis of "John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow" written by Elissa Grossman, David Grossman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Snowplow Cardboard facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Market research and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Snowplow Cardboard, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Snowplow Cardboard
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 Snowplow Cardboard
Strengths John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Snowplow Cardboard in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Snowplow Cardboard
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Snowplow Cardboard does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Learning organization
- Snowplow Cardboard 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 Snowplow Cardboard is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Snowplow Cardboard has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Snowplow Cardboard is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Snowplow Cardboard has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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.
Analytics focus
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 Elissa Grossman, David Grossman 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 Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Snowplow Cardboard is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow - 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Snowplow Cardboard to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Snowplow Cardboard to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Snowplow Cardboard in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Snowplow Cardboard 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 - John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, in the dynamic environment Snowplow Cardboard has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Snowplow Cardboard has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Snowplow Cardboard, firm in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 Snowplow Cardboard 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Snowplow Cardboard is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, is just above the industry average. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Snowplow Cardboard 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. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Opportunities John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow | 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Snowplow Cardboard can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Snowplow Cardboard operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Snowplow Cardboard to increase its market reach. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Snowplow Cardboard 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, John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Snowplow Cardboard can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Snowplow Cardboard 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 Snowplow Cardboard to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Snowplow Cardboard has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Snowplow Cardboard to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study. Snowplow Cardboard can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Snowplow Cardboard is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Snowplow Cardboard can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Snowplow Cardboard can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Snowplow Cardboard to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Snowplow Cardboard 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.
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.
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 Snowplow Cardboard business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Snowplow Cardboard has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Increasing wage structure of Snowplow Cardboard
– 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 Snowplow Cardboard.
Environmental challenges
– Snowplow Cardboard 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. Snowplow Cardboard can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Snowplow Cardboard can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow .
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 Snowplow Cardboard in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
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. Snowplow Cardboard needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 Snowplow Cardboard needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.