Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy
Waymo, the self-driving car division of Google, has ordered 82,000 self-driving cars for delivery through 2020. Cruise Automation, from General Motors, is perfecting their own fleet. Countless companies are driving full-throttle into the future. This case explores whether self-driving cars (autonomous vehicles or AVs) are a red oean or blue ocean opportunity, and explains the difference between technological innovation and value innovation. It will prompt students to think about disruptive innovation and nondisruptive market creation, and why inventors of major technological innovations throughout history have often failed to meaningfully monetize their inventions.
Authors :: W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Guoli Chen, Michael Olenick
Swot Analysis of "Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy" written by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Guoli Chen, Michael Olenick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Driving Autonomous facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Disruptive innovation, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices,
there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Driving Autonomous, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Driving Autonomous 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Driving Autonomous
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 Driving Autonomous
Strengths Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Driving Autonomous in Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Driving Autonomous
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Driving Autonomous does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Driving Autonomous 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 W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Guoli Chen, Michael Olenick 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Driving Autonomous is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Driving Autonomous is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Driving Autonomous has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Driving Autonomous 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Driving Autonomous in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Driving Autonomous digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Driving Autonomous 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Driving Autonomous in the sector have low bargaining power. Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Driving Autonomous to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Driving Autonomous to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Driving Autonomous to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Driving Autonomous is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Driving Autonomous 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Driving Autonomous 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.
Weaknesses Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Driving Autonomous 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. Driving Autonomous 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Driving Autonomous 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy, is just above the industry average. Driving Autonomous 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, Driving Autonomous 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving Autonomous has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Driving Autonomous 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 - Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Driving Autonomous, firm in the HBR case study Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Driving Autonomous supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Driving Autonomous vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy, in the dynamic environment Driving Autonomous has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Driving Autonomous 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Driving Autonomous is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy, 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.
Opportunities Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy | 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Driving Autonomous 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. Driving Autonomous 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Driving Autonomous in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Driving Autonomous can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Driving Autonomous 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Driving Autonomous can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
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. Driving Autonomous can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Driving Autonomous has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Driving Autonomous to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy case study. Driving Autonomous can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Driving Autonomous 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
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 Driving Autonomous 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Driving Autonomous 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Driving Autonomous can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Driving Autonomous in the consumer business. Now Driving Autonomous can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Driving Autonomous 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 Driving Autonomous to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy are -
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Driving Autonomous 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy, Driving Autonomous may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Driving Autonomous is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Driving Autonomous 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.
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 Driving Autonomous in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Driving Autonomous
– 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 Driving Autonomous.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Driving Autonomous 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Driving Autonomous 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Driving Autonomous 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.
Environmental challenges
– Driving Autonomous 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. Driving Autonomous can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Driving Autonomous has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Driving Autonomous needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Driving Autonomous 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Industries and Strategy 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 Driving Autonomous needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.