Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry
Connecting life insurance policyholders with potential investors (called Life Settlement Providers), Ashar Group plays a pivotal role in the industry. Its current position is however increasingly being challenged by consumer-direct models, led by major providers seeking to shortcut brokers. Ashar faces a strategic dilemma in cooperating --- but also competing --- with these providers. Maintaining a mutually beneficial dynamic with policyholders, downstream intermediaries and other actors thus constitutes a balancing act. The context of this case is an underdeveloped market whose reputation has suffered from broker misconduct. In light of the market's legacy issues and competing business models, this case study explores strategies Ashar may pursue to secure and enhance its market position. Discussions emerging from this case study have the potential to illuminate directions for market transformation.
Authors :: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher Malloy, Jiahua Xu
Swot Analysis of "Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry" written by Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher Malloy, Jiahua Xu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ashar Policyholders facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ashar Policyholders, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ashar Policyholders 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ashar Policyholders
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ashar Policyholders
Strengths Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ashar Policyholders in Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ashar Policyholders digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ashar Policyholders 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ashar Policyholders is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ashar Policyholders 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ashar Policyholders 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Ashar Policyholders 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 Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher Malloy, Jiahua Xu 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.
Learning organization
- Ashar Policyholders 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 Ashar Policyholders is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Ashar Policyholders 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 Ashar Policyholders in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ashar Policyholders is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Ashar Policyholders has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ashar Policyholders to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ashar Policyholders 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ashar Policyholders has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ashar Policyholders 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ashar Policyholders in the sector have low bargaining power. Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ashar Policyholders to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry are -
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 Ashar Policyholders supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ashar Policyholders vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ashar Policyholders is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry, is just above the industry average. Ashar Policyholders 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry, it seems that the employees of Ashar Policyholders 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ashar Policyholders is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Ashar Policyholders needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ashar Policyholders to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry, in the dynamic environment Ashar Policyholders has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ashar Policyholders has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ashar Policyholders 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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 Ashar Policyholders has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Ashar Policyholders 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
Ashar Policyholders 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.
Opportunities Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry | 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry are -
Buying journey improvements
– Ashar Policyholders can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ashar Policyholders 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, Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry, 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 Ashar Policyholders to increase its market reach. Ashar Policyholders 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.
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 Ashar Policyholders 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ashar Policyholders can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ashar Policyholders can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ashar Policyholders operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ashar Policyholders is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ashar Policyholders can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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 Ashar Policyholders in the consumer business. Now Ashar Policyholders can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ashar Policyholders 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ashar Policyholders can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ashar Policyholders 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. Ashar Policyholders 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ashar Policyholders can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ashar Policyholders 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry .
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 Ashar Policyholders business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ashar Policyholders is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Ashar Policyholders in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ashar Policyholders in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ashar Policyholders with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ashar Policyholders 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.
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. Ashar Policyholders needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Ashar Policyholders 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ashar Policyholders can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Ashar Policyholders 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. Ashar Policyholders can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Increasing wage structure of Ashar Policyholders
– 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 Ashar Policyholders.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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 Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry 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 Ashar Policyholders needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
