Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency
The case of a healthcare alliance serves to illustrate how partners can better coordinate their activities to improve their joint performance. Building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, the authors distill the microcomponents that underpin coordination at the intrafirm level, and they extend that framework to the alliance level. By knowing which individual-level capabilities, knowledge pieces, routines and coordination schemes to adjust, the alliance's structure can be fine-tuned, and participants given the training and support they need, to create value and boost the chances of successful interorganizational collaborations.
Swot Analysis of "Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency" written by Africa Arino, Rafael Andreu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Coordination Alliance facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Coordination Alliance, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Coordination Alliance 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Coordination Alliance
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Coordination Alliance
Strengths Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Coordination Alliance in Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Coordination Alliance is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 brand equity
– Coordination Alliance has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Coordination Alliance to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Coordination Alliance to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Coordination Alliance to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Coordination Alliance 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 Africa Arino, Rafael Andreu 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.
Training and development
– Coordination Alliance has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Coordination Alliance 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)
– Coordination Alliance 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Coordination Alliance in the sector have low bargaining power. Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Coordination Alliance to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Coordination Alliance 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 Coordination Alliance in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Coordination Alliance
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Coordination Alliance does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Coordination Alliance digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Coordination Alliance has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Coordination Alliance is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Coordination Alliance needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Coordination Alliance to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency, is just above the industry average. Coordination Alliance 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Coordination Alliance, firm in the HBR case study Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency HBR case study mentions - Coordination Alliance takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Coordination Alliance 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Africa Arino, Rafael Andreu suggests that, Coordination Alliance is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Coordination Alliance has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Coordination Alliance 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, Coordination Alliance 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. Coordination Alliance 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Coordination Alliance 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Coordination Alliance products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Coordination Alliance needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency | 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency are -
Manufacturing automation
– Coordination Alliance can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Coordination Alliance can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Coordination Alliance operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Coordination Alliance 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Coordination Alliance can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Coordination Alliance 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Coordination Alliance to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Coordination Alliance 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 Coordination Alliance to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Coordination Alliance can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Coordination Alliance can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Coordination Alliance 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Coordination Alliance 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. Coordination Alliance 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Coordination Alliance has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
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 Coordination Alliance 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Coordination Alliance 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, Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Coordination Alliance 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency, Coordination Alliance may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Coordination Alliance in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Coordination Alliance.
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. Coordination Alliance 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Coordination Alliance 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Coordination Alliance with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Coordination Alliance 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. Coordination Alliance can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Coordination Alliance in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline 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 Coordination Alliance business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Coordination Alliance 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Coordination Alliance can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency 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 Coordination Alliance needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Building Blocks for Healthy Alliance Coordination: A Micro Framework for Macro Efficiency