Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate
Innovation is a key source of organizational growth and profitability. Many organizations at the front end of innovation struggle to engender an innovation approach that is effective and lasting. This article presents a framework that defines the interdependency of innovation and strategy, and then outlines the role of top management to continuously renew the positioning of the firm. Based on a synthesis of prior research-including the Dynamic Capabilities View, Innovation Orientation, and Disruptive Innovation Theory-and our own experience working with organizations, we present an operational strategy shift framework, which allows practitioners to increase, refine, and transform their firm's capability to innovate (CTI) toward achieving their strategic objectives. This framework provides guidance that leaders can use to integrate innovation into their strategic process.
Swot Analysis of "Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate" written by C. Brooke Dobni, Christopher Sand includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Innovation Framework facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Disruptive innovation, Managing organizations, Strategic planning and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Innovation Framework, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Innovation Framework 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Innovation Framework
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 Innovation Framework
Strengths Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Innovation Framework in Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Innovation Framework 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Innovation Framework is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Innovation Framework 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 Innovation Framework in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Innovation Framework is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Innovation Framework 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
- Innovation Framework 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 Innovation Framework is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Innovation Framework
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Innovation Framework does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Innovation Framework has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Innovation Framework 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Innovation Framework to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Innovation Framework to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Innovation Framework has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Innovation Framework to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Innovation Framework 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Innovation Framework 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 - Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Innovation Framework 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Innovation Framework products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Innovation Framework needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Innovation Framework is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Innovation Framework is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Innovation Framework 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. Innovation Framework 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, Innovation Framework 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate HBR case study mentions - Innovation Framework 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Innovation Framework 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Innovation Framework 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate, 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.
Opportunities Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate | 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Innovation Framework 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. Innovation Framework 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 Innovation Framework in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Innovation Framework 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 Innovation Framework to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Innovation Framework can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Innovation Framework 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Innovation Framework 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Innovation Framework to increase its market reach. Innovation Framework 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Innovation Framework has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Innovation Framework to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate case study. Innovation Framework can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Innovation Framework 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Innovation Framework 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Innovation Framework 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Innovation Framework to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Innovation Framework 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Innovation Framework can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Threats Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Innovation Framework 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.
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. Innovation Framework 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. Innovation Framework needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Innovation Framework has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Innovation Framework 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Innovation Framework 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Innovation Framework with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Innovation Framework is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Innovation Framework 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate, Innovation Framework may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Innovation Framework 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Innovation Framework
– 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 Innovation Framework.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Innovation Framework 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Strategy Shift: Integrating Strategy and the Firm's Capability to Innovate 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 Innovation Framework needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
