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Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy


This technical note describes the degree to which emerging markets are integrated with the global market and its implications on portfolio strategy. Video supplements are available to enhance student learning.

Authors :: Wei Li, Richard Hoyer-Ellefsen

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Financial management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy" written by Wei Li, Richard Hoyer-Ellefsen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Portfolio Degree facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Portfolio Degree, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Portfolio Degree 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 Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Portfolio Degree
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 Portfolio Degree




Strengths Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Portfolio Degree in Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Portfolio Degree 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.

High brand equity

– Portfolio Degree has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Portfolio Degree to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Portfolio Degree has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Portfolio Degree 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.

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Portfolio Degree digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Portfolio Degree 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.

Learning organization

- Portfolio Degree 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 Portfolio Degree is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Organizational Resilience of Portfolio Degree

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Portfolio Degree does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Strong track record of project management

– Portfolio Degree 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

– Portfolio Degree is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Market Integration and Portfolio 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.

Analytics focus

– Portfolio Degree 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 Wei Li, Richard Hoyer-Ellefsen 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

– Portfolio Degree has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Portfolio Degree 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.






Weaknesses Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy are -

Products dominated business model

– Even though Portfolio Degree 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 - Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy, 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy HBR case study mentions - Portfolio Degree 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 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 Portfolio Degree supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Portfolio Degree vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Portfolio Degree is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Portfolio Degree needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Portfolio Degree to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Portfolio Degree is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Portfolio Degree 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy, is just above the industry average. Portfolio Degree 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Portfolio Degree has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Portfolio Degree 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy 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 Portfolio Degree 's lucrative customers.




Opportunities Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy are -

Manufacturing automation

– Portfolio Degree 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Portfolio Degree is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Portfolio Degree 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Portfolio Degree to increase its market reach. Portfolio Degree 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Portfolio Degree can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Market Integration and Portfolio 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Portfolio Degree 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, Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Portfolio Degree 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Portfolio Degree 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 Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Portfolio Degree to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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. Portfolio Degree can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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 Portfolio Degree 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Portfolio Degree can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Portfolio Degree operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Portfolio Degree can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Portfolio Degree 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 Portfolio Degree to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.




Threats Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy are -

Increasing wage structure of Portfolio Degree

– 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 Portfolio Degree.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Portfolio Degree 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Portfolio Degree can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Portfolio Degree has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Portfolio Degree needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.

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. Portfolio Degree can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Portfolio Degree with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Environmental challenges

– Portfolio Degree 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. Portfolio Degree can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Portfolio Degree 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Market Integration and Portfolio Strategy, Portfolio Degree may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

Regulatory challenges

– Portfolio Degree 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

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. Portfolio Degree 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.

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 Portfolio Degree in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Market Integration and Portfolio 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 Portfolio Degree needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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