Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China
For the past seven years or so, the Chinese government has been powering ahead with industrial policies to promote low-carbon energy technologies-wind, solar, electric batteries and vehicles, nuclear power, and even carbon capture and sequestration. In 2009, the government focused broadly on "indigenous innovation," a policy to adopt and then develop technology in dozens of high-tech sectors. As with the earlier focus on renewables, explicit governmental policies and subsidies discriminate against foreign products and foreign companies invested in China. The net effects of these initiatives leave low-carbon energy industries in the United States in the dust.
Swot Analysis of "Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China" written by Richard H.K. Vietor includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Carbon Indigenous facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Globalization, Policy, Sustainability and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Carbon Indigenous, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Carbon Indigenous 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Carbon Indigenous
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Carbon Indigenous
Strengths Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Carbon Indigenous in Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Carbon Indigenous digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Carbon Indigenous 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.
High brand equity
– Carbon Indigenous has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Carbon Indigenous to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Carbon Indigenous to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Carbon Indigenous to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Carbon Indigenous in the sector have low bargaining power. Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Carbon Indigenous to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Carbon Indigenous 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
– Carbon Indigenous is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Carbon Indigenous is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Carbon Indigenous has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Carbon Indigenous 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China - 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
– Carbon Indigenous 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 Richard H.K. Vietor 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Carbon Indigenous 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Carbon Indigenous 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 Carbon Indigenous in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Carbon Indigenous is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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, Carbon Indigenous 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. Carbon Indigenous 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Carbon Indigenous 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China, is just above the industry average. Carbon Indigenous 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Carbon Indigenous 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China, it seems that the employees of Carbon Indigenous 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 Carbon Indigenous is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Carbon Indigenous needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Carbon Indigenous to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Carbon Indigenous 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Carbon Indigenous, firm in the HBR case study Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Carbon Indigenous has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard H.K. Vietor suggests that, Carbon Indigenous 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.
Opportunities Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China | 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Carbon Indigenous can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Carbon Indigenous 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Carbon Indigenous in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Carbon Indigenous 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Carbon Indigenous 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Carbon Indigenous to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Carbon Indigenous can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Carbon Indigenous can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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, Carbon Indigenous 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, Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China, 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 Carbon Indigenous to increase its market reach. Carbon Indigenous 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Carbon Indigenous 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Carbon Indigenous is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Carbon Indigenous can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Carbon Indigenous operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Carbon Indigenous has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Carbon Indigenous to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China case study. Carbon Indigenous can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China are -
Increasing wage structure of Carbon Indigenous
– 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 Carbon Indigenous.
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. Carbon Indigenous 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Carbon Indigenous in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Carbon Indigenous is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Carbon Indigenous high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
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 Carbon Indigenous business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Carbon Indigenous 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China .
Regulatory challenges
– Carbon Indigenous 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 Global Business industry regulations.
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 Carbon Indigenous in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Carbon Indigenous 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China, Carbon Indigenous may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Carbon Indigenous 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. Carbon Indigenous can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China 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 Carbon Indigenous needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.