NeoGenius Co., Ltd. (NeoGenius) is an early stage entrepreneurial venture based in South Korea. Founded in February 2000, NeoGenius provides a wide range of business to business (B2B) e-business software and related services. The company's chief executive officer must decide among several options including growth and exit. Students will analyze different growth options that entrepreneurs commonly face, as well as an entrepreneur's decision-making process.
Swot Analysis of "NeoGenius Co., Ltd." written by Dominic S.K. Lim, Eric A. Morse includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Neogenius Entrepreneur's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in NeoGenius Co., Ltd. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the NeoGenius Co., Ltd. casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NeoGenius Co., Ltd.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in NeoGenius Co., Ltd. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Neogenius Entrepreneur's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in NeoGenius Co., Ltd. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Neogenius Entrepreneur's
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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's
Strengths NeoGenius Co., Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Neogenius Entrepreneur's in NeoGenius Co., Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in NeoGenius Co., Ltd. case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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)
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Neogenius Entrepreneur's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Neogenius Entrepreneur's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Neogenius Entrepreneur's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– NeoGenius Co., Ltd. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Neogenius Entrepreneur's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Neogenius Entrepreneur's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in NeoGenius Co., Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Neogenius Entrepreneur's in the sector have low bargaining power. NeoGenius Co., Ltd. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Neogenius Entrepreneur's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses NeoGenius Co., Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of NeoGenius Co., Ltd. are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study NeoGenius Co., Ltd., is just above the industry average. Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 - NeoGenius Co., Ltd. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Neogenius Entrepreneur's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Neogenius Entrepreneur's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Neogenius Entrepreneur's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Neogenius Entrepreneur's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As NeoGenius Co., Ltd. HBR case study mentions - Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Neogenius Entrepreneur's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Opportunities NeoGenius Co., Ltd. | 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Neogenius Entrepreneur's to increase its market reach. Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Neogenius Entrepreneur's in the consumer business. Now Neogenius Entrepreneur's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
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. Neogenius Entrepreneur's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Neogenius Entrepreneur's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Neogenius Entrepreneur's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the NeoGenius Co., Ltd. case study. Neogenius Entrepreneur's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 Global Business segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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. Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Neogenius Entrepreneur's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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.
Threats NeoGenius Co., Ltd. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study NeoGenius Co., Ltd. are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Neogenius Entrepreneur's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd., Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Neogenius Entrepreneur's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Neogenius Entrepreneur's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Neogenius Entrepreneur's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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. Neogenius Entrepreneur's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Neogenius Entrepreneur's 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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Neogenius Entrepreneur's is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 NeoGenius Co., Ltd. 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 Neogenius Entrepreneur's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
