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International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A)


This case explores company strategy, business-government relations, and collective action challenges associated with international and domestic lobbying regarding regulation of the chemical industry. In the fall of 2006, a five-year legislative process for a major new law regulating chemicals in the European Union appeared to be nearing its conclusion. REACH, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, would create a new European Chemicals Agency, require companies to submit testing data on existing and new compounds, and restrict the manufacture of hazardous substances. Andrew Liveris, CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, has to decide whether the company should engage in direct discussions with the European Parliament and Commission, with the implication that the company can influence the regulations but also would have to support the final outcome. The case summarizes Dow's history, competitive dynamics in the sector, and regulation of the chemical industry before describing the REACH legislative process and various approaches to lobbying used by chemical companies, trade groups, and environmental NGOs.

Authors :: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: International business, Product development, Public relations, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A)" written by Arthur A. Daemmrich includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Chemical Lobbying facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Product development, Public relations and Global Business.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A)


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




Strengths International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Chemical Lobbying in International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Chemical Lobbying 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Digital Transformation in Global Business segment

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Chemical Lobbying is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Chemical Lobbying in the sector have low bargaining power. International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Chemical Lobbying to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Chemical Lobbying 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Chemical Lobbying 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Chemical Lobbying 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 Chemical Lobbying 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

– Chemical Lobbying is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Training and development

– Chemical Lobbying has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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.

Analytics focus

– Chemical Lobbying 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 Arthur A. Daemmrich 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Chemical Lobbying is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.






Weaknesses International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) are -

Need for greater diversity

– Chemical Lobbying 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A), in the dynamic environment Chemical Lobbying has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Chemical Lobbying has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Chemical Lobbying has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Chemical Lobbying, firm in the HBR case study International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Chemical Lobbying 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 Chemical Lobbying has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Chemical Lobbying 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. Chemical Lobbying 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Chemical Lobbying 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, Chemical Lobbying is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 to strategic competitive environment developments

– As International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) HBR case study mentions - Chemical Lobbying 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.




Opportunities International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) | 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) are -

Buying journey improvements

– Chemical Lobbying can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Chemical Lobbying 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Chemical Lobbying 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Chemical Lobbying has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Chemical Lobbying to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) case study. Chemical Lobbying can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Better consumer reach

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

– Chemical Lobbying 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Chemical Lobbying 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Chemical Lobbying can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Chemical Lobbying 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, International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Chemical Lobbying is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Chemical Lobbying 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Chemical Lobbying to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.




Threats International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) are -

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 Chemical Lobbying

– 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 Chemical Lobbying.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Chemical Lobbying is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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

Trade war between China and United States

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

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Chemical Lobbying 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 Chemical Lobbying business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Chemical Lobbying 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.

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 Chemical Lobbying in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Chemical Lobbying 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Chemical Lobbying has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Chemical Lobbying 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.

Environmental challenges

– Chemical Lobbying 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. Chemical Lobbying can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.

Barriers of entry lowering

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




Weighted SWOT Analysis of International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A) 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 Chemical Lobbying needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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