Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures
Examines the conflicts in international communications that result from changing technologies and divergent country policies toward developing infrastructures. Examines a number of different national information infrastructures (NIIs). Points of friction, such as different approaches to creating competition and the question of regulating content on the Internet, are discussed. Considers existing options to resolve friction, including multilateral and bilateral efforts. A rewritten version of an earlier note.
Swot Analysis of "Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures" written by George C. Lodge, Cate Reavis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Infrastructures Friction facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Conflict, Currency, Financial management, International business, IT, Manufacturing, Policy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Infrastructures Friction, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Infrastructures Friction 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Infrastructures Friction
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 Infrastructures Friction
Strengths Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Infrastructures Friction in Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Infrastructures Friction is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Infrastructures Friction has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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
– Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Infrastructures Friction to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Infrastructures Friction to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Infrastructures Friction has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Infrastructures Friction to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Infrastructures Friction 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Infrastructures Friction 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Infrastructures Friction digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Infrastructures Friction 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Infrastructures Friction is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Infrastructures Friction has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Infrastructures Friction 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.
Analytics focus
– Infrastructures Friction 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 George C. Lodge, Cate Reavis 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 Infrastructures Friction 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.
Weaknesses Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Infrastructures Friction, firm in the HBR case study Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Infrastructures Friction 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Infrastructures Friction 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Infrastructures Friction 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures, it seems that the employees of Infrastructures Friction 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Infrastructures Friction products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Infrastructures Friction needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Infrastructures Friction is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Infrastructures Friction 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Infrastructures Friction 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.
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 Infrastructures Friction supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Infrastructures Friction vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures, in the dynamic environment Infrastructures Friction has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Infrastructures Friction has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures | 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Infrastructures Friction 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 Infrastructures Friction to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Infrastructures Friction 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Infrastructures Friction is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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.
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 Infrastructures Friction 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Infrastructures Friction to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Infrastructures Friction 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Infrastructures Friction to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Infrastructures Friction can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Infrastructures Friction to increase its market reach. Infrastructures Friction 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Infrastructures Friction 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.
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. Infrastructures Friction can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Infrastructures Friction 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.
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. Infrastructures Friction can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Infrastructures Friction can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures are -
Increasing wage structure of Infrastructures Friction
– 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 Infrastructures Friction.
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 Infrastructures Friction 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. Infrastructures Friction 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.
Environmental challenges
– Infrastructures Friction 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. Infrastructures Friction can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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
– Infrastructures Friction has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Infrastructures Friction 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.
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. Infrastructures Friction can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Infrastructures Friction 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Infrastructures Friction 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.
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. Infrastructures Friction needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Infrastructures Friction.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Infrastructures Friction 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Infrastructures Friction 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Global Friction Among Information Infrastructures 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 Infrastructures Friction needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.