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The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations


The financial system is the heart of free market economies. The 2007-2008 financial crisis raised concerns that the global financial and economic system might experience a truly substantial collapse. New financial instruments had proliferated to the degree that it had become impossible to calculate the market value of many of them, and so it had become impossible to know the market value of institutions that held them or that guaranteed them. The initial disaster occurred with the U.S. subprime residential mortgage market, but it quickly spread globally to institutions that held new financial instruments related to these mortgages. Firms that had guaranteed these financial instruments found that their net worth was disappearing, leading to concerns about the institutions that had relied on their guarantees. Meanwhile, new kinds of hedge funds introduced the risk of greater volatility, and they exposed investors to sudden shocks. Many banks were caught in this web and suddenly had to obtain additional equity capital in order to meet regulatory requirements and maintain the confidence of depositors. As a result of these developments, liquidity disappeared from the financial system. It seemed that recession in the United States was inevitable. Previous expectations that other economies had become "decoupled" for the United States were being replaced by fears that economies throughout the world would follow the United States into recession. Central banks reacted dramatically with attempts to reduce interest rates and to increase financial liquidity, and the U.S. government cut personal taxes through a tax refund program. It was not clear whether monetary and fiscal policies could prevent a long and deep recession. Debate arose concerning the advisability of a wide variety of new regulations that might be able to prevent future recurrence of such a financial crisis.

Authors :: David W. Conklin, Danielle Cadieux

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: International business, Policy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations" written by David W. Conklin, Danielle Cadieux includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Financial Instruments facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Policy and Global Business.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Financial Instruments, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Financial Instruments 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Financial Instruments
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 Financial Instruments




Strengths The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Financial Instruments in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations Harvard Business Review case study are -

Digital Transformation in Global Business segment

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

Highly skilled collaborators

– Financial Instruments 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Learning organization

- Financial Instruments is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Financial Instruments is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Training and development

– Financial Instruments has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Financial Instruments to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Financial Instruments to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Financial Instruments 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 Financial Instruments in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Financial Instruments 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.

Organizational Resilience of Financial Instruments

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

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Financial Instruments in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Financial Instruments is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 brand equity

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






Weaknesses The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations are -

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 Financial Instruments has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Financial Instruments is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Financial Instruments 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Financial Instruments products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Financial Instruments needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Financial Instruments, firm in the HBR case study The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations HBR case study mentions - Financial Instruments 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Financial Instruments 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Financial Instruments 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 - The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations, it seems that the employees of Financial Instruments 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Financial Instruments 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations, in the dynamic environment Financial Instruments has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Financial Instruments has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.




Opportunities The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations | 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Financial Instruments 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, The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Financial Instruments 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.

Better consumer reach

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

Reforming the budgeting process

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

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. Financial Instruments can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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. Financial Instruments can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Financial Instruments 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Financial Instruments is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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.

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. Financial Instruments 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. Financial Instruments 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Financial Instruments can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Financial Instruments 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 Financial Instruments has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Financial Instruments to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations case study. Financial Instruments 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 Financial Instruments 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 Financial Instruments to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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 Financial Instruments 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.




Threats The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations are -

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. Financial Instruments needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Financial Instruments 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.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

Increasing wage structure of Financial Instruments

– 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 Financial Instruments.

Trade war between China and United States

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

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 Financial Instruments in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

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

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Financial Instruments 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 Financial Instruments 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. Financial Instruments 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.

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




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts and the Need for New Regulations 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 Financial Instruments needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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