Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates
Marcel Lorent, head of International Mobility at Brussels-based Solvay Group, faces decisions on the expatriation status of four of his firm's talented executives. Each decision will impact the candidate's professional and personal life, and will have implications for effective management and growth in Solvay's global markets. The case explores these issues, with a close look at Solvay's attempts to develop talent management and mobility processes that allow the firm to align its strategic needs with the complexities of its individual employees' needs and lives.
Authors :: Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria, Kerry Herman
Swot Analysis of "Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates" written by Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria, Kerry Herman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mobility Solvay facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Diversity, International business, Operations management, Professional transitions, Talent management, Work-life balance and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates casestudy better are - – technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mobility Solvay, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mobility Solvay 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mobility Solvay
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 Mobility Solvay
Strengths Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mobility Solvay in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mobility Solvay is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Mobility Solvay has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mobility Solvay 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mobility Solvay digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mobility Solvay 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mobility Solvay 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Mobility Solvay has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mobility Solvay to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Mobility Solvay is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mobility Solvay is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mobility Solvay 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mobility Solvay has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mobility Solvay 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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.
Learning organization
- Mobility Solvay 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 Mobility Solvay is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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 Mobility Solvay 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria, Kerry Herman suggests that, Mobility Solvay is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mobility Solvay products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mobility Solvay needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mobility Solvay 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates, it seems that the employees of Mobility Solvay 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Mobility Solvay 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mobility Solvay 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mobility Solvay 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mobility Solvay, firm in the HBR case study Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Mobility Solvay supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mobility Solvay vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates | 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mobility Solvay is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mobility Solvay 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mobility Solvay 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mobility Solvay to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Mobility Solvay can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mobility Solvay to increase its market reach. Mobility Solvay 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.
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. Mobility Solvay can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Mobility Solvay in the consumer business. Now Mobility Solvay can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mobility Solvay in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mobility Solvay 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mobility Solvay 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.
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. Mobility Solvay 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. Mobility Solvay 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Mobility Solvay can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mobility Solvay 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.
Threats Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mobility Solvay has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mobility Solvay 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. Mobility Solvay can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mobility Solvay 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mobility Solvay 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mobility Solvay 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mobility Solvay 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates, Mobility Solvay 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Mobility Solvay 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. Mobility Solvay can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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. Mobility Solvay 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mobility Solvay 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mobility Solvay with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Mobility Solvay in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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 Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates 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 Mobility Solvay needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.