Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster
In December 2007, the Economics & International Affairs director of the competitiveness cluster, Lyonbiopole, was responsible for the international development of the cluster. Lyonbiopole was one of seven biotechnology clusters in France. Although Lyonbiopole performed very well at the national level, its visibility as an international cluster in the biotechnology field was uncertain. Yet, for its member firms to thrive in the globalized world of biotechnology clusters, establishing international connections for the cluster was crucial. That is why the management team of Lyonbiopole developed an internationalization program through alliances with foreign clusters (i.e. interclusteral alliances). By improving its international visibility and reputation through alliances with world-class biotechnology clusters, Lyonbiopole hoped to create new technological partnerships, increase investment, and create other kinds of opportunities for member firms. After having successfully established alliance partnerships in Europe, Lyonbiopole was preparing for the second stage in its internationalization process. The case highlights the questions - in the context of industrial clusters - whether or not a smaller organization can approach an industry leader to create a mutually beneficial alliance, and how it might accomplish this.
Swot Analysis of "Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster" written by Anthony Goerzen, Ana Colovic includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lyonbiopole Clusters facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Globalization, Joint ventures and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lyonbiopole Clusters, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lyonbiopole Clusters
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 Lyonbiopole Clusters
Strengths Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lyonbiopole Clusters in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lyonbiopole Clusters in the sector have low bargaining power. Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lyonbiopole Clusters to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Lyonbiopole Clusters
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lyonbiopole Clusters does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Lyonbiopole Clusters has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lyonbiopole Clusters has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lyonbiopole Clusters has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lyonbiopole Clusters is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Lyonbiopole Clusters is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Anthony Goerzen, Ana Colovic 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lyonbiopole Clusters is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Lyonbiopole Clusters is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lyonbiopole Clusters digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lyonbiopole Clusters 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)
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster, in the dynamic environment Lyonbiopole Clusters has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lyonbiopole Clusters has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster, it seems that the employees of Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lyonbiopole Clusters is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Lyonbiopole Clusters needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lyonbiopole Clusters to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Lyonbiopole Clusters is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster, is just above the industry average. Lyonbiopole Clusters needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anthony Goerzen, Ana Colovic suggests that, Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lyonbiopole Clusters is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 - Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole Clusters has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster | 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lyonbiopole Clusters to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Lyonbiopole Clusters 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. Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lyonbiopole Clusters to increase its market reach. Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lyonbiopole Clusters has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lyonbiopole Clusters to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster case study. Lyonbiopole Clusters can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Lyonbiopole Clusters can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole Clusters to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lyonbiopole Clusters is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lyonbiopole Clusters has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Lyonbiopole Clusters needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Global Business industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster, Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 .
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 Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole Clusters with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 Lyonbiopole Clusters business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lyonbiopole Clusters 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lyonbiopole Clusters 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 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. Lyonbiopole Clusters needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole: The Challenge of Becoming a World-class Biotechnology Cluster 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 Lyonbiopole Clusters needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
