India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry
This case is available in only hard copy format (HBP does not have digital distribution rights to the content). As a result, a digital Educator Copy of the case is not available through this web site.In 1970, the Indian government significantly revised its patent law, Patents and Design Act of 1911. The 1911 act was enacted when India was a colony of Great Britain, and it was controversial because it led to the total dominance of India's pharmaceutical market by multinational corporations. The 1970 act substantially reduced both the scope and the extent of patent protection, and some credited the act with the creation of India's own indigenous pharmaceutical industry. In 1994, the Indian government committed itself to conforming its intellectual property rights regime to the requirements of the WTO. Domestic political opposition was fierce toward any attempts to move away from the 1970 act.
Swot Analysis of "India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry" written by Yasheng Huang, Harold F. Hogan Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Act 1970 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Act 1970, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Act 1970 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Act 1970
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 Act 1970
Strengths India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Act 1970 in India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Act 1970 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Act 1970 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Act 1970 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Act 1970 has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Diverse revenue streams
– Act 1970 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Act 1970 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Act 1970 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry - 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Act 1970 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Act 1970 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Act 1970 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Act 1970 in the sector have low bargaining power. India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Act 1970 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Act 1970 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 Act 1970 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Act 1970 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Act 1970 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 Yasheng Huang, Harold F. Hogan Jr. 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Act 1970 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry are -
Need for greater diversity
– Act 1970 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 Act 1970 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Act 1970 is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 Act 1970 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Yasheng Huang, Harold F. Hogan Jr. suggests that, Act 1970 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Act 1970 has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Act 1970 even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry HBR case study mentions - Act 1970 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Act 1970 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 Act 1970 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Act 1970 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Act 1970 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry, 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.
Opportunities India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry | 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry are -
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. Act 1970 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Act 1970 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Act 1970 to increase its market reach. Act 1970 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Act 1970 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Developing new processes and practices
– Act 1970 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Act 1970 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Act 1970 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Act 1970 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Act 1970 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Act 1970 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry case study. Act 1970 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Act 1970 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, India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Act 1970 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Act 1970 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Act 1970 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Act 1970 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.
Threats India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry are -
Regulatory challenges
– Act 1970 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.
Environmental challenges
– Act 1970 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. Act 1970 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. Act 1970 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Act 1970 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Act 1970 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.
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 Act 1970 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Act 1970 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.
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 Act 1970 in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Act 1970 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.
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. Act 1970 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Act 1970 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Act 1970 is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Act 1970 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 Act 1970 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry 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 Act 1970 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
