Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong
For computer software firms, software piracy represented a large loss of potential revenues. In response to the trade in pirated software, computer software companies banded together into an international political lobby organization, the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Individual charter versions of the BSA were established in countries around the world to press governments to tighten intellectual property legislation and pursue anti-piracy measures. BSA's challenge in Hong Kong was to clamp down on software piracy and illegal software distribution, while simultaneously increasing the size of the local software market. How could it encourage notoriously protectionist Asian governments to open their computer sectors to free and transparent trade, while simultaneously getting them to strike hard at illicit trade that threatened mostly large U.S. firms?
Authors :: Ali F. Farhoomand, Peter Lovelock, Katherine Lo
Swot Analysis of "Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong" written by Ali F. Farhoomand, Peter Lovelock, Katherine Lo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Software Piracy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Policy, Technology and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Software Piracy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Software Piracy 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Software Piracy
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 Software Piracy
Strengths Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Software Piracy in Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Software Piracy digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Software Piracy 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.
Organizational Resilience of Software Piracy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Software Piracy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Software Piracy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong 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.
Analytics focus
– Software Piracy 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 Ali F. Farhoomand, Peter Lovelock, Katherine Lo 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Software Piracy 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Software Piracy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Software Piracy 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 Software Piracy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Software Piracy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Software Piracy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Software Piracy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Software Piracy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Software Piracy in the sector have low bargaining power. Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Software Piracy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Software Piracy 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.
Weaknesses Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Software Piracy 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Software Piracy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Software Piracy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Software Piracy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Software Piracy 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Software Piracy 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali F. Farhoomand, Peter Lovelock, Katherine Lo suggests that, Software Piracy 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Software Piracy 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 - Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Software Piracy 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. Software Piracy 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Software Piracy needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
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 Software Piracy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Software Piracy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong, it seems that the employees of Software Piracy 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Software Piracy 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.
Opportunities Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong | 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Software Piracy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Software Piracy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong case study. Software Piracy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Software Piracy 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.
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. Software Piracy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Software Piracy 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Software Piracy 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Software Piracy 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Software Piracy 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, Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Software Piracy 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 Software Piracy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Software Piracy to increase its market reach. Software Piracy 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 Software Piracy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Software Piracy 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.
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. Software Piracy 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. Software Piracy 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.
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 Software Piracy in the consumer business. Now Software Piracy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong are -
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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Software Piracy.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Software Piracy 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.
Environmental challenges
– Software Piracy 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. Software Piracy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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. Software Piracy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Software Piracy 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Software Piracy 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Software Piracy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Software Piracy business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Software Piracy 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Software Piracy 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Software Piracy is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Software Piracy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Software Piracy 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong 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 Fighting 21st Century Pirates: The Business Software Alliance in Hong Kong 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 Software Piracy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
