The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel
This case recounts the work of a special Argentina-Uruguay bi-national commission convened to examine the economics of a proposed bridge that would link the two countries. The bridge being considered by commission officials in the spring of 1996 was to extend 41 kilometers across the River Plata estuary, from Buenos Aires to the Uruguay city of Colonias. It would be by far the longest in the world. The case recreates the problem as faced by the commission, which had to consider whether it would make financial sense for a private concessionaire to build and operate the bridge. Specifically, bridge commission staff had to critique the work and recommendations of a private consulting firm whose market projects led it to conclude that tha US$1 billion bridge could successfully be financed by tolls of US$60 per car. HKS Case Number 1400.1
Swot Analysis of "The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel" written by Jose Gomez-Ibanez includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bridge Commission facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Globalization, Joint ventures, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
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 The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bridge Commission, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bridge Commission operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bridge Commission
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 Bridge Commission
Strengths The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bridge Commission in The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Bridge Commission
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bridge Commission does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bridge Commission has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bridge Commission 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bridge Commission in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bridge Commission digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bridge Commission 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.
Learning organization
- Bridge Commission 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 Bridge Commission is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bridge Commission 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bridge Commission to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bridge Commission to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bridge Commission is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Bridge Commission 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 Bridge Commission in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Bridge Commission is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bridge Commission 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 The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel - 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 The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bridge Commission, firm in the HBR case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Bridge Commission 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 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 Bridge Commission supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bridge Commission vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel, it seems that the employees of Bridge Commission don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel 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 Bridge Commission 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jose Gomez-Ibanez suggests that, Bridge Commission 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bridge Commission is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Bridge Commission needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bridge Commission to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel HBR case study mentions - Bridge Commission 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, Bridge Commission 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Bridge Commission 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.
Opportunities The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel are -
Buying journey improvements
– Bridge Commission can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel 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
– Bridge Commission 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bridge Commission 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 The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bridge Commission to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bridge Commission can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Bridge Commission can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bridge Commission 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bridge Commission 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.
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. Bridge Commission 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. Bridge Commission 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
– Bridge Commission 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bridge Commission can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bridge Commission operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bridge Commission can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel, 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 Bridge Commission 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 Bridge Commission to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bridge Commission has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bridge Commission to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel case study. Bridge Commission can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel are -
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 Bridge Commission in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Bridge Commission 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.
Increasing wage structure of Bridge Commission
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Bridge Commission.
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. Bridge Commission can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bridge Commission 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
– Bridge Commission 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.
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 Bridge Commission.
Regulatory challenges
– Bridge Commission 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.
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 Bridge Commission business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bridge Commission 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 The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bridge Commission 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 Bridge Commission 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 The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of The Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge (B): Sequel 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 Bridge Commission needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
