Case Study Description of groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose'
The groupelephant.com (formerly EPI-USE) case focuses on CEO Jonathan Tager as he grapples with implementing and sustaining his company's recently launched Beyond Corporate Purpose: Elephants, Rhinos & People ('ERP') program. In what is more than just a Corporate Social Responsibility ('CSR') program but rather a hybrid business model, Tager is contemplating how to measure and convey the program's expected impact on elephant and rhino poaching, as well as on poverty alleviation in South Africa. The case study highlights the difficulty of planning in embarking on programs of this nature as well as CSR programs in general. It also addresses topics such as hybrid (blended) business models, the 'theory of change' underlying CSR strategy, and the challenges involved in defining and measuring impact. The case explores organizational challenges and tensions related to adopting a business model that is no longer solely for-profit, including whether companies have a responsibility to actively engage in advocacy and devote significant resources to social and environmental (conservation) objectives or whether such efforts violate the fiduciary responsibility that CEOs have to shareholders.
Authors :: Flavio Feferman, Matthew Bujnicki, Stacey Chin, Travis Dziubla
Topics :: Global Business
Tags :: Emerging markets, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Sustainability, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose'" written by Flavio Feferman, Matthew Bujnicki, Stacey Chin, Travis Dziubla includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Groupelephant.com Tager facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose'
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Groupelephant.com Tager, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Groupelephant.com Tager 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Groupelephant.com Tager
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 Groupelephant.com Tager
Strengths groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Groupelephant.com Tager in groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Groupelephant.com Tager has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Groupelephant.com Tager to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Groupelephant.com Tager has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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 Groupelephant.com Tager in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Groupelephant.com Tager
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Groupelephant.com Tager does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Groupelephant.com Tager digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Groupelephant.com Tager 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
– Groupelephant.com Tager is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Groupelephant.com Tager is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Groupelephant.com Tager in the sector have low bargaining power. groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Groupelephant.com Tager to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Groupelephant.com Tager to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Groupelephant.com Tager to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Groupelephant.com Tager 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. Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Groupelephant.com Tager 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 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 Groupelephant.com Tager supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Groupelephant.com Tager vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Groupelephant.com Tager products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Groupelephant.com Tager needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' HBR case study mentions - Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Groupelephant.com Tager is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 Groupelephant.com Tager 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', in the dynamic environment Groupelephant.com Tager has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Groupelephant.com Tager has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', is just above the industry average. Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Opportunities groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' | 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' are -
Buying journey improvements
– Groupelephant.com Tager can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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.
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 Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Groupelephant.com Tager to increase its market reach. Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Groupelephant.com Tager to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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 Groupelephant.com Tager in the consumer business. Now Groupelephant.com Tager can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Groupelephant.com Tager 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, groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Groupelephant.com Tager can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Groupelephant.com Tager can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Groupelephant.com Tager 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 Groupelephant.com Tager to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Groupelephant.com Tager can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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.
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 Groupelephant.com Tager business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Groupelephant.com Tager is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Groupelephant.com Tager
– 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 Groupelephant.com Tager.
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 Groupelephant.com Tager.
Environmental challenges
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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. Groupelephant.com Tager can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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. Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Groupelephant.com Tager has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', Groupelephant.com Tager 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 Groupelephant.com Tager in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 Groupelephant.com Tager needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.