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 - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, 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 -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Groupelephant.com Tager is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Groupelephant.com Tager has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Analytics focus
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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 Flavio Feferman, Matthew Bujnicki, Stacey Chin, Travis Dziubla 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Groupelephant.com Tager 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' - 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 Groupelephant.com Tager in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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 -
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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', it seems that the employees of Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Groupelephant.com Tager is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' 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 groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose', 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.
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.
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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Groupelephant.com Tager is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Groupelephant.com Tager needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Groupelephant.com Tager to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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.
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 -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Groupelephant.com Tager can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Groupelephant.com Tager can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
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. Groupelephant.com Tager 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. Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Groupelephant.com Tager has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Groupelephant.com Tager to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose' case study. Groupelephant.com Tager can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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.
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 -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Groupelephant.com Tager 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 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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Groupelephant.com Tager 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.
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.
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.
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.
