Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project

In February 2010, Germany's national railway broke ground on a project that had been under negotiation for more than 20 years-the Stuttgart segment of the European Magistrale, a 930-mile cross-Europe high-speed rail line that would one day extend from Paris through Munich and Vienna to Budapest and Bratislava. At long last, the German national railway, the state of Baden-WA¼rttemberg, and the city of Stuttgart had come to agreement on the routing and station design of the megaproject. Yet within the year, the project would spark the largest citizen demonstrations Germany had seen since the reunification of the country. The Stuttgart 21 opponents were diverse, and so were their concerns, but nearly all were united by one overriding contention: that political elites had conceived the plan without public input and had later refused to take citizen objections seriously. The case provides basic background and context for this controversy, then describes four kinds of public participation that took place in the course of developing the project: (1) a city-sponsored open-participation process in 1997 allowing citizens to weigh in on the neighborhood re-development portions of the project; (2) a petition drive by opponents to hold a city referendum on the project, later followed by mass demonstrations; (3) a state-sponsored mediation process between supporters and opponents of the project; and (4) a state election followed by a state referendum on the project.

Authors :: Quinton Mayne, Pamela Varley

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: Policy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project" written by Quinton Mayne, Pamela Varley includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stuttgart Project facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy and Global Business.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stuttgart Project, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stuttgart Project 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stuttgart Project
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 Stuttgart Project

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Strengths Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Stuttgart Project in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Stuttgart Project 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 Stuttgart Project in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stuttgart Project to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stuttgart Project to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Stuttgart Project in the sector have low bargaining power. Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Stuttgart Project to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Innovation driven organization

– Stuttgart Project is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Stuttgart Project 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Stuttgart Project is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Stuttgart Project has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Stuttgart Project 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.

Analytics focus

– Stuttgart Project 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 Quinton Mayne, Pamela Varley 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.

High brand equity

– Stuttgart Project has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Stuttgart Project to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Organizational Resilience of Stuttgart Project

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Stuttgart Project does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Stuttgart Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Diverse revenue streams

– Stuttgart Project is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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.

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Weaknesses Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are -

Need for greater diversity

– Stuttgart Project 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Stuttgart Project has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Stuttgart Project supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Stuttgart Project vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Stuttgart Project has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stuttgart Project is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project HBR case study mentions - Stuttgart Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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 Stuttgart Project 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project, 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Stuttgart Project 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, Stuttgart Project 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Stuttgart Project products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stuttgart Project needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

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Opportunities Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project | 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are -

Loyalty marketing

– Stuttgart Project 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.

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. Stuttgart Project can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stuttgart Project 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Stuttgart Project 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Stuttgart Project is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Stuttgart Project to increase its market reach. Stuttgart Project 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Stuttgart Project has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Stuttgart Project to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study. Stuttgart Project can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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 Stuttgart Project 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

– Stuttgart Project 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Stuttgart Project can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Stuttgart Project operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.

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. Stuttgart Project 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. Stuttgart Project 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Stuttgart Project can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Stuttgart Project 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.

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Threats Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Stuttgart Project 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.

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Stuttgart Project 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Stuttgart Project 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 Stuttgart Project with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Stuttgart Project 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, Stuttgart Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project .

Environmental challenges

– Stuttgart Project 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. Stuttgart Project can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.

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 Stuttgart Project in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Stuttgart Project can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Stuttgart Project business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project, Stuttgart Project 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 .

Increasing wage structure of Stuttgart Project

– 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 Stuttgart Project.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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 Stuttgart Project needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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