Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West
Globalization has prompted a new trend of cross-border acquisitions from the East to the West. Fueled by non-traditional motivations, Asian companies are acquiring respected and well-established Western brands, technology, assets and knowledge, and through these acquisitions gaining access to developed markets and talent pools. One such company, Gold Peak Electronics ("GPE"), is a multinational corporation that is among an elite group of Hong Kong electronics companies that design, manufacture and sell premium professional and home electronics products. Acquiring two high-end British premium loudspeaker companies in 1992-KEF Audio and Celestion International-has allowed GPE to take advantage of these companies' well established intellectual assets and R&D capabilities. However, cross-border acquisitions such as these are complicated, requiring companies to take into consideration differing regulations, national cultures, political factors, employee mindsets and work cultures. The acquiring company has also had to deal with human resource issues in its acquisitions, including handling work distribution and promoting employees' sense of job security. Although several years have passed since the acquisition, collaboration between GPEs various R&D sites in the UK, Hong Kong, and China is still not optimal. How can GPE successfully overcome the distances between these locations and promote innovative collaboration between its dispersed R&D sites? Was growth by acquisition of Western companies the best strategy for GPE's growth? This case illustrates opportunities and challenges for global R&D and virtual collaboration across geographic and cultural distances. This case also familiarizes students with the unique challenges in acquisitions of Western companies by Eastern companies, including human resources management and how the process of innovation and innovative thinking differs across countries.
Swot Analysis of "Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West" written by Kuldeep Kumar, Maya Kumar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gpe Acquisitions facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Globalization, Government, Human resource management, Internet, Mergers & acquisitions, Operations management, Research & development and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gpe Acquisitions, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gpe Acquisitions 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gpe Acquisitions
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 Gpe Acquisitions
Strengths Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gpe Acquisitions in Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Gpe Acquisitions is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gpe Acquisitions 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Gpe Acquisitions is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gpe Acquisitions has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gpe Acquisitions digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gpe Acquisitions to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gpe Acquisitions to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gpe Acquisitions is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gpe Acquisitions 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Gpe Acquisitions in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Gpe Acquisitions in the sector have low bargaining power. Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gpe Acquisitions to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gpe Acquisitions, firm in the HBR case study Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gpe Acquisitions has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West, 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.
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 Gpe Acquisitions supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gpe Acquisitions vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Gpe Acquisitions needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gpe Acquisitions has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kuldeep Kumar, Maya Kumar suggests that, Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gpe Acquisitions 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. Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gpe Acquisitions is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gpe Acquisitions products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gpe Acquisitions needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West | 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West are -
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. Gpe Acquisitions can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gpe Acquisitions 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 Gpe Acquisitions to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gpe Acquisitions 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gpe Acquisitions to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gpe Acquisitions to increase its market reach. Gpe Acquisitions 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.
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 Gpe Acquisitions in the consumer business. Now Gpe Acquisitions can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gpe Acquisitions 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, Gpe Acquisitions 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.
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 Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gpe Acquisitions is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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.
Threats Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gpe Acquisitions 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Gpe Acquisitions has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gpe Acquisitions with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Gpe Acquisitions needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Gpe Acquisitions.
Environmental challenges
– Gpe Acquisitions 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. Gpe Acquisitions can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gpe Acquisitions 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Gpe Acquisitions 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.
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 Gpe Acquisitions 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. Gpe Acquisitions can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gpe Acquisitions is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Gpe Acquisitions 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalization from East to West 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 Gpe Acquisitions needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
