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Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets


Local firms can compete with transnational firms if their actions are firmly based in the local culture, and if they move from local strengths while being equipped with an in-depth understanding of global production and consumption dynamics. Three domains where local firms can offer alternatives to standard global products are products grounded in local culture, information goods, and products for similar local conditions and the poor worldwide. Local firms must develop an innovative perspective, a global and local vision, self-crafted rather than transferred and imitated marketing skills and practices, partnerships and alliances, and a supportive political environment. Such firms can successfully travel on their alternative road within the global arena.

Authors :: Guliz Ger

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: Marketing, Sales, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets" written by Guliz Ger includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Local Firms facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Sales and Global Business.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Local Firms, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Local Firms 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Local Firms
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 Local Firms




Strengths Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Local Firms in Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Local Firms is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

– Local Firms is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Analytics focus

– Local Firms 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 Guliz Ger 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 switching costs

– The high switching costs that Local Firms 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Local Firms to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Local Firms to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Local Firms 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.

Organizational Resilience of Local Firms

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

Learning organization

- Local Firms is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Local Firms is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High brand equity

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Local Firms is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Local Firms in the sector have low bargaining power. Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Local Firms to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Local Firms in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.






Weaknesses Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets are -

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 Local Firms supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Local Firms vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets HBR case study mentions - Local Firms 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Local Firms 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 - Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Local Firms is planning to shift buying processes online.

Need for greater diversity

– Local Firms 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Local Firms is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets, 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Local Firms 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. Local Firms 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Local Firms has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets, it seems that the employees of Local Firms don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Local Firms has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets | 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Local Firms is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Local Firms 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Local Firms to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Local Firms 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.

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. Local Firms can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Manufacturing automation

– Local Firms 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Local Firms 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Local Firms 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Local Firms 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

– Local Firms 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.

Better consumer reach

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

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

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. Local Firms 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. Local Firms 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Local Firms 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.




Threats Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets are -

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Local Firms with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Local Firms has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Local Firms 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Local Firms 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets, Local Firms 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 .

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. Local Firms needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Local Firms 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 Local Firms in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Environmental challenges

– Local Firms 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. Local Firms 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.

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 Local Firms.

Increasing wage structure of Local Firms

– 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 Local Firms.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Local Firms is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Localizing in the Global Village: Local Firms Competing in Global Markets 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 Local Firms needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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