Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A)
The case illustrates the opportunities, challenges and trade-offs involved in developing a pro-social business venture in emerging economies by outlining the interplay between a Nairobi-based venture by Insta Products (Insta) and a Toronto-based non-profit volunteering consultancy for sustainable new ventures with a high potential to accelerate local development. Set in the midst of social unrest in the spring of 2008, the consulting team prepares to give their strategic recommendation based on detailed entrepreneurial, financial and marketing considerations. Focused on the commercial introduction of enriched flours to the retail market in Kenya, the opportunity presented is expected to double the production of Insta in 5 years while building a stable Ksh2.1 billion business. The new venture represents a pro-social corporate venture by a 15-year old company with strong capabilities in relief food aid. Insta had been engaged with CARE Kenya and Acumen Fund to solicit funding, and had commissioned independent market research. The Bridge Expedition Partners stepped in to review the business plan and offer financial modeling and market analysis to assess Insta Products in opportunity evaluation and the implementation of the new venture. The decision boils down to how Insta framed the venturing opportunity. If Insta focused on affordability, they would minimize pack size and focus on kiosk distribution. If, however, the most important driver for low-income families when purchasing the porridge-like product uji was price sensitivity instead, Insta could be better off launching with larger packages, distributed through dukas and supermarkets, where Insta's products and prices would be compared against established uji producers. The case ask students to make this decision, taking on either the roles of Insta's representatives and/or the Bridge consulting teams as the three Ivey MBAs engage in complex modeling and draw on the expertise of local and international students.
Swot Analysis of "Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A)" written by Oana Branzei, Eduardo Zarate includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Insta Insta's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial management, Marketing, Organizational structure and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Insta Insta's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Insta Insta's 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Insta Insta's
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 Insta Insta's
Strengths Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Insta Insta's in Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Insta Insta's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Insta Insta's 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Insta Insta's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Insta Insta's 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Insta Insta's in the sector have low bargaining power. Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Insta Insta's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Insta Insta's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Insta Insta's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Insta Insta's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Insta Insta's 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.
Organizational Resilience of Insta Insta's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Insta Insta's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Insta Insta's 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 Oana Branzei, Eduardo Zarate 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.
Learning organization
- Insta Insta's 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 Insta Insta's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Insta Insta's 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 Insta Insta's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) HBR case study mentions - Insta Insta's takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Insta Insta's is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Insta Insta's 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, Insta Insta's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A), 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Insta Insta's 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 - Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Insta Insta's 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Insta Insta's 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A), is just above the industry average. Insta Insta's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Oana Branzei, Eduardo Zarate suggests that, Insta Insta's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A), in the dynamic environment Insta Insta's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Insta Insta's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) | 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Insta Insta's 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 Insta Insta's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Insta Insta's 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Insta Insta's can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Insta Insta's 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Insta Insta's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Insta Insta's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Insta Insta's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Insta Insta's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Insta Insta's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Insta Insta's 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. Insta Insta's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Insta Insta's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Insta Insta's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Insta Insta's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Insta Insta's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) case study. Insta Insta's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Insta Insta's 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.
Threats Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Insta Insta's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Insta Insta's.
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 Insta Insta's in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Insta Insta's
– 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 Insta Insta's.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Insta Insta's 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Insta Insta's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Insta Insta's 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.
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 Insta Insta's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Insta Insta's 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.
Environmental challenges
– Insta Insta's 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. Insta Insta's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Insta Insta's 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Insta Insta's is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Insta Insta's will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Social Enterprise Under Adversity: Bridge EXP in Kibera (A) 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 Insta Insta's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.