LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts
The president and chief executive officer (CEO) of an established Toronto-based boutique consulting firm is in the process of expanding his company's core competency from the largely mature tech sector to the new and rapidly growing field of clean technology. During this time, the CEO is introduced to an inventor and an entrepreneur who developed a waveform technology that they claim will instantaneously reduce electricity consumption by 30 per cent or more, when applied to a fluorescent lighting ballast. The duo present the CEO and his partners with a rough prototype, a handful of patents on the verge of expiring, and only verbal confirmation that the technology can be proved and certified. The CEO is intrigued by the potential of this radical new technology and must decide whether he and this firm will back the partners. The second part of the case explores how the development of this clean technology might be financed.
Swot Analysis of "LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts" written by Stewart Thornhill, Ellen M. Brown includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Technology Clean facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Marketing, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Technology Clean, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Technology Clean 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Technology Clean
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Technology Clean
Strengths LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Technology Clean in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Technology Clean is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Technology Clean has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Technology Clean to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Technology Clean is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Technology Clean to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Technology Clean to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Technology Clean 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 Technology Clean is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Technology Clean
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Technology Clean does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Technology Clean 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Technology Clean has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Technology Clean in the sector have low bargaining power. LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Technology Clean to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Technology Clean has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Technology Clean 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Technology Clean 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 Technology Clean in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Technology Clean 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.
Weaknesses LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Technology Clean 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stewart Thornhill, Ellen M. Brown suggests that, Technology Clean 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Technology Clean 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Technology Clean 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Technology Clean 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Technology Clean 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 - LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 Technology Clean has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 Technology Clean 's lucrative customers.
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 Technology Clean supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Technology Clean vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts HBR case study mentions - Technology Clean 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.
Opportunities LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts | 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Technology Clean can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Technology Clean operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Technology Clean in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Technology Clean 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, LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Technology Clean 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 Technology Clean to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Technology Clean can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Technology Clean 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Technology Clean can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Technology Clean can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Technology Clean 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Technology Clean 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Technology Clean is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Technology Clean can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Technology Clean can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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.
Threats LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts are -
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 Technology Clean in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Technology Clean 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.
Increasing wage structure of Technology Clean
– 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 Technology Clean.
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.
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 Technology Clean business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Technology Clean needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Technology Clean is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Technology Clean 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Technology Clean in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Environmental challenges
– Technology Clean 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. Technology Clean can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Technology Clean 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Technology Clean can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 LumiSmart (A): Answering the Call for Negawatts 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 Technology Clean needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.