NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors
NuScale Power, an entrepreneurial venture in Portland, Oregon, has designed the leading modular nuclear reactor in the United States. This Reactor will be safest and simplest ever built. Started in 2007 as an entrepreneurial venture, the company is now two years away from applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a License certification. While the NRC considers their application, the company will finish designing a nuclear plant to use 12 of their modular reactors. If the company can mitigate the substantial risks facing it, 2021 will see their first of several hundred planned sales.
Swot Analysis of "NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors" written by Richard H.K. Vietor includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nuscale Modular facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing uncertainty, Risk management, Technology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nuscale Modular, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nuscale Modular 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nuscale Modular
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 Nuscale Modular
Strengths NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nuscale Modular in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nuscale Modular to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nuscale Modular to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Nuscale Modular
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nuscale Modular does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Nuscale Modular 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 Nuscale Modular in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nuscale Modular is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nuscale Modular is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Nuscale Modular is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nuscale Modular in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Nuscale Modular has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nuscale Modular 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Nuscale Modular is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nuscale Modular in the sector have low bargaining power. NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nuscale Modular to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nuscale Modular is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Nuscale Modular needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nuscale Modular to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nuscale Modular 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors HBR case study mentions - Nuscale Modular 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nuscale Modular has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nuscale Modular 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 - NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nuscale Modular is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nuscale Modular products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nuscale Modular needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 Nuscale Modular has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nuscale Modular 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Nuscale Modular 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors, in the dynamic environment Nuscale Modular has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nuscale Modular has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors | 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors are -
Loyalty marketing
– Nuscale Modular 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nuscale Modular 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nuscale Modular 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nuscale Modular 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nuscale Modular to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nuscale Modular to increase its market reach. Nuscale Modular 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.
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 Nuscale Modular 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nuscale Modular has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nuscale Modular to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors case study. Nuscale Modular can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Nuscale Modular can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nuscale Modular 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nuscale Modular 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nuscale Modular 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. Nuscale Modular 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nuscale Modular 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nuscale Modular is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 Nuscale Modular in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nuscale Modular 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.
Increasing wage structure of Nuscale Modular
– 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 Nuscale Modular.
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 Nuscale Modular.
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 Nuscale Modular 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. Nuscale Modular 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 Nuscale Modular is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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. Nuscale Modular 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Nuscale Modular 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. Nuscale Modular can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors, Nuscale Modular may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nuscale Modular 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 NuScale Power-the Future of Small Modular Reactors 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 Nuscale Modular needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.