Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation
The president of Taino Construction has to make several strategic decisions that can guide the firm during very difficult times for the construction industry - globally and locally. He is trying to find ways to capitalize on the company's innovations and international advantages. At the same time, he is trying to adapt the company to the needs of the local market, which requires smaller volumes and simpler products. In order to do this, management must assess the level of risk inherent in the company's portfolio of innovations by estimating the potential of the markets for these products, determining how to strategically position the products in the markets and making a sober assessment of the company's financial strength. The case can be used in a management of innovation course as well as in an international business or marketing strategy or integrative strategy course. It could also be used in a family business course. It lends itself to use in a green products/sustainability module. The objectives of the case are 1) to allow students an opportunity to analyze a company's innovation portfolio and, more specifically, the level of risk inherent in market opportunities 2) to explore how innovative international strategies can help a company survive adverse local market conditions, though it may add to the overall risk of the innovation portfolio of the company 3) to showcase a company committed to green products, allowing for a discussion on sustainability in the construction industry, as well as on how what is considered a "green product" by some stakeholders is not considered a green product by others 4) to showcase the complexity of the relationship between a company's clients/competitors/partners and the way in which government initiative can offer opportunities and challenges to a company 5) to offer an opportunity to conduct financial performance analysis.
Swot Analysis of "Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation" written by Carmen Rios Figueroa, Julia Sagebien includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Taino Green facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, International business, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Taino Green, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Taino Green 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Taino Green
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 Taino Green
Strengths Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Taino Green in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Taino Green has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Taino Green 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
– Taino Green 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 Taino Green 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
– Taino Green is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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
– Taino Green is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Taino Green 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.
Learning organization
- Taino Green 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 Taino Green is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Taino Green has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Taino Green
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Taino Green does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Taino Green 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Taino Green has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Taino Green to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Taino Green has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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.
Analytics focus
– Taino Green 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 Carmen Rios Figueroa, Julia Sagebien 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.
Weaknesses Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Green supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Taino Green vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Carmen Rios Figueroa, Julia Sagebien suggests that, Taino Green 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Taino Green products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Taino Green needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation HBR case study mentions - Taino Green 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation, is just above the industry average. Taino Green 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Taino Green 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Green has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation, in the dynamic environment Taino Green has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Taino Green has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Taino Green 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 - Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Taino Green, firm in the HBR case study Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Taino Green is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Taino Green needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Taino Green to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation | 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation are -
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. Taino Green can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Taino Green to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Taino Green is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Taino Green 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Taino Green 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Taino Green can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Taino Green 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Taino Green 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Taino Green 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 Taino Green to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Taino Green can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Taino Green can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Taino Green operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Taino Green 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.
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. Taino Green can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Taino Green 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Taino Green 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 Taino Green.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Taino Green is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Taino Green business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Taino Green 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.
Increasing wage structure of Taino Green
– 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 Taino Green.
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. Taino Green 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation, Taino Green 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Taino Green 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Taino Green can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Taino Green in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Taino Green 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Construction Supplies: Managing Innovation Risks at an SME in a Small, Developing Nation 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 Taino Green needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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