Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy

Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) transformed its philanthropic practice into a social venture capital practice in 1997 with a portfolio of nonprofit enterprises in the San Francisco Bay Area. This case presents REDF's analysis of the changing needs of the nonprofit marketplace.

Authors :: Daniel Kessler, Jed Emerson, Melinda T. Tuan, Lauren Dutton

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Venture capital, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy" written by Daniel Kessler, Jed Emerson, Melinda T. Tuan, Lauren Dutton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Roberts Redf facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Roberts Redf, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Roberts Redf 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Roberts Redf
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 Roberts Redf

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Strengths Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Roberts Redf in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Analytics focus

– Roberts Redf 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 Daniel Kessler, Jed Emerson, Melinda T. Tuan, Lauren Dutton 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Roberts Redf is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Roberts Redf 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Learning organization

- Roberts Redf 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 Roberts Redf is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Roberts Redf in the sector have low bargaining power. Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Roberts Redf to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Roberts Redf are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Roberts Redf 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

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

Successful track record of launching new products

– Roberts Redf has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Roberts Redf 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Roberts Redf is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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

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

Superior customer experience

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

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Weaknesses Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy are -

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy, 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Roberts Redf 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Roberts Redf 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 - Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Redf 's lucrative customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Roberts Redf has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Roberts Redf even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy, it seems that the employees of Roberts Redf don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Redf has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Roberts Redf 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Roberts Redf 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Roberts Redf is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Roberts Redf needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Roberts Redf to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Roberts Redf is planning to shift buying processes online.

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Opportunities Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy | 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy are -

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 Roberts Redf 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.

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. Roberts Redf can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Roberts Redf 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Roberts Redf has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Roberts Redf to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy case study. Roberts Redf can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Roberts Redf 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Roberts Redf can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Roberts Redf can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Roberts Redf can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Developing new processes and practices

– Roberts Redf 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Roberts Redf 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 Roberts Redf to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

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

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Roberts Redf is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Roberts Redf 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Roberts Redf to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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Threats Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy are -

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Roberts Redf 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Roberts Redf 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.

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. Roberts Redf needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Roberts Redf 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.

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. Roberts Redf 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.

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 Roberts Redf in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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 Roberts Redf.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Roberts Redf has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Roberts Redf needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Roberts Redf is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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, Roberts Redf 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy .

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Implementing a Social Venture Capital Approach to Philanthropy 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 Roberts Redf needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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