Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry
The features of zero emissions, light weight, high efficiency, low energy cost, and almost zero pollution contribute to the increasing popularity of electric motorcycles and a substantial growth potential for the worldwide electric motorcycle industry. However, Zero was facing competition from Brammo, which although positioning its products differently from Zero, adopted a similar international growth strategy. How could the chief executive officer of Zero position its products so that Zero would be able to offer a unique value proposition and establish clear dominance in the electric motorcycle industry?
Swot Analysis of "Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry" written by Stewart Thornhill, Fei Zhu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Motorcycle Brammo facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Motorcycle Brammo, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Motorcycle Brammo 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Motorcycle Brammo
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 Motorcycle Brammo
Strengths Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Motorcycle Brammo in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Motorcycle Brammo is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Motorcycle Brammo
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Motorcycle Brammo does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Motorcycle Brammo has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Motorcycle Brammo is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Motorcycle Brammo 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 Stewart Thornhill, Fei Zhu 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Motorcycle Brammo 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.
High brand equity
– Motorcycle Brammo has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Motorcycle Brammo to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Motorcycle Brammo to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Motorcycle Brammo to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Motorcycle Brammo 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 Motorcycle Brammo is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Motorcycle Brammo digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Motorcycle Brammo has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Motorcycle Brammo has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stewart Thornhill, Fei Zhu suggests that, Motorcycle Brammo 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Motorcycle Brammo 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Motorcycle Brammo 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 - Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Motorcycle Brammo 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. Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Motorcycle Brammo is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Motorcycle Brammo needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Motorcycle Brammo to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Motorcycle Brammo has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry, is just above the industry average. Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry, it seems that the employees of Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry, in the dynamic environment Motorcycle Brammo has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Motorcycle Brammo has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry | 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Motorcycle Brammo 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 Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Motorcycle Brammo can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Motorcycle Brammo operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Motorcycle Brammo 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Motorcycle Brammo to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Motorcycle Brammo has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Motorcycle Brammo to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry case study. Motorcycle Brammo can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Motorcycle Brammo can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Motorcycle Brammo 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, Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Motorcycle Brammo 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 Motorcycle Brammo to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Motorcycle Brammo 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.
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. Motorcycle Brammo can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry are -
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. Motorcycle Brammo 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Motorcycle Brammo 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Motorcycle Brammo has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Motorcycle Brammo 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.
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. Motorcycle Brammo needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Motorcycle Brammo 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. Motorcycle Brammo 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry, Motorcycle Brammo 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Motorcycle Brammo can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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.
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 Motorcycle Brammo in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Motorcycle Brammo is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Motorcycle Brammo can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Motorcycle Brammo with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Zero, Brammo and the Electric Motorcycle Industry 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 Motorcycle Brammo needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
