It is now recognized that new venture start-ups can offer a career choice that is a little sexier, a little wilder, and in the long run equally lucrative, to the consulting or banking jobs that typically dominate post-MBA career paths. The FrogPubs case describes two entrepreneurial bad boys who ten years ago chose a different path, forming a partnership to develop their own, traditional business start-up. In the case, the two entrepreneurs discuss the thrills and chills involved in writing and implementing their business plan, as well as the lessons they learned while building their successful business brick by brick. The case study is organized in a way that allows discussion based on natural focus points ranging from potential bankruptcy in the early days, to later issues of personnel management, joint-venture partnership and protecting and exploiting a unique but maturing business concept. Please visit the dedicated case website to access case videos and other support material.
Authors :: Randel Carlock, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Laurence Amand-Jules
Swot Analysis of "FrogPubs (A)" written by Randel Carlock, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Laurence Amand-Jules includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Frogpubs Brick facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FrogPubs (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Human resource management, Joint ventures and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FrogPubs (A) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FrogPubs (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Frogpubs Brick, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Frogpubs Brick 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 FrogPubs (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FrogPubs (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Frogpubs Brick
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 Frogpubs Brick
Strengths FrogPubs (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Frogpubs Brick in FrogPubs (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FrogPubs (A) 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.
Learning organization
- Frogpubs Brick 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 Frogpubs Brick is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in FrogPubs (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Frogpubs Brick has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Frogpubs Brick to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Frogpubs Brick in the sector have low bargaining power. FrogPubs (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Frogpubs Brick to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Frogpubs Brick is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in FrogPubs (A) 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Frogpubs Brick 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 Frogpubs Brick in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Frogpubs Brick has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in FrogPubs (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Frogpubs Brick digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Frogpubs Brick 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Frogpubs Brick 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Frogpubs Brick is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in FrogPubs (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Frogpubs Brick has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Frogpubs Brick 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Frogpubs Brick is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses FrogPubs (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FrogPubs (A) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Frogpubs Brick 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. Frogpubs Brick 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Frogpubs Brick 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study FrogPubs (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Frogpubs Brick has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Frogpubs Brick 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 Frogpubs Brick is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Frogpubs Brick needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Frogpubs Brick to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study FrogPubs (A) 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 FrogPubs (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Frogpubs Brick is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Frogpubs Brick 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 Frogpubs Brick 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 - FrogPubs (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Frogpubs Brick is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study FrogPubs (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study FrogPubs (A), it seems that the employees of Frogpubs Brick 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.
Opportunities FrogPubs (A) | 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 FrogPubs (A) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Frogpubs Brick 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Frogpubs Brick can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Frogpubs Brick operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Frogpubs Brick 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Frogpubs Brick can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. FrogPubs (A) 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Frogpubs Brick is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FrogPubs (A) 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.
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. Frogpubs Brick 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. Frogpubs Brick 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Frogpubs Brick to increase its market reach. Frogpubs Brick 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 Frogpubs Brick 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Frogpubs Brick can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Frogpubs Brick 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 FrogPubs (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Frogpubs Brick to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Frogpubs Brick 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Frogpubs Brick has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Frogpubs Brick to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FrogPubs (A) case study. Frogpubs Brick 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. Frogpubs Brick can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats FrogPubs (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FrogPubs (A) are -
Increasing wage structure of Frogpubs Brick
– 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 Frogpubs Brick.
Environmental challenges
– Frogpubs Brick 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. Frogpubs Brick can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Frogpubs Brick is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Frogpubs Brick with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Frogpubs Brick 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Frogpubs Brick has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Frogpubs Brick 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study FrogPubs (A), Frogpubs Brick 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 .
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. Frogpubs Brick needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Frogpubs Brick business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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.
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 Frogpubs Brick in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Frogpubs Brick.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FrogPubs (A) 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 FrogPubs (A) 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 FrogPubs (A) 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 FrogPubs (A) 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 FrogPubs (A) 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 Frogpubs Brick needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.