Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc.
What happens when personal values and beliefs conflict with business decisions? This case, suitable for MBA, undergraduate, and executive learners, prompts engaging discussion of this issue. Oliver Sparling was a highly successful senior analyst at AFI International, a top consulting firm in Chicago with an open and tolerant workplace. He was also a gay man who had lived happily with his partner for over 10 years. Sparling encounters trouble, however, when one of the firm's clients, Bible Books, Inc., takes exception to his "inappropriate" openness about his sexuality (including wearing his commitment band). Sparling's boss calls him into the office and asks him to tone it down when he's at Bible Books, Inc. "These are not easy economic times," said the boss. "And this project is a big one for us. Basically, you're doing the company a favor if you lay low, and once the project is finished, it will be like it never happened. Besides, you know that you don't have anything to hide while you're at home here in Chicago. This is just for when you are in Birmingham." Sparling must decide what course of action to take.
Authors :: Andrew C Wicks, Jonathan Neeley, Jenny Mead
Swot Analysis of "Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc." written by Andrew C Wicks, Jonathan Neeley, Jenny Mead includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sparling Bible facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Diversity, Ethics, Personnel policies and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sparling Bible, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sparling Bible 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sparling Bible
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 Sparling Bible
Strengths Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sparling Bible in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Sparling Bible is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Sparling Bible 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 Sparling Bible is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sparling Bible in the sector have low bargaining power. Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sparling Bible to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sparling Bible is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sparling Bible in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Sparling Bible 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 Andrew C Wicks, Jonathan Neeley, Jenny Mead 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Sparling Bible is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Sparling Bible has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sparling Bible to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Sparling Bible
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sparling Bible does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sparling Bible digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sparling Bible 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.
Training and development
– Sparling Bible has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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.
Weaknesses Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc., it seems that the employees of Sparling Bible 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sparling Bible 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sparling Bible products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sparling Bible needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sparling Bible is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Sparling Bible needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sparling Bible to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sparling Bible 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. Sparling Bible 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
Sparling Bible 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.
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 Sparling Bible supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sparling Bible vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sparling Bible is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sparling Bible 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. HBR case study mentions - Sparling Bible 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrew C Wicks, Jonathan Neeley, Jenny Mead suggests that, Sparling Bible 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.
Opportunities Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. | 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sparling Bible 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
– Sparling Bible 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sparling Bible 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sparling Bible has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sparling Bible to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. case study. Sparling Bible can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sparling Bible 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 Sparling Bible to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sparling Bible 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, Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sparling Bible 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sparling Bible 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sparling Bible 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Sparling Bible can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sparling Bible to increase its market reach. Sparling Bible 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sparling Bible can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sparling Bible operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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. Sparling Bible 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. Sparling Bible 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.
Threats Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sparling Bible 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sparling Bible 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.
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 Sparling Bible.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sparling Bible 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
– Sparling Bible 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. Sparling Bible needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Sparling Bible
– 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 Sparling Bible.
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. Sparling Bible 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.
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. Sparling Bible can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sparling Bible 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 Sparling Bible 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.
Environmental challenges
– Sparling Bible 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. Sparling Bible can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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 Oliver Sparling and Bible Books, Inc. 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 Sparling Bible needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.