Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review
The respected Harvard Business Review found itself dealing with new digital competitors, an economic downturn and a high-profile internal controversy in the early 2000s. New leadership of the parent organization and the HBR itself needed to set new priorities. We see the steps they took to re-establish respect for the brand, renew the culture and build an organizational capability for more rapid innovation and adaptation. The leadership team considers new organizational structures for both the legacy print publication and new digital ventures. They also assess options for some major changes to the venerable print magazine that might serve to signal a new era of innovation--or alienate the staff and readers.
Swot Analysis of "Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review" written by Jeremy Dann includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Print Harvard facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Innovation, Social platforms and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Print Harvard, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Print Harvard
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 Print Harvard
Strengths Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Print Harvard in Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Print Harvard has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Print Harvard has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Print Harvard has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Print Harvard 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Print Harvard to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Print Harvard to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Print Harvard in the sector have low bargaining power. Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Print Harvard to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Print Harvard in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Print Harvard 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 Print Harvard in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Print Harvard digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Print Harvard 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.
Organizational Resilience of Print Harvard
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review, in the dynamic environment Print Harvard has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Print Harvard has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Print Harvard 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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 Print Harvard has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Print Harvard is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Print Harvard needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Print Harvard to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Print Harvard 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Print Harvard 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review HBR case study mentions - Print Harvard 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Print Harvard 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Print Harvard 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. Print Harvard 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 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 Print Harvard supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Print Harvard vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jeremy Dann suggests that, Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review | 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review are -
Loyalty marketing
– Print Harvard 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Print Harvard 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Print Harvard can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Print Harvard 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 Print Harvard to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Print Harvard in the consumer business. Now Print Harvard can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Print Harvard can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Print Harvard is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Print Harvard 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Print Harvard has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Print Harvard to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review case study. Print Harvard can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Print Harvard 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Print Harvard to increase its market reach. Print Harvard 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Print Harvard to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Print Harvard can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review are -
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 wage structure of Print Harvard
– 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 Print Harvard.
Regulatory challenges
– Print Harvard 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.
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. Print Harvard 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.
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. Print Harvard needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Print Harvard can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Print Harvard.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Print Harvard 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Print Harvard 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 Print Harvard with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Print Harvard 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Print Harvard 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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 Tradition and Transition at the Harvard Business Review 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 Print Harvard needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
