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Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc.


This case follows Jenica Fletcher as she rebuilds her company's guitar strings division from the ground up. Convinced that she could turn the division around if given complete independence from corporate headquarters, Fletcher relocated the group, rebranded it as Malenti Strings, repositioned the guitar strings as high-performance products, and transformed Malenti into a fast-growing, profitable business. The case traces Fletcher's key steps in rebuilding the organization, including the development of a team of committed, interdependent employees. Students learn about Fletcher's values and unique management philosophy, as well as her managerial practices and daily activities. The case also discusses the role and development of the partnerships that helped solidify and grow the business. Coming off its high-end success, Malenti must now decide whether to move into the mid-priced market with a new line of electric guitar strings called True.

Authors :: David A. Garvin, Rachel Gordon

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing people, Organizational culture, Reorganization, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc." written by David A. Garvin, Rachel Gordon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Strings Malenti facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing people, Organizational culture, Reorganization and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc.


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Strings Malenti, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Strings Malenti 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Strings Malenti
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 Strings Malenti




Strengths Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Strings Malenti in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -

Superior customer experience

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

Strong track record of project management

– Strings Malenti 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 switching costs

– The high switching costs that Strings Malenti 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Strings Malenti is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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.

Training and development

– Strings Malenti has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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.

Learning organization

- Strings Malenti 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 Strings Malenti is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Strings Malenti in the sector have low bargaining power. Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Strings Malenti to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field

– Strings Malenti 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 Strings Malenti in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry

– Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Strings Malenti to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Strings Malenti to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Strings Malenti is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Strings Malenti digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Strings Malenti 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

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






Weaknesses Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Strings Malenti, firm in the HBR case study Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Strings Malenti needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Lack of clear differentiation of Strings Malenti products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Strings Malenti needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc., 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Strings Malenti is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc., it seems that the employees of Strings Malenti 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Strings Malenti 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, David A. Garvin, Rachel Gordon suggests that, Strings Malenti 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Strings Malenti 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. Strings Malenti 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. HBR case study mentions - Strings Malenti 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 dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. 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 Strings Malenti has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Strings Malenti has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Strings Malenti to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. case study. Strings Malenti can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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 Strings Malenti in the consumer business. Now Strings Malenti can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Strings Malenti 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Strings Malenti 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Strings Malenti 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Strings Malenti to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Strings Malenti 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.

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. Strings Malenti 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. Strings Malenti 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Strings Malenti 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.

Better consumer reach

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

Developing new processes and practices

– Strings Malenti 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.

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. Strings Malenti can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Loyalty marketing

– Strings Malenti 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

– Strings Malenti can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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.




Threats Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc. are -

Increasing wage structure of Strings Malenti

– 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 Strings Malenti.

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 Strings Malenti.

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. Strings Malenti can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Strings Malenti 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.

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 Strings Malenti in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Environmental challenges

– Strings Malenti 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. Strings Malenti 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc., Strings Malenti 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 .

Trade war between China and United States

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

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.

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 Strings Malenti business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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 Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, 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 Strings Malenti needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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