Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing?
Nickolay Lamm, a recent university graduate, has been interested in entrepreneurship since his childhood. After running two small start-ups as a teen, graduating with a marketing degree and being laid off from his first traditional job, he finds himself working as a freelance designer. His focus is on creating original visual representations of data that go viral. Nickolay's speculative illustration of a fashion doll based on the proportions of an average 19-year old American woman (referred to as "Normal Barbie" by online media) creates considerable market buzz. His "average is beautiful" doll concept is widely covered in online media channels including the Huffington Post, BBC Radio, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Good Morning America, MSN and Smithsonian. When Nickolay starts to receive requests from parents asking where they can purchase an actual physical "average" doll based on his visual representation, he asks himself a question: "Is this the entrepreneurial opportunity for which I've been waiting?" In the end, Nickolay has a decision to make: 1) explore the feasibility of a partnership with Mattel, Hasbro or another established player 2) launch his own company, either with business partners or by himself; or 3) wait for a better entrepreneurial opportunity to emerge...
Swot Analysis of "Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing?" written by Heidi M.J. Bertels, Michael S. Lehman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nickolay Doll facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Strategic planning and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? casestudy better are - – technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nickolay Doll, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nickolay Doll 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nickolay Doll
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 Nickolay Doll
Strengths Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nickolay Doll in Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nickolay Doll digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nickolay Doll 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nickolay Doll are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Nickolay Doll is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Nickolay Doll 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 Heidi M.J. Bertels, Michael S. Lehman 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nickolay Doll is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nickolay Doll to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nickolay Doll to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nickolay Doll is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Nickolay Doll in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nickolay Doll in the sector have low bargaining power. Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nickolay Doll to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nickolay Doll has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nickolay Doll 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.
Organizational Resilience of Nickolay Doll
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nickolay Doll does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Nickolay Doll 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 Nickolay Doll in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nickolay Doll 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Nickolay Doll 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nickolay Doll is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Nickolay Doll needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nickolay Doll to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing?, in the dynamic environment Nickolay Doll has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nickolay Doll has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nickolay Doll is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nickolay Doll 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Nickolay Doll 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nickolay Doll products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nickolay Doll needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Nickolay Doll 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Nickolay Doll has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nickolay Doll, firm in the HBR case study Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? | 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nickolay Doll has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nickolay Doll to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? case study. Nickolay Doll can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Nickolay Doll can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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.
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 Nickolay Doll 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Nickolay Doll can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Nickolay Doll can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nickolay Doll 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 Nickolay Doll to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nickolay Doll 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nickolay Doll to increase its market reach. Nickolay Doll 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nickolay Doll 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, Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nickolay Doll is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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. Nickolay Doll 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. Nickolay Doll 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nickolay Doll 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nickolay Doll can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nickolay Doll operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Threats Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? are -
Environmental challenges
– Nickolay Doll 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. Nickolay Doll can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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 Nickolay Doll business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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 Nickolay Doll in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Nickolay Doll.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nickolay Doll has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nickolay Doll 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Nickolay Doll 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.
Increasing wage structure of Nickolay Doll
– 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 Nickolay Doll.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nickolay Doll can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nickolay Doll 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.
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. Nickolay Doll can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nickolay Doll 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nickolay Doll with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Average is Beautiful: An Opportunity Worth Pursuing? 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 Nickolay Doll needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
