Adams Capital Management: March 2002 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Adams Capital Management: March 2002
In March 2002, the five partners of Adams Capital Management (ACM), a venture capital firm investing in information technology telecommunications with $700 million under management, gathered to discuss whether they should change their strategy in view of the prolonged downturn in both the economy and their targeted investment sectors. Since its founding in 1993, ACM had followed a distinct strategy of targeting particular markets of interest, investing within these, and managing the portfolio companies through a defined process to liquidity. ACM's first fund had performed extremely well; its second was looking good; and the third, albeit only a year into its life, was not performing as well. ACM is considering three options: investing in companies producing more fundamental products, hiring more associates or investing in more markets, or taking bigger positions in companies in its traditional sectors. Each has its own possibilities and drawbacks. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Authors :: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon
Swot Analysis of "Adams Capital Management: March 2002" written by G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Acm Investing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Strategic planning, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Adams Capital Management: March 2002 casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, 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, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Adams Capital Management: March 2002
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Acm Investing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Acm Investing 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Acm Investing
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 Acm Investing
Strengths Adams Capital Management: March 2002 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Acm Investing in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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.
Training and development
– Acm Investing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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.
High brand equity
– Acm Investing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Acm Investing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Acm Investing 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 Acm Investing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Acm Investing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Acm Investing 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Acm Investing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Adams Capital Management: March 2002 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Acm Investing 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Acm Investing 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Acm Investing 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 Acm Investing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Acm Investing 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 G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Acm Investing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Adams Capital Management: March 2002 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Acm Investing 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Adams Capital Management: March 2002 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Adams Capital Management: March 2002 are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Acm Investing is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Acm Investing products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Acm Investing needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Acm Investing 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Acm Investing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Acm Investing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Acm Investing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Acm Investing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Acm Investing, firm in the HBR case study Adams Capital Management: March 2002 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Adams Capital Management: March 2002, is just above the industry average. Acm Investing needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Adams Capital Management: March 2002, in the dynamic environment Acm Investing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Acm Investing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Acm Investing has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Adams Capital Management: March 2002 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Acm Investing 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon suggests that, Acm Investing 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 | 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Acm Investing 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Acm Investing 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Acm Investing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Acm Investing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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.
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 Acm Investing in the consumer business. Now Acm Investing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Acm Investing 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Acm Investing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Acm Investing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Acm Investing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Acm Investing 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Acm Investing 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 Acm Investing 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, Acm Investing 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, Adams Capital Management: March 2002, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Acm Investing 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.
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. Acm Investing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Adams Capital Management: March 2002 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Adams Capital Management: March 2002 are -
Environmental challenges
– Acm Investing 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. Acm Investing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Acm Investing 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Acm Investing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Acm Investing 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.
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 Acm Investing in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Acm Investing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Acm Investing 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.
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 Acm Investing.
Regulatory challenges
– Acm Investing 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Adams Capital Management: March 2002, Acm Investing 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Acm Investing is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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.
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 Acm Investing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Adams Capital Management: March 2002 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 Acm Investing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.