Swot Analysis of "Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures" written by Joan Farre-Mensa, Ramana Nanda, Piyush Jain includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ventures Entrepreneurial facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ventures Entrepreneurial, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ventures Entrepreneurial
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 Ventures Entrepreneurial
Strengths Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ventures Entrepreneurial in Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ventures Entrepreneurial digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ventures Entrepreneurial to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ventures Entrepreneurial to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ventures Entrepreneurial is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ventures Entrepreneurial in the sector have low bargaining power. Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ventures Entrepreneurial to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ventures Entrepreneurial in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Ventures Entrepreneurial
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ventures Entrepreneurial does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Learning organization
- Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Ventures Entrepreneurial is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ventures Entrepreneurial is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ventures Entrepreneurial is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Ventures Entrepreneurial needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures, in the dynamic environment Ventures Entrepreneurial has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 - Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ventures Entrepreneurial is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ventures Entrepreneurial has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures HBR case study mentions - Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Ventures Entrepreneurial products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ventures Entrepreneurial needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ventures Entrepreneurial, firm in the HBR case study Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures | 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ventures Entrepreneurial to increase its market reach. Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Ventures Entrepreneurial 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, Ventures Entrepreneurial 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, Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ventures Entrepreneurial can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ventures Entrepreneurial operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ventures Entrepreneurial is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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. Ventures Entrepreneurial 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. Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ventures Entrepreneurial can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
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. Ventures Entrepreneurial can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Ventures Entrepreneurial can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ventures Entrepreneurial to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures are -
Environmental challenges
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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. Ventures Entrepreneurial can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Increasing wage structure of Ventures Entrepreneurial
– 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 Ventures Entrepreneurial.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ventures Entrepreneurial 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ventures Entrepreneurial with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ventures Entrepreneurial has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
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 Ventures Entrepreneurial business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ventures Entrepreneurial 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.
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. Ventures Entrepreneurial will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ventures Entrepreneurial can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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 Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures 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 Ventures Entrepreneurial needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.