Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line
Better World Books was founded as a for-profit "B corporation" committed to a triple bottom-line of financial, social, and environmental performance. After early growth, BWB now faces challenges growing while sustaining their social-entrepreneurship business model. Problems such as narrow margins, shrinking supply, low brand awareness, and even copycat competitors are a few of the issues BWB faces. CEO Andrew Perlmutter must decide how to handle these issues in a way that keeps BWB competitive in the crowded used-book industry and creates value for all of BWB's stakeholders.
Authors :: Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Konstantinos Grigoriou, Frank T. Rothaermel
Swot Analysis of "Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line" written by Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Konstantinos Grigoriou, Frank T. Rothaermel includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bwb Triple facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Organizational culture, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bwb Triple, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bwb Triple 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bwb Triple
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 Bwb Triple
Strengths Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bwb Triple in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Bwb Triple
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bwb Triple does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bwb Triple has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bwb Triple 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.
High brand equity
– Bwb Triple has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bwb Triple to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Bwb Triple has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bwb Triple in the sector have low bargaining power. Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bwb Triple to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bwb Triple is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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.
Learning organization
- Bwb Triple 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 Bwb Triple is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bwb Triple is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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
– Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bwb Triple to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bwb Triple to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bwb Triple 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Bwb Triple 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 Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Konstantinos Grigoriou, Frank T. Rothaermel 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.
Weaknesses Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bwb Triple 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. Bwb Triple even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Bwb Triple 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bwb Triple is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line HBR case study mentions - Bwb Triple 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bwb Triple 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Bwb Triple has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bwb Triple 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 - Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line, is just above the industry average. Bwb Triple 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bwb Triple 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bwb Triple is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bwb Triple products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bwb Triple needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line | 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bwb Triple to increase its market reach. Bwb Triple 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bwb Triple 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bwb Triple 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, Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Bwb Triple can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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.
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 Bwb Triple in the consumer business. Now Bwb Triple can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Bwb Triple 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bwb Triple 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.
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. Bwb Triple can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bwb Triple 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bwb Triple 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bwb Triple to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bwb Triple 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bwb Triple can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Bwb Triple can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line are -
Regulatory challenges
– Bwb Triple 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Bwb Triple 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. Bwb Triple can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Increasing wage structure of Bwb Triple
– 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 Bwb Triple.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bwb Triple is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bwb Triple has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bwb Triple 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.
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 Bwb Triple.
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.
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. Bwb Triple needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bwb Triple with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Bwb Triple in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bwb Triple 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line, Bwb Triple 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Better World Books (in 2013): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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 Bwb Triple needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.