Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?
Twitter has become an incredibly popular micro-blogging service since its launch in 2006. Its founders have ambitious plans for the service, and are backed by $155 million of venture capital funding, which valued the company at $1 billion in 2009. Twitter seems to attract a diverse audience of users from political organizers looking to disseminate information to their followers; businesses looking to reach out, in real time, to potential customers; and for social networking purposes. The company charges consumers nothing for its service. By 2009, competitors have emerged - some of whom have deep pockets. Yet, it remains unclear - at least to observers - whether the company will ever make money from its service.
Swot Analysis of "Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?" written by Simon Parker, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Twitter Service facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Networking, Social platforms and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Twitter Service, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Twitter Service
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 Twitter Service
Strengths Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Twitter Service in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Twitter Service in the sector have low bargaining power. Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Twitter Service to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Twitter Service is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Twitter Service is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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.
High brand equity
– Twitter Service has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Twitter Service to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Twitter Service to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Twitter Service to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Twitter Service is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Twitter Service
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Twitter Service does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Twitter Service is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Twitter Service 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 - Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Twitter Service has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Twitter Service 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, is just above the industry average. Twitter Service 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Simon Parker, Ken Mark suggests that, Twitter Service 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Twitter Service is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Twitter Service needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Twitter Service needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, in the dynamic environment Twitter Service has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Twitter Service has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? | 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Twitter Service 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Twitter Service has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Twitter Service to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study. Twitter Service can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Twitter Service is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Twitter Service 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Twitter Service can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Twitter Service can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Twitter Service to increase its market reach. Twitter Service 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
– Twitter Service 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Twitter Service can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Twitter Service operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Twitter Service to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Twitter Service 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Twitter Service can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Twitter Service in the consumer business. Now Twitter Service can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Twitter Service 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Twitter Service 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.
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. Twitter Service can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Twitter Service 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 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. Twitter Service needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Twitter Service is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Twitter Service
– 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 Twitter Service.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Twitter Service has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, Twitter Service may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Twitter Service in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Twitter Service needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.