Better World Books (in 2009): 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 2009): 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 David Murphy 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 :: Frank T. Rothaermel, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Konstantinos Grigoriou
Swot Analysis of "Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line" written by Frank T. Rothaermel, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Konstantinos Grigoriou 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 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Joint ventures, Organizational culture, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Better World Books (in 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line Harvard Business Review case study are -
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 2009): 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 Frank T. Rothaermel, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Konstantinos Grigoriou can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bwb Triple is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Better World Books (in 2009): 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bwb Triple in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bwb Triple 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bwb Triple 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 Bwb Triple digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bwb Triple 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.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bwb Triple 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 Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Better World Books (in 2009): 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Bwb Triple is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Bwb Triple 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 Bwb Triple in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Better World Books (in 2009): 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 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bwb Triple 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line, 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.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bwb Triple 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.
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 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line, in the dynamic environment Bwb Triple has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bwb Triple has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Better World Books (in 2009): 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.
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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Bwb Triple 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.
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bwb Triple, firm in the HBR case study Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Better World Books (in 2009): 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 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bwb Triple can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bwb Triple operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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 2009): 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bwb Triple is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line 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.
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 2009): 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 2009): 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bwb Triple 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bwb Triple has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bwb Triple to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line case study. Bwb Triple can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 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.
Threats Better World Books (in 2009): 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 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bwb Triple 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.
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.
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. Bwb Triple can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bwb Triple 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.
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.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bwb Triple 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bwb Triple 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 Better World Books (in 2009): Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line .
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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Better World Books (in 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): 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 2009): 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.