iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?
Briefly describes content of case. In August 2008 two young entrepreneurs created the iPhone application iBART, which offered instant access to all of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit information. After achieving rapid success, they were at a critical juncture with their start-up. How could they monetize their app? What growth strategies should they pursue for their company?
Swot Analysis of "iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?" written by Leslie A Goldgehn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Iphone Ibart facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Pricing and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Iphone Ibart, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Iphone Ibart 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Iphone Ibart
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 Iphone Ibart
Strengths iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Iphone Ibart in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Iphone Ibart 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Iphone Ibart 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 Iphone Ibart in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Iphone Ibart 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Iphone Ibart in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Iphone Ibart is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Iphone Ibart is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Iphone Ibart 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 Iphone Ibart is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Iphone Ibart digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Iphone Ibart 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.
Training and development
– Iphone Ibart has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Iphone Ibart to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Iphone Ibart to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Iphone Ibart has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Iphone Ibart has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Iphone Ibart is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? are -
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Iphone Ibart supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Iphone Ibart vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Iphone Ibart 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 Iphone Ibart 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Iphone Ibart 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 - iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Leslie A Goldgehn suggests that, Iphone Ibart 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Iphone Ibart, firm in the HBR case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?, is just above the industry average. Iphone Ibart 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?, it seems that the employees of Iphone Ibart don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Iphone Ibart 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Iphone Ibart is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? | 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? are -
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. Iphone Ibart 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. Iphone Ibart 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.
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 Iphone Ibart in the consumer business. Now Iphone Ibart can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Iphone Ibart is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Iphone Ibart can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Iphone Ibart 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, iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Iphone Ibart 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. Iphone Ibart can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Iphone Ibart can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Iphone Ibart 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Iphone Ibart can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Iphone Ibart operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Iphone Ibart to increase its market reach. Iphone Ibart 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Iphone Ibart 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Iphone Ibart 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 Iphone Ibart to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Iphone Ibart is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Iphone Ibart in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Iphone Ibart 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Iphone Ibart 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.
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 Iphone Ibart business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Iphone Ibart 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Iphone Ibart 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Iphone Ibart 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.
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. Iphone Ibart needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Iphone Ibart.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Iphone Ibart 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Iphone Ibart has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Iphone Ibart 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 iPhone Applications: Viable Business or Time-Consuming Hobby? 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 Iphone Ibart needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.