Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn
An Estonian success story, this case examines why Skype's Scandinavian founders chose Tallinn to establish their hi-tech start-up. We investigate the factors that contributed to their choice of location and the subsequent success of the venture. Skype's journey is discussed against the backdrop of post-Soviet Estonia's economic and industrial resurrection.
Swot Analysis of "Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn" written by Sami Mahroum, Elizabeth Scott includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tallinn Estonian facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Influence, Innovation, Technology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tallinn Estonian, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tallinn Estonian 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tallinn Estonian
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 Tallinn Estonian
Strengths Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tallinn Estonian in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tallinn Estonian is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Tallinn Estonian has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Tallinn Estonian 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.
Organizational Resilience of Tallinn Estonian
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Tallinn Estonian does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Tallinn Estonian 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 Sami Mahroum, Elizabeth Scott 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Tallinn Estonian is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Tallinn Estonian 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 Tallinn Estonian is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tallinn Estonian to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tallinn Estonian to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tallinn Estonian digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tallinn Estonian 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.
High brand equity
– Tallinn Estonian has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Tallinn Estonian to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Tallinn Estonian is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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
– Tallinn Estonian is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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.
Weaknesses Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Tallinn Estonian 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
Tallinn Estonian 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn, it seems that the employees of Tallinn Estonian 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn, is just above the industry average. Tallinn Estonian 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Tallinn Estonian 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tallinn Estonian 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. Tallinn Estonian 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tallinn Estonian products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tallinn Estonian needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Tallinn Estonian is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Tallinn Estonian needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Tallinn Estonian to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Sami Mahroum, Elizabeth Scott suggests that, Tallinn Estonian 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Tallinn Estonian is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn | 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn are -
Loyalty marketing
– Tallinn Estonian 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Tallinn Estonian 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Tallinn Estonian to increase its market reach. Tallinn Estonian 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tallinn Estonian 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tallinn Estonian 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Tallinn Estonian can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tallinn Estonian has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tallinn Estonian to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn case study. Tallinn Estonian can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Tallinn Estonian can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, 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. Tallinn Estonian can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Tallinn Estonian can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Tallinn Estonian 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Tallinn Estonian 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.
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. Tallinn Estonian 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. Tallinn Estonian 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.
Threats Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn, Tallinn Estonian 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 .
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. Tallinn Estonian needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tallinn Estonian 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Tallinn Estonian 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Tallinn Estonian has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tallinn Estonian 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Tallinn Estonian is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Tallinn Estonian can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Tallinn Estonian
– 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 Tallinn Estonian.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tallinn Estonian 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.
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 Tallinn Estonian 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. Tallinn Estonian 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Tallinn Estonian 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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 Skype: A Case Study of How Skype Derived "Place Surplus" in the Estonian Capital of Tallinn 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 Tallinn Estonian needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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