Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun

As firms strive to lead through innovation, they face the twin challenges of how to unify seemingly contradictory perspectives. The first is the desire to bring genuinely new products to market and follow a "market-driven" approach to product development, which often tends to be conservative in nature. The second is avoiding the "innovator's dilemma," or becoming the prisoner of a once-but-no-longer successful technology due to the emergence of an apparently "disruptive" newer technology. Presents a framework for helping organizations simultaneously deal with these two issues, which are rooted in the understanding that while firms may produce a set of (technical) features, consumers purchase benefits. However, since most benefits are generic in nature, the core "technologies" on which innovations are based--what we describe as meta-technologies--are also generic in nature. By focusing their efforts on meta-technologies, firms can be innovative while remaining sensitive to customer needs and simultaneously be market-driven and "market-driving." This perspective offers a potential solution to the "innovator's dilemma," since at the benefit level technologies are rarely disruptive, but rather "continuous" and evolutionary. Firms that seeks to develop successful and sustainable strategies for innovation must identify these generic, or "meta-technologies," and then design and deliver new products that are based on them.

Authors :: Rashi Glazer

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Marketing, Product development, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun" written by Rashi Glazer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Meta Technologies facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Product development, Technology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun casestudy better are - – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Meta Technologies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Meta Technologies 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Meta Technologies
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 Meta Technologies

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Strengths Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Meta Technologies in Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Meta Technologies in the sector have low bargaining power. Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Meta Technologies to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Meta Technologies in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Meta Technologies is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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.

Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Meta Technologies digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Meta Technologies 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 switching costs

– The high switching costs that Meta Technologies 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.

Training and development

– Meta Technologies has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Meta Technologies is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

High brand equity

– Meta Technologies has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Meta Technologies to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Meta Technologies 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.

Organizational Resilience of Meta Technologies

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Meta Technologies does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Meta Technologies 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 Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

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Weaknesses Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun are -

Products dominated business model

– Even though Meta Technologies 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 - Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Meta Technologies, firm in the HBR case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Meta Technologies 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun, is just above the industry average. Meta Technologies 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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 Meta Technologies 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun, 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Meta Technologies 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Meta Technologies 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 Meta Technologies products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Meta Technologies needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Meta Technologies 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun, in the dynamic environment Meta Technologies has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Meta Technologies has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

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Opportunities Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun | 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 Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun are -

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 Meta Technologies 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

– Meta Technologies 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Meta Technologies 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Meta Technologies 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Meta Technologies can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Meta Technologies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Meta Technologies can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Meta Technologies can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Meta Technologies operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Meta Technologies 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, Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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. Meta Technologies can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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. Meta Technologies 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. Meta Technologies 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Meta Technologies 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Meta Technologies 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.

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Threats Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun are -

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. Meta Technologies 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Meta Technologies 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun, Meta Technologies 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 .

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 Meta Technologies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Environmental challenges

– Meta Technologies 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. Meta Technologies can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

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 Meta Technologies.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Meta Technologies 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Meta Technologies with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Meta Technologies is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– Meta Technologies 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.

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 Meta Technologies in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Meta Technologies can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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 Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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 Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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 Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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 Meta-Technologies and Innovation Leadership: Why There May Be Nothing New Under the Sun 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 Meta Technologies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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