Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the artists who created The Gates in New York City in 2005, are trying to decide how best to finance their next project. Over the River, a project to drape sections of the Arkansas River with translucent fabric is a very different enterprise from The Gates. Bank Leu, the Swiss back that had provided a line of credit for The Gates, has declined the opportunity to participate in Over the River. As Christo and Jeanne-Claude review the Bank Leu vehicle, they must consider whether it is replicable to other projects and institutions or whether they should consider a different approach. Includes color exhibits.
Swot Analysis of "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur" written by Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Claude Jeanne facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Risk management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Claude Jeanne, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Claude Jeanne 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Claude Jeanne
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 Claude Jeanne
Strengths Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Claude Jeanne in Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Claude Jeanne is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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
– Claude Jeanne has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Claude Jeanne to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Claude Jeanne in the sector have low bargaining power. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Claude Jeanne to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Claude Jeanne 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Claude Jeanne has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Claude Jeanne 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Claude Jeanne 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Claude Jeanne to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Claude Jeanne to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Claude Jeanne in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Claude Jeanne has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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.
Organizational Resilience of Claude Jeanne
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Claude Jeanne does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Claude Jeanne 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 Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Claude Jeanne is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Claude Jeanne 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Claude Jeanne 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Claude Jeanne has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur, it seems that the employees of Claude Jeanne 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Claude Jeanne 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon suggests that, Claude Jeanne 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Claude Jeanne 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Claude Jeanne is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Claude Jeanne supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Claude Jeanne vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Claude Jeanne 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 - Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur, in the dynamic environment Claude Jeanne has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Claude Jeanne has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur | 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Claude Jeanne has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Claude Jeanne to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur case study. Claude Jeanne can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Claude Jeanne can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Claude Jeanne 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 Claude Jeanne 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Claude Jeanne can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Claude Jeanne 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 Claude Jeanne to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Claude Jeanne 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Claude Jeanne 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Claude Jeanne can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Claude Jeanne in the consumer business. Now Claude Jeanne can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Claude Jeanne can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Claude Jeanne 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, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Claude Jeanne 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Claude Jeanne to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Claude Jeanne 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.
Threats Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Claude Jeanne has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Claude Jeanne 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Claude Jeanne 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.
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.
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. Claude Jeanne 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 Claude Jeanne 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.
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 Claude Jeanne business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Claude Jeanne is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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. Claude Jeanne 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
– Claude Jeanne 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 wage structure of Claude Jeanne
– 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 Claude Jeanne.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Claude Jeanne 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur .
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 Claude Jeanne in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Art of the Entrepreneur 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 Claude Jeanne needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.