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Lincoln Electric Co. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Lincoln Electric Co.


This case is accompanied by a Video Short that can be shown in class or included in a digital coursepack. Instructors should consider the timing of making the video available to students, as it may reveal key case details.Covers the strategy and management practices of the world's largest manufacturer of welding equipment. Discusses the compensation system and company culture, and the leadership style of management.

Authors :: Norman A. Berg, Norman D. Fast

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Competitive strategy, Labor, Motivating people, Operations management, Productivity, Workspaces, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Lincoln Electric Co." written by Norman A. Berg, Norman D. Fast includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Details.covers Welding facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lincoln Electric Co. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Labor, Motivating people, Operations management, Productivity, Workspaces and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lincoln Electric Co. casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, 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, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lincoln Electric Co.


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lincoln Electric Co. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Details.covers Welding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Details.covers Welding 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 Lincoln Electric Co. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lincoln Electric Co. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Details.covers Welding
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Details.covers Welding




Strengths Lincoln Electric Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Details.covers Welding in Lincoln Electric Co. Harvard Business Review case study are -

Successful track record of launching new products

– Details.covers Welding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Details.covers Welding 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Lincoln Electric Co. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Details.covers Welding to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Details.covers Welding to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Details.covers Welding in the sector have low bargaining power. Lincoln Electric Co. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Details.covers Welding to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Innovation driven organization

– Details.covers Welding is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Lincoln Electric Co. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Details.covers Welding is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Lincoln Electric Co. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Superior customer experience

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

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Details.covers Welding 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 Details.covers Welding in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Details.covers Welding 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Lincoln Electric Co. 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Details.covers Welding 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Details.covers Welding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Training and development

– Details.covers Welding has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lincoln Electric Co. 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.






Weaknesses Lincoln Electric Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Lincoln Electric Co. are -

Lack of clear differentiation of Details.covers Welding products

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

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Lincoln Electric Co., is just above the industry average. Details.covers Welding 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Details.covers Welding, firm in the HBR case study Lincoln Electric Co. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Lincoln Electric Co., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Details.covers Welding is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Details.covers Welding needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Details.covers Welding to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Details.covers Welding 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 - Lincoln Electric Co. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

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 Details.covers Welding supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Lincoln Electric Co., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Details.covers Welding vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Lincoln Electric Co. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Details.covers Welding is planning to shift buying processes online.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Details.covers Welding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Lincoln Electric Co., in the dynamic environment Details.covers Welding has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Details.covers Welding has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Norman A. Berg, Norman D. Fast suggests that, Details.covers Welding 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.




Opportunities Lincoln Electric Co. | 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 Lincoln Electric Co. are -

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. Details.covers Welding can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Details.covers Welding 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.

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 Details.covers Welding in the consumer business. Now Details.covers Welding can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Details.covers Welding 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Details.covers Welding is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lincoln Electric Co. 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.

Increase in government spending

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

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Details.covers Welding 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 Lincoln Electric Co. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Details.covers Welding to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Details.covers Welding 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 Details.covers Welding to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Details.covers Welding 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Details.covers Welding can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Buying journey improvements

– Details.covers Welding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Lincoln Electric Co. 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, Details.covers Welding 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, Lincoln Electric Co., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Details.covers Welding has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Details.covers Welding to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Lincoln Electric Co. case study. Details.covers Welding can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.




Threats Lincoln Electric Co. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lincoln Electric Co. are -

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Details.covers Welding 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 Lincoln Electric Co. .

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 Details.covers Welding.

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 Details.covers Welding business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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 dependence on third party suppliers

– Details.covers Welding 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.

Increasing wage structure of Details.covers Welding

– 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 Details.covers Welding.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Details.covers Welding is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Lincoln Electric Co., Details.covers Welding may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Details.covers Welding 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 Details.covers Welding with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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 Details.covers Welding in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Details.covers Welding can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Lincoln Electric Co. 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 Details.covers Welding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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