Case Study Description of Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries
In April 2016, the owner of Kreative Works, a small-scale furniture manufacturer in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, decided to expand his company's product line in response to increased market competition and a shift in consumers' buying patterns and preferences. The intent was to extend the company's market reach from its traditional target of educational institutes and offices to a consumer market by marketing a premium lounge chair and a family of dining chairs. The owner also wanted to expand the market geographically. Kreative Works did not have the capacity to open multiple retail outlets. Given these circumstances, should the company market its new product line in a single retail outlet or through an exclusive dealer or distributor (a centralized channel structure), or by distributing its products through multiple distributors or retailers (a decentralized channel structure)? Tuhin Sengupta and Priyavrat Sanyal are affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Indore.
Swot Analysis of "Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries" written by Tuhin Sengupta, Priyavrat Sanyal, Vishal Kakkar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kreative Priyavrat facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Design, Manufacturing, Marketing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kreative Priyavrat, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kreative Priyavrat 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kreative Priyavrat
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 Kreative Priyavrat
Strengths Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kreative Priyavrat in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kreative Priyavrat 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Kreative Priyavrat is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Kreative Priyavrat is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kreative Priyavrat 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kreative Priyavrat in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Kreative Priyavrat has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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.
High brand equity
– Kreative Priyavrat has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kreative Priyavrat to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kreative Priyavrat has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kreative Priyavrat 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
– Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kreative Priyavrat to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kreative Priyavrat to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kreative Priyavrat is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kreative Priyavrat in the sector have low bargaining power. Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kreative Priyavrat to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Kreative Priyavrat
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kreative Priyavrat does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kreative Priyavrat, firm in the HBR case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kreative Priyavrat is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kreative Priyavrat 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
Kreative Priyavrat 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries, is just above the industry average. Kreative Priyavrat 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kreative Priyavrat is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Priyavrat 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kreative Priyavrat 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. Kreative Priyavrat 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries HBR case study mentions - Kreative Priyavrat takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries, in the dynamic environment Kreative Priyavrat has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kreative Priyavrat 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, Tuhin Sengupta, Priyavrat Sanyal, Vishal Kakkar suggests that, Kreative Priyavrat 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries | 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kreative Priyavrat 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 Kreative Priyavrat to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kreative Priyavrat can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kreative Priyavrat operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kreative Priyavrat in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Kreative Priyavrat 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Kreative Priyavrat can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kreative Priyavrat to increase its market reach. Kreative Priyavrat 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kreative Priyavrat has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kreative Priyavrat to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries case study. Kreative Priyavrat can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kreative Priyavrat 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.
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 Kreative Priyavrat in the consumer business. Now Kreative Priyavrat can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Kreative Priyavrat 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.
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. Kreative Priyavrat can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Kreative Priyavrat can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kreative Priyavrat is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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.
Threats Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries are -
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 Kreative Priyavrat business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kreative Priyavrat 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries .
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. Kreative Priyavrat needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kreative Priyavrat 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries, Kreative Priyavrat 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kreative Priyavrat with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kreative Priyavrat has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kreative Priyavrat needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Kreative Priyavrat.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kreative Priyavrat 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.
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. Kreative Priyavrat can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Kreative Priyavrat 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. Kreative Priyavrat can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Works: Extending the Boundaries 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 Kreative Priyavrat needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.