Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry
This case traces the growth of Amagi and the various challenges faced by it as it has grown to develop its own niche in the TV broadcasting industry in India, and is now slowly growing in markets outside India. Amagi, founded by three entrepreneurs, has come a long way from its initial days of trying to sell its standalone broadcast signal splitting technology to television (TV) broadcasting channels. From what was supposed to be a technology company, it has metamorphosed into a full-fledged media company managing advertising airtime for some of India's biggest broadcasting channels and advertisers. Outside of India, Amagi has positioned itself as a broadcast playout management company helping channels provide customized content to multiple countries using a single stream. Although, the underlying technology of Amagi has not changed radically over the years, the innovations in Amagi's offerings to the market have helped it become the success that it is today. The case outlines all the steps taken by Amagi to address each of the challenges that it has faced in its journey to success, clearly highlighting the various capabilities that it had to develop or acquire over the various time-periods. The case shows how while a firm may believe that it is providing a suitable value proposition, the customers may not see value in this value proposition. The case shows how the firm has to interject at various points of the value chain to establish its presence, and as a consequence of having established its presence and having developed various capabilities, what could be its growth strategy, and how its activities and capabilities will influence the same.
Swot Analysis of "Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry" written by Anshuman Tripathy, Leela Krishna Annam, Mayur Agrawal includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Amagi Broadcasting facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Amagi Broadcasting, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Amagi Broadcasting 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Amagi Broadcasting
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 Amagi Broadcasting
Strengths Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Amagi Broadcasting in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Amagi Broadcasting
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Amagi Broadcasting does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Amagi Broadcasting 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
– Amagi Broadcasting is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Amagi Broadcasting has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Amagi Broadcasting to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Amagi Broadcasting to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Amagi Broadcasting 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 Anshuman Tripathy, Leela Krishna Annam, Mayur Agrawal 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Amagi Broadcasting 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 Amagi Broadcasting in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Amagi Broadcasting in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Amagi Broadcasting 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Amagi Broadcasting has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Amagi Broadcasting is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Amagi Broadcasting is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Amagi Broadcasting products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Amagi Broadcasting needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi Broadcasting 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anshuman Tripathy, Leela Krishna Annam, Mayur Agrawal suggests that, Amagi Broadcasting is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry HBR case study mentions - Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Amagi Broadcasting, firm in the HBR case study Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry, it seems that the employees of Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry, in the dynamic environment Amagi Broadcasting has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Amagi Broadcasting has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Amagi Broadcasting 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. Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Amagi Broadcasting is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Amagi Broadcasting needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Amagi Broadcasting to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry | 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Amagi Broadcasting can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Amagi Broadcasting 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.
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 Amagi Broadcasting in the consumer business. Now Amagi Broadcasting can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Amagi Broadcasting is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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.
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 Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Amagi Broadcasting to increase its market reach. Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Amagi Broadcasting 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, Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Amagi Broadcasting 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. Amagi Broadcasting 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.
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. Amagi Broadcasting can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Amagi Broadcasting 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Amagi Broadcasting to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Threats Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Amagi Broadcasting has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Environmental challenges
– Amagi Broadcasting 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. Amagi Broadcasting can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry, Amagi Broadcasting 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 .
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 Amagi Broadcasting.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Amagi Broadcasting 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Amagi Broadcasting demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Amagi Broadcasting in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Amagi Broadcasting 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Amagi Broadcasting 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Amagi Broadcasting
– 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 Amagi Broadcasting.
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 Amagi Broadcasting in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi: Creating Value in the TV Broadcasting Industry 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 Amagi Broadcasting needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
