Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City
In late 2016, Bridj was expanding its digital platform to help address urban mobility problems faced by cities across the country and the world. Its founder and CEO, Matt George, weighed up several possible strategies for growth as he aimed to responsibly build the company. George continued to engage with key stakeholders, and had decided to work in partnerships with Kansas City and Ford to expand Bridj's reach to the midwest. This B case on Bridj allows for a discussion of the company's new options given its public-private partnership with Kansas City, and provides additional examples of how George's strategy to engage with key stakeholders has helped Bridj to grow.
Swot Analysis of "Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jonathan Cohen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bridj Kansas facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bridj Kansas, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bridj Kansas
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 Bridj Kansas
Strengths Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bridj Kansas in Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bridj Kansas is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj Kansas in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Bridj Kansas
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bridj Kansas does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Bridj Kansas has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bridj Kansas to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Bridj Kansas is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Bridj Kansas 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jonathan Cohen 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bridj Kansas in the sector have low bargaining power. Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bridj Kansas to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City - 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
– Bridj Kansas has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bridj Kansas 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bridj Kansas has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Training and development
– Bridj Kansas has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City are -
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 Bridj Kansas supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bridj Kansas vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bridj Kansas 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 - Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City, in the dynamic environment Bridj Kansas has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bridj Kansas has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Bridj Kansas 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bridj Kansas, firm in the HBR case study Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bridj Kansas products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bridj Kansas needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bridj Kansas has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City, it seems that the employees of Bridj Kansas 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City, is just above the industry average. Bridj Kansas 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bridj Kansas is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Bridj Kansas needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bridj Kansas to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj Kansas 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City | 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City are -
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. Bridj Kansas can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bridj Kansas can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bridj Kansas operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Bridj Kansas can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bridj Kansas 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.
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. Bridj Kansas can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bridj Kansas to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Bridj Kansas in the consumer business. Now Bridj Kansas can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bridj Kansas 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bridj Kansas 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, Bridj Kansas is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bridj Kansas has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bridj Kansas to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City case study. Bridj Kansas can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bridj Kansas 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, Bridj Kansas 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, Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City are -
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Bridj Kansas 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bridj Kansas 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City, Bridj Kansas 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bridj Kansas is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Bridj Kansas.
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 Bridj Kansas business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Bridj Kansas in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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. Bridj Kansas can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bridj Kansas 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bridj Kansas 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bridj Kansas 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj Kansas needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.