The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance
The equity research department of Credit Suisse and the expert network firm of Gerson Lehrman Group, historically competitors, have established a strategic alliance which both believe will give them a competitive advantage. Under the leadership of its head of equity research, Stefano NateIIa, Credit Suisse has responded to the continuing pressures on the sell-side research function with a focus on making it a revenue center. One pressure on sell-side research is the introduction of alternative business models for providing sell-side research, such as from expert networks like the Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). GLG has established a network of nearly 200,000 experts who provide advice to institutional investors in a different way which emphasizes private consultations with these experts about questions of very specific interest to the investor. Natella and Saint-Amand have agreed to a two-year alliance which gives the analysts at Credit-Suisse access to the experts in GLG's network, as a way of improving the quality of their research. Credit Suisse can also get additional revenues by placing its analysis in the GLG network, although under some severe constraints. GLG gets additional revenues from its contract with Credit Suisse and from introductions to other potential clients that Credit Suisse will make. It also grows its network from the addition of the analysts at Credit Suisse. The alliance has been announced just before the financial markets began their meltdown in October of 2008, and both Natella and Saint-Amand are wondering what this means for the future of the alliance.
Swot Analysis of "The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance" written by Robert G. Eccles, Laura Winig includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Suisse Glg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Innovation, IT, Joint ventures, Networking and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Suisse Glg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Suisse Glg 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Suisse Glg
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 Suisse Glg
Strengths The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Suisse Glg in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Suisse Glg in the sector have low bargaining power. The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Suisse Glg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Suisse Glg 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 Robert G. Eccles, Laura Winig 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Suisse Glg digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Suisse Glg has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Suisse Glg has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Suisse Glg 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
– The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Suisse Glg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Suisse Glg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Suisse Glg 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.
Organizational Resilience of Suisse Glg
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Suisse Glg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Suisse Glg is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Suisse Glg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Suisse Glg is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 Suisse Glg 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Suisse Glg is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance, it seems that the employees of Suisse Glg 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 Suisse Glg 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Suisse Glg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Suisse Glg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Suisse Glg 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance, is just above the industry average. Suisse Glg 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Suisse Glg is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Suisse Glg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance HBR case study mentions - Suisse Glg 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Suisse Glg 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
Suisse Glg 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.
Opportunities The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance | 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Suisse Glg 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Suisse Glg 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Suisse Glg 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 Suisse Glg to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Suisse Glg 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Suisse Glg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Suisse Glg 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, The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Suisse Glg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Suisse Glg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Suisse Glg in the consumer business. Now Suisse Glg can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Suisse Glg 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Suisse Glg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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.
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. Suisse Glg 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. Suisse Glg 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Suisse Glg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Suisse Glg to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance case study. Suisse Glg can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Suisse Glg to increase its market reach. Suisse Glg 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.
Threats The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance are -
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 Suisse Glg in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Suisse Glg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Suisse Glg 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Suisse Glg 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Suisse Glg 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.
Increasing wage structure of Suisse Glg
– 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 Suisse Glg.
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. Suisse Glg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Suisse Glg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Suisse Glg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Suisse Glg 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. Suisse Glg can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Suisse Glg needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Suisse Glg 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.
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. Suisse Glg 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Suisse Glg 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 The Credit Suisse/Gerson Lehrman Group Alliance 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 Suisse Glg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.