B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution
This 2014 case discusses the U.S. nonprofit organization B Lab and its mission to support and help drive investment capital toward private enterprises that 1) aim to provide social and environmental benefits, and 2) are accountable to stakeholders (such as employees and their community) in addition to their equity investors. B Lab created robust tools for assessing the impact of these enterprises so that the social and environmental Return on Investment could be measured and evaluated in a consistent, comparable and transparent fashion. The tools were based on a 200-point assessment scheme called the B Impact Assessment. In addition, B Lab created a certification called "B Corp," which identified companies that considered diverse stakeholder interest in its definition of corporate and fiduciary responsibility. B Lab also created and championed a new legal form, the Benefit organization, which supported those organizations. Through these activities, B Lab played an important role in the relatively new practice of impact investing, which seeks to generate positive social or environmental value alongside financial returns. In 2014 the eight-year-old company was at a strategic crossroads. Many organizations found the B Lab assessment process to be burdensome, and the investment markets were showing a lack of interest, if not resistance to, using B Lab's measurement systems. Many market participants wanted to focus only on specific parts of B Lab's assessment, or wanted more customized tools to suit data collection for their own existing metrics. However, enabling investors to do that would make it harder for B Lab to create common standards - a key part of the organization's mission. B Lab's leaders were grappling with the issue of how far to go to meet the market with highly customized products and services that investors were demanding, versus how much B Lab should lead the market to a higher bar for measuring impact.
Swot Analysis of "B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution" written by Paul Brest, Georgia Levenson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lab Assessment facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Financial management, Performance measurement, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lab Assessment, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lab Assessment 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lab Assessment
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 Lab Assessment
Strengths B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lab Assessment in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Lab Assessment 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 Paul Brest, Georgia Levenson 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Lab Assessment is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Lab Assessment has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lab Assessment to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lab Assessment is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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.
Learning organization
- Lab Assessment 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 Lab Assessment is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lab Assessment 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Lab Assessment is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Lab Assessment 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 Lab Assessment in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lab Assessment 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lab Assessment in the sector have low bargaining power. B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lab Assessment to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lab Assessment in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lab Assessment 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 - B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lab Assessment 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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 Lab Assessment 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution, in the dynamic environment Lab Assessment has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lab Assessment has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lab Assessment 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lab Assessment 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. Lab Assessment 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul Brest, Georgia Levenson suggests that, Lab Assessment 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Lab Assessment 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lab Assessment, firm in the HBR case study B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lab Assessment products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lab Assessment needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution | 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution are -
Buying journey improvements
– Lab Assessment can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lab Assessment 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.
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. Lab Assessment 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. Lab Assessment 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lab Assessment 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Lab Assessment 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lab Assessment to increase its market reach. Lab Assessment 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 Lab Assessment has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lab Assessment to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution case study. Lab Assessment can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Lab Assessment can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lab Assessment 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lab Assessment can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lab Assessment is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lab Assessment 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.
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. Lab Assessment can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution are -
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. Lab Assessment needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lab Assessment is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Lab Assessment 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Lab Assessment 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lab Assessment 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lab Assessment has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lab Assessment 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
– Lab Assessment 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.
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 Lab Assessment 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 Lab Assessment in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Lab Assessment 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. Lab Assessment can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution, Lab Assessment 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 Lab Assessment.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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 B Lab and the Impact Assessment Evolution 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 Lab Assessment needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.