Case Study Description of Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages
Even in these financially challenging times, business performance always comes down to a firm's competitive advantages. Subsequently, how can companies sustain a long-run competitive advantage, especially in the face of increasing competition? Apart from the pat answer that innovation is critical to organizational survival, we argue that it is the innovation process and how companies manage it that forms the foundation of a resilient organization. Our research finds that organizational innovation processes take three main forms: reactive, proactive, and anticipatory innovators. It is from anticipatory innovators that resilient organizations emerge. Here, resilient organizations not only anticipate the needs of buyers but do so by creating an innovation orientation within the firm's culture. This culture-based focus goes beyond any specific innovation; it directs leaders to create an organizational culture that is receptive to innovative ideas and to the changes they produce. Here, the competitive advantage is not so much innovation per se but the organization's ability to continuously create competitive advantages based on innovations.
Authors :: Eduardo de Oliveira Teixeira, William B. Werther Jr.
Swot Analysis of "Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages" written by Eduardo de Oliveira Teixeira, William B. Werther Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Resilient Innovation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational culture, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Resilient Innovation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Resilient Innovation 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Resilient Innovation
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 Resilient Innovation
Strengths Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Resilient Innovation in Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Resilient Innovation is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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.
Organizational Resilience of Resilient Innovation
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Resilient Innovation does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Resilient Innovation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Resilient Innovation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Resilient Innovation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Resilient Innovation 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 Eduardo de Oliveira Teixeira, William B. Werther Jr. 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Resilient Innovation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Resilient Innovation 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Resilient Innovation in the sector have low bargaining power. Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Resilient Innovation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Resilient Innovation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Resilient Innovation digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Resilient Innovation 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Resilient Innovation 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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
– Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Resilient Innovation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Resilient Innovation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilient Innovation 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Resilient Innovation 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Resilient Innovation has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages, is just above the industry average. Resilient Innovation 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Resilient Innovation, firm in the HBR case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Resilient Innovation 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Resilient Innovation 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Resilient Innovation is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Resilient Innovation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Resilient Innovation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Resilient Innovation is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Resilient Innovation needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Resilient Innovation to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Resilient Innovation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages | 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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. Resilient Innovation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Resilient Innovation 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 Resilient Innovation to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Resilient Innovation 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Resilient Innovation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Resilient Innovation to increase its market reach. Resilient Innovation 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 Resilient Innovation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Resilient Innovation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages case study. Resilient Innovation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Resilient Innovation 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. Resilient Innovation 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. Resilient Innovation 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Resilient Innovation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Resilient Innovation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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.
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. Resilient Innovation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Resilient Innovation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Resilient Innovation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Resilient Innovation can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Resilient Innovation in the consumer business. Now Resilient Innovation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Resilient Innovation 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages .
Increasing wage structure of Resilient Innovation
– 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 Resilient Innovation.
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. Resilient Innovation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Resilient Innovation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages, Resilient Innovation may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Resilient Innovation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Resilient Innovation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Resilient Innovation 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Resilient Innovation 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.
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. Resilient Innovation 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.
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.
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 Resilient Innovation.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Resilient Innovation 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilience: Continuous Renewal Of Competitive Advantages 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 Resilient Innovation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
