Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century
This article explains the utility of adopting an identity-based view of the corporation, which underpins a diagnostic tool of identity management outlined in this article. Using British Airways as an extensive case history, it examines and analyzes how British Airways' senior executives have intuitively adopted an identity-based perspective as part of the strategic management of the carrier. The analysis is corroborated by insights from the former CEO of British Airways, Lord Marshall, as well as his predecessor, Lord King. The overriding message is that calibrating the multiple identities of the corporation is a critical dimension of strategic management.
Authors :: John M.T. Balmer, Helen Stuart, Stephen A. Greyser
Swot Analysis of "Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century" written by John M.T. Balmer, Helen Stuart, Stephen A. Greyser includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Airways Identity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century casestudy better are - – technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Airways Identity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Airways Identity 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Airways Identity
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 Airways Identity
Strengths Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Airways Identity in Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Airways Identity 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 Airways Identity is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Airways Identity 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Airways Identity is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Airways Identity has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Airways Identity to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Airways Identity 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.
Analytics focus
– Airways Identity 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 John M.T. Balmer, Helen Stuart, Stephen A. Greyser 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Airways Identity in the sector have low bargaining power. Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Airways Identity to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Airways Identity 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 Airways Identity in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Airways Identity digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Airways Identity 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
– Airways Identity has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Airways Identity 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.
Training and development
– Airways Identity has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Airways Identity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Airways Identity, firm in the HBR case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Airways Identity is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century HBR case study mentions - Airways Identity 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century, it seems that the employees of Airways Identity 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Airways Identity 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 - Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Airways Identity has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century, in the dynamic environment Airways Identity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Airways Identity has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Airways Identity 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Airways Identity 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century, is just above the industry average. Airways Identity 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John M.T. Balmer, Helen Stuart, Stephen A. Greyser suggests that, Airways Identity 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.
Opportunities Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century | 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century are -
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 Airways Identity 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.
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. Airways Identity 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. Airways Identity 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Airways Identity can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Airways Identity 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Airways Identity to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Airways Identity 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 Airways Identity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Airways Identity 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, Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Airways Identity in the consumer business. Now Airways Identity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Airways Identity can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Airways Identity operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Airways Identity 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Airways Identity 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Airways Identity 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Airways Identity 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Airways Identity has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Airways Identity to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century case study. Airways Identity can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century, Airways Identity 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 .
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. Airways Identity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Airways Identity 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Airways Identity 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.
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. Airways Identity 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Airways Identity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Airways Identity 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.
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. Airways Identity needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Airways Identity 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.
Environmental challenges
– Airways Identity 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. Airways Identity can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
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 Airways Identity business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Airways Identity
– 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 Airways Identity.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Aligning Identity and Strategy: Corporate Branding at British Airways in the Late 20th Century 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 Airways Identity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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