New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy
"This case focuses on New Balance - a privately held company and the fourth largest athletic footwear manufacturer in the world. Founded over 100 years ago, New Balance has a strong social responsibility culture and mission established by its owners. Its commitment to employees, for example, was expressed through maintaining domestic manufacturing in the United States (the only large footwear manufacturer to do so presently) and avoiding layoffs in the deep recession of 2007-2009. In the late 1990s, the company established the Responsible Leadership Steering Committee to address human rights issues in overseas factories. Throughout the years, private ownership had allowed New Balance to take risks and make choices that publicly held companies might not have been able to do; at the same time, private ownership also meant lower pressures to disclose social and environmental performance. The owners were also very "humble" and hesitant to talk aloud about social responsibility. As a global player, the present challenge for the company has become to move corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the next level - from "doing what's right" to fully integrating CSR into the business strategy. The overall goal of the case is to use the provided information from a comprehensive company assessment to identify a few key areas where New Balance can focus on and demonstrate industry leadership while also supporting the bottom line. A set of key questions is included at the end of the paper to guide students' discussion around critical issues for building an integrated CSR strategy for New Balance, considering its culture, structure and present level of corporate citizenship management."
Swot Analysis of "New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy" written by Vesela Veleva includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Balance Csr facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility, Strategic planning, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Balance Csr, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Balance Csr 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Balance Csr
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 Balance Csr
Strengths New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Balance Csr in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Balance Csr 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 Vesela Veleva 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Balance Csr has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Balance Csr 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Balance Csr is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Balance Csr to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Balance Csr to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Balance Csr 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Balance Csr 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Balance Csr in the sector have low bargaining power. New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Balance Csr to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Balance Csr 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 Balance Csr is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Balance Csr is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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
– Balance Csr has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Balance Csr to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Balance Csr has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Balance Csr 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.
Weaknesses New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Balance Csr 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 - New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, in the dynamic environment Balance Csr has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Balance Csr has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Balance Csr 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Balance Csr 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Balance Csr 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, is just above the industry average. Balance Csr 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Balance Csr is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Balance Csr 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Balance Csr has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy HBR case study mentions - Balance Csr 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Balance Csr is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy | 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Balance Csr 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Balance Csr can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Balance Csr can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Balance Csr 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Balance Csr 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, New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Balance Csr 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 Balance Csr to increase its market reach. Balance Csr 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Balance Csr has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Balance Csr can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Balance Csr operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Balance Csr 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Balance Csr 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Balance Csr has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Balance Csr to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study. Balance Csr can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Balance Csr 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.
Threats New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Balance Csr with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Balance Csr 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.
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 Balance Csr.
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. Balance Csr needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Balance Csr 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. Balance Csr can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Balance Csr has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Balance Csr 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.
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. Balance Csr can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Balance Csr 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
– Balance Csr 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 wage structure of Balance Csr
– 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 Balance Csr.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, Balance Csr 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 .
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 Balance Csr is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 New Balance: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Balance Csr needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
