Case Study Description of Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability
Most businesses now understand that their sustained global success depends upon the economic, social and ecological contexts in which they operate. The problem is, the stability of those contexts can no longer be taken for granted: the physical environment is becoming increasingly unpredictable; our interconnected global economy is altering social conditions; and technological innovation is transforming the nature of both consumption and production. As a result, corporate sustainability has evolved significantly, and now involves addressing critical business issues involving a complex network of strategic relationships and activities. The authors show how companies like Intel, BASF, Walmart and Stonyfield are partnering with other organizations-including Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund-to find solutions to sustainability challenges in their communities.
Authors :: David Kiron, Nina Kruschwitz, Knut Haanaes, Martin Reeves
Swot Analysis of "Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability" written by David Kiron, Nina Kruschwitz, Knut Haanaes, Martin Reeves includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Contexts Sustainability facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Contexts Sustainability, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Contexts Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Contexts Sustainability
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 Contexts Sustainability
Strengths Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Contexts Sustainability in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Contexts Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability - 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
– Contexts Sustainability 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Contexts Sustainability 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.
Learning organization
- Contexts Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Contexts Sustainability to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Contexts Sustainability to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Contexts Sustainability
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Contexts Sustainability does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Contexts Sustainability has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Contexts Sustainability is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Contexts Sustainability is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Contexts Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Contexts Sustainability digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Contexts Sustainability 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.
Weaknesses Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Contexts Sustainability 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Contexts Sustainability 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. Contexts Sustainability 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Contexts Sustainability, firm in the HBR case study Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability, it seems that the employees of Contexts Sustainability 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Contexts Sustainability 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 - Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability HBR case study mentions - Contexts Sustainability 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability, is just above the industry average. Contexts Sustainability 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Contexts Sustainability 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Contexts Sustainability is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Contexts Sustainability needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Contexts Sustainability to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability | 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Contexts Sustainability 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.
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 Contexts Sustainability in the consumer business. Now Contexts Sustainability can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Contexts Sustainability can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Contexts Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Contexts Sustainability 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Contexts Sustainability 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, Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Contexts Sustainability to increase its market reach. Contexts Sustainability 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.
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. Contexts Sustainability can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Contexts Sustainability 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Contexts Sustainability 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Contexts Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Contexts Sustainability to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Contexts Sustainability is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Contexts Sustainability 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. Contexts Sustainability 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.
Threats Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Contexts Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Contexts Sustainability 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.
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 Contexts Sustainability business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Contexts Sustainability needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Contexts Sustainability.
Increasing wage structure of Contexts Sustainability
– 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 Contexts Sustainability.
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. Contexts Sustainability can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Contexts Sustainability in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Contexts Sustainability 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. Contexts Sustainability can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Contexts Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability .
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. Contexts Sustainability 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Joining Forces: Collaborative Leadership for Sustainability 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 Contexts Sustainability needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
