SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Cattolica Assicurazioni (Italy)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Cattolica Assicurazioni is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cattolica Assicurazioni
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Cattolica Assicurazioni can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cattolica Assicurazioni, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Cattolica Assicurazioni
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cattolica Assicurazioni
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Italy
4. Making a Insurance (Life) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cattolica Assicurazioni
Strengths of Cattolica Assicurazioni | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cattolica Assicurazioni are -
Analytics focus
– Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Life) industry. The technology infrastructure of Italy is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cattolica Assicurazioni is present in almost all the verticals within the Insurance (Life) industry. This has provided Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Life) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cattolica Assicurazioni digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Insurance (Life) industry
– Cattolica Assicurazioni has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cattolica Assicurazioni to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Insurance (Life) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cattolica Assicurazioni to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cattolica Assicurazioni is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Life) industry in Italy. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Italy. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Cattolica Assicurazioni comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Insurance (Life) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cattolica Assicurazioni has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Cattolica Assicurazioni staying ahead in the Insurance (Life) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Cattolica Assicurazioni is one of the most innovative firm in Insurance (Life) sector.
Ability to lead change in Insurance (Life)
– Cattolica Assicurazioni is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Life) industry in Italy. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Life) industry in Italy but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Cattolica Assicurazioni in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cattolica Assicurazioni in Insurance (Life) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Cattolica Assicurazioni
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Cattolica Assicurazioni does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses of Cattolica Assicurazioni | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cattolica Assicurazioni are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cattolica Assicurazioni has some of the most successful models in the Insurance (Life) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Cattolica Assicurazioni should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cattolica Assicurazioni products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cattolica Assicurazioni needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in Insurance (Life) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Cattolica Assicurazioni is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Life) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Insurance (Life) industry in last five years.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Life) industry using digital technology.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Insurance (Life) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Italy, Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Life) industry.
Employees’ less understanding of Cattolica Assicurazioni strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Cattolica Assicurazioni still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Life) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Cattolica Assicurazioni has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Cattolica Assicurazioni is just above the Insurance (Life) industry average. It 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 Italy, Cattolica Assicurazioni needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Cattolica Assicurazioni Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Cattolica Assicurazioni are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Life) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Cattolica Assicurazioni in the Insurance (Life) industry. Now Cattolica Assicurazioni can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cattolica Assicurazioni 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
– Cattolica Assicurazioni can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Life) industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cattolica Assicurazioni can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cattolica Assicurazioni to increase its market reach. Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cattolica Assicurazioni in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Insurance (Life) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cattolica Assicurazioni can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cattolica Assicurazioni operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Life) sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Cattolica Assicurazioni can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Cattolica Assicurazioni can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Insurance (Life) sector. 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cattolica Assicurazioni has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Life) industry. This can help Cattolica Assicurazioni to build a more holistic ecosystem for Cattolica Assicurazioni products in the Insurance (Life) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Cattolica Assicurazioni External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Cattolica Assicurazioni are -
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 Cattolica Assicurazioni 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. Cattolica Assicurazioni needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Life) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cattolica Assicurazioni in Insurance (Life) industry. The Insurance (Life) 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.
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. Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Life) industry and other sectors.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni prominent markets.
Increasing wage structure of Cattolica Assicurazioni
– 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cattolica Assicurazioni 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.
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 Cattolica Assicurazioni in the Insurance (Life) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Life) industry are lowering. It can presents Cattolica Assicurazioni with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Life) sector.
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 Cattolica Assicurazioni is facing in Insurance (Life) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Cattolica Assicurazioni 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. Cattolica Assicurazioni can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Life) industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cattolica Assicurazioni Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni 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 Cattolica Assicurazioni needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
