Fintech Acquisition Corp III (FTACU) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Fintech Acquisition Corp III (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Fintech Acquisition Corp III is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fintech Acquisition Corp III
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Fintech Acquisition Corp III can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fintech Acquisition Corp III, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Fintech Acquisition Corp III
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fintech Acquisition Corp III
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Fintech Acquisition Corp III
Strengths of Fintech Acquisition Corp III | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fintech Acquisition Corp III are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fintech Acquisition Corp III in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fintech Acquisition Corp III in the sector have low bargaining power. Fintech Acquisition Corp III has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fintech Acquisition Corp III to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Training and development
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III has one of the best training and development program in industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Fintech Acquisition Corp III emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Fintech Acquisition Corp III in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fintech Acquisition Corp III digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fintech Acquisition Corp III has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Fintech Acquisition Corp III have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Weaknesses of Fintech Acquisition Corp III | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fintech Acquisition Corp III are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Fintech Acquisition Corp III products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fintech Acquisition Corp III needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Fintech Acquisition Corp III has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 at Fintech Acquisition Corp III can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Fintech Acquisition Corp III is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Fintech Acquisition Corp III supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Fintech Acquisition Corp III is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fintech Acquisition Corp III vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Fintech Acquisition Corp III, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fintech Acquisition Corp III has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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. Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Fintech Acquisition Corp III has high operating costs in the industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Fintech Acquisition Corp III lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III is one of the leading players in the industry, it 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Fintech Acquisition Corp III Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Fintech Acquisition Corp III are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fintech Acquisition Corp III to increase its market reach. Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fintech Acquisition Corp III is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Fintech Acquisition Corp III can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fintech Acquisition Corp III has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help Fintech Acquisition Corp III to build a more holistic ecosystem for Fintech Acquisition Corp III products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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. Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 industry.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fintech Acquisition Corp III in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Fintech Acquisition Corp III can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Fintech Acquisition Corp III to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fintech Acquisition Corp III to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Fintech Acquisition Corp III in the industry. Now Fintech Acquisition Corp III can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Fintech Acquisition Corp III External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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. Fintech Acquisition Corp III needs to understand the core reasons impacting the 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III.
Regulatory challenges
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fintech Acquisition Corp III is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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. Fintech Acquisition Corp III can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Fintech Acquisition Corp III may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of sector.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Fintech Acquisition Corp III with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Fintech Acquisition Corp III
– 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fintech Acquisition Corp III can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fintech Acquisition Corp III Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III 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 Fintech Acquisition Corp III needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.