SWOT Analysis Case Studies
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The SWOT analysis method is the situation analysis method. It was proposed by Weirik, a professor of management at the University of San Francisco in the early 1980s. It is often used in enterprise strategy formulation, competitor analysis and other occasions including analysis of?Strengths,?Weaknesses,?Opportunities, and?Threats. Therefore, the SWOT analysis is a method that comprehensively summarizes the various aspects of the internal and external conditions of the enterprise, and then analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, opportunities, and threats faced.
Through SWOT analysis, you can help companies to pool resources and actions in their strengths and where there are the most opportunities; and to make their strategy clearer.
What is a SWOT model
The analysis of strengths and weaknesses focuses on the strength of the company itself and its comparison with competitors, while the opportunity and threat analysis focus on changes in the external environment and possible impact on the company.?In the analysis, all internal factors (i.e., strengths and weaknesses) should be grouped together and then evaluated by external forces (opportunities and threats).
Internal Factors (Strengths and weaknesses)
The analysis of strengths and weaknesses (S-W) of internal conditions is an internal method of assessment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between expertise and ability of the organization’s internal conditions. The strengths and weaknesses of its internal conditions are internal factors that the organization can control, including financial resources, technical resources, research and development, organizational culture, human resources, product characteristics, and marketing resources.
External Factors (opportunities and threats)
With the rapid development of economy, science and technology and many other aspects, especially the acceleration of globalization and integration of the world economy, the establishment of global information networks and the diversification of consumer demand, the environment in which companies are located are more open and volatile.?This change has had a profound effect on almost all businesses.?Because of this, environmental analysis has become an increasingly important corporate function.
The Opportunity and Threat (O-T) analysis is a method of evaluating the external environment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between the competitions of the industrial environment outside the organization. The opportunities and threats of the external environment are external factors that cannot be controlled by the organization, including factors such as competition, politics, economy, law, society, culture, science and technology, and demographic environment.
What is a Competitive Advantage?
Identifying attractive opportunities in the environment is one thing, and having the necessary competency to succeed in an opportunity is another matter.?Each company must regularly check its strengths and weaknesses. When two companies are in the same market or they all can provide products and services to the same customer group, if one of them has higher profitability or profit potential, then we think that the company has a higher competitive advantage than the other.?In other words, the so-called competitive advantage refers to a company’s ability to surpass its competitors, and this ability helps to achieve the company’s main goal – profitability.?However, it is worth noting that competitive advantage is not necessarily fully reflected in higher profitability, because sometimes companies prefer to increase market share or employees.
Competitive advantage can refer to any superiority in the eyes of a consumer or its product in comparison with its competitors. It can be the breadth of the product line, the size, quality, reliability, suitability, style, and image of the product and services.?Although a competitive advantage refers to a company that has a stronger overall advantage than its competitors, it is more meaningful to specify in which area the company has an advantage, because only in this way can we foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, or we can defeat the weakness.
Since the enterprise is a whole and the sources of competitive strengths are very extensive, it is necessary to make a detailed comparison between the company and its competitors from the aspects of the entire value chain when analyzing the strengths and weaknesses. Such as whether the product is novel, whether the manufacturing process is complicated, whether the sales channel is unimpeded, and whether the price is competitive. If an enterprise’s advantage in one aspect or several aspects is the key success factor that a company in the industry should have, then the enterprise’s comprehensive competitive advantage may be stronger. It should be pointed out that to measure whether a company and its products have a competitive advantage can only stand on the perspective of existing potential users, rather than stand on the perspective of the company.
In the process of maintaining a competitive advantage, enterprises must profoundly understand their resources and capabilities and take appropriate measures.?Because once a company has a competitive advantage in one aspect, it is bound to attract the attention of competitors.?Generally speaking, after a period of hard work, the company establishes a certain competitive advantage; then it is in a situation to maintain this competitive advantage, and competitors start to respond gradually; and if the competitors directly attack the advantage of the company, or Taking other more powerful strategies will weaken this advantage.
The main factors affecting the duration of a company’s competitive strengths are:
If the company analyzes these three factors clearly, it will identify itself in establishing and maintaining its competitive advantage.
The company should not correct all its weaknesses, nor should it make use of all its strengths. The main question is whether the company should be limited to the opportunities it already has, or whether it should acquire and develop some strengths to find better opportunities.
SWOT Analysis Strategies
In the process of adaptability analysis, enterprise top management should be based on the determination of internal and external variables, using leverage, inhibitory, vulnerability, and problematic four basic concepts to analyze this model.
Steps for Conducting SWOT Analysis
Case Study 1: Amazon SWOT Analysis
Amazon Detailed SWOT Analysis
Strength
Weakness
Opportunity
Threat
Amazon – Recent Development
What do you need to do next after you understand strengths and weaknesses and identify opportunities and threats??Let us take a look at how Amazon has seized the opportunity to successfully transform itself from an e-commerce company into a global leading technology company!?When Amazon realized the limitations of the retail industry, it expanded its business boundaries promptly.?In addition to cloud computing and smart voice, Amazon has also contacted third-party platforms such as logistics and suppliers, and even invested in the film and television industry, making its business model more diversify.?In 2008, Amazon realized that content can attract and extend users’ time on the platform, and began to provide original content on Prime Instant Video, Amazon’s mainstream media video platform, and as part of the Prime membership service.?Amazon’s ecology can be described as a rotating flywheel. This flywheel is centered on Prime’s membership system, and new interests have been added to it, gradually creating an all-encompassing ecology.?While continuing to attract new users, it has promoted the development of Amazon’s e-commerce and other new businesses, and it will continue to do so.
Case Study 2: Starbucks SWOT Analysis
Starbucks Detailed SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Case Studies 3: Coca-Cola SWOT Analysis Example
Coca-Cola Detailed SWOT Analysis
Strength
Weaknesses
Opportunity
Strength
Weaknesses
Opportunity
Threat
Formulating Actions for SWOT Analysis
Having completed a SWOT Analysis, so what’s next? Is this enough to conduct the SWOT analysis? You need to know when you are analyzing that at the end of the process you need to expect future directions for next actions. Here is an example of formulating actions for a SWOT analysis:
Disclaimer: This case study has been compiled from information freely available from public sources. It is merely intended to be used for educational purposes only.