CaseAnalysisFramework

CaseanalysisisanessentialpartofaStrategicManagementunit.Itcanbethemostinterestingaspectof
theunitasyouaredealingwithrealcompaniesfacingrealproblems.Thefollowingframeworkoutlinesa
setofrigorousprocedurestoguideyouinyouranalysesandrecommendations.Inwritingupyourcase
analysis,rememberthatitisimportanttoapplytherelevantStrategicManagementtheories,frameworks
and/orconceptsinbothyouranalysesandrecommendations.

ExternalAnalysis
Step1IdentifyingtheIndustry

Itisimportantthatyouidentifytheindustrytowhichtheorganisationbelongs.Theconclusionsof
yourindustryanalysiswilldependonwhichindustryyouidentify.

Step2AnalysisoftheGeneralEnvironment

Conductananalysisofthe6elementseconomic,sociocultural,global,technological,
political/legalanddemographic.Withineachelement,therewillbenumerousfactsandissues,but
itisimportantthatyouidentifyanddiscusstherelevantandimportantonesfortheindustrythat
youhaveidentified.

Step3AnalysisoftheIndustryEnvironment

Conductananalysisoftheindustryyouhaveidentified,applyingthefiveforcesmodel(i.e.,buyer
power,supplierpower,threatofnewentrants,substituteproducts,andintensityofrivalryamong
competitors).Foreachoftheforces,discussandexplainwhatisimportantandsignificantforthat
particularindustry,followedbyaconclusion(e.g.,buyerpowerismoderatelyhigh,threatofnew
entrantsislow,etc).
Integratetheoverallanalysisintoafinalconclusiononwhetherthisisanattractiveindustry,and
explainyourconclusions.Bearinmindthatthereisoftennotaclearandstraightforward
conclusionbecausetheforcesaremixed(i.e.,threatofnewentrantsmaybelow,butintensityof
rivalryishigh,etc).Tohelpyouformyourconclusion,itwillbeusefultoconsiderwhetherthereisa
keyforce(orforces)inyourindustrythatexertsmoreinfluence(orimpact)comparedtotheother
forces.

Note:Conducttheanalysisontheindustry,notthefirm.
InternalAnalysis
Step4AnalysisofResourcesandCapabilities

Identifyanddiscussthesignificanceoftherelevantresourcesthatthefirmpossesses.Itis
importanttodistinguishbetweentangibleandintangibleresources,aswellasrecognisethe
implicationsofsuch.Forexample,certainintangibleresourcessuchasstaffexperienceor
corporatereputationareextremelyimportantforthefirm.
Identifyanddiscussthesignificanceoftherelevantcapabilitiesthatthefirmpossesses.Capabilities
arewhatthefirmcandoyoumustexplainthecapabilitiesspecificallytoindicatewhatthefirm
1

reallydoes.Beawarethatcapabilitiesshouldbefairlylimitedinscopemostofthetime,soexplain
theminspecificdetailsratherthaningenericterms.Forexample,itisnotenoughtosaythatApple
Inc.hasacapabilityforproductdesignbutrather,ithasthecapabilityfordesigningproductsthat
enhancestheuserexperienceinwaysthatareuniquecomparedtoitscompetitors.
Step5CoreCompetencyAnalysis
Foreachcapability,applythefourtestsforacorecompetency.Itisbesttodothisusingatablesee
examplebelow:

Rare?

Valuable?

Costlyto
imitate?

Non
substitutable?

Logisticsmanagementinretailing

Yes

Yes

No

No

Researchskillsincochlearrelated
fields

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Etc

Source:Hanson(2011,p403)
Basedonthetable,discusswhichcapabilitiesformthefirmscorecompetencies,andprovidethe
supportingreasonsforexample,explainwhyyouthinkresearchskillsincochlearrelatedfieldsisrare,
valuable,costlytoimitateandnonsubstitutable.Thisisanimportantstepbecausecorecompetenciesare
afundamentalpartofafirmsstrategies.Firmscannotimplementstrategiesiftheylacktherelevantand
necessarycapabilities.Ontheotherhand,thefirmsstrategieshavetoleveragetheircapabilitiesandcore
competencies.
Pullingittogether
Step6SWOTAnalysis

YounowhaveallthenecessarymaterialforaSWOT(strengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesand
threats)analysis.Youmaychoosetointegratetheseelementsintoatable.Makesurethatthe
SWOTanalysiscontainstheissuesidentifiedanddiscussedinyourexternalandinternalanalyses
fromthepreviousstepsthereshouldnotbeanynewmaterialhere.Themaintaskhereisto
integratetheissuesyouhavediscussedbefore,andexplainwhytheyarestrengths,weaknesses,
opportunitiesandthreatsforthefirm.

Step7Analysisofcurrentstrategies

Identifyanddiscussthefirmscurrentstrategies,explainingwhytheyhavebeenadopted.Discuss
whetherthecurrentstrategiesaddresstheidentifiedexternalthreatsandopportunities,aswellas
takeadvantageofinternalstrengthsandweaknesses.

Step8Articulationofkeyissuesand/orproblems

Basedonalltheprevioussteps,youarenowinapositiontoformsomeconclusionsaroundthekey
issuesand/orproblemsthatthefirmisfacing.Discuss34keyissuesand/orproblemsspecificto
thefirm,drawinguponthevariousanalysesyouhaveconductedpreviouslyi.e.yourdiscussions
heremustbealignedwithyourpreviousanalyses,ratherthanpresentingnewmaterial.
2

Step9Recommendations

Basedonthekeyissuesand/orproblemsyouhaveidentified,youwillneedtodiscusssome
strategiesforthefirmtoimplement.Dependingonthecase,youmayneedstrategiesatthe
businessand/orcorporatelevel.Beforeyoudiscussyourrecommendedstrategies,youneedto
identifyandevaluatesomealternativepossibilitiesforthefirm.Providesomediscussionofthe
advantagesanddisadvantagesofthevariousalternativestrategies,beforeselectingyourfinal
recommendations.Asaguide,youshouldevaluate34alternativestrategies,andselect12final
recommendationsbasedonyourevaluations.Providejustificationsforyourrecommendations.
Inthissection,itisimportantthatyoubaseyourdiscussionsandargumentsonyourearlier
analyses.Specifically,youmustbeabletoshowthatyourevaluationofalternativesandyourfinal
recommendationsarealignedwiththeconclusionsfromyourpreviousanalysesi.e.thatyou
addresstheidentifiedSWOTelementsandthekeyissues/problems.Forexample,youmustbeable
toarguethatyourrecommendedstrategiestakeadvantageofthefirmscorecompetencies,and
addresscertainweaknesses,threats,and/oropportunities.

Step10Implicationsofrecommendedstrategies(applicableonlyforthegroupcaseanalysis)

Onceyouhavedecidedonyourrecommendedstrategies,discussthevariousrisks,barriersand/or
challengesassociatedwiththeimplementationofsuchstrategies.Forexample,ifyourecommend
thefirmtodiversifyintoanewindustry,therewillbesomerisks(e.g.competitivereactions,etc),
barriers(e.g.governmentregulations,resistancefromkeydecisionmakers,etc)and/orchallenges
(e.g.theneedtoquicklydevelopcertainkeyinternalcapabilities)associatedwiththis.

Source:ModifiedfromHanson(2011)