Affinity Labs, Inc.

Affinity Labs, Inc. Description

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold Military.com to. Within its first year of operations, Affinity Labs launched eight vertical portals including PoliceLink, NursingLink, TechCommunity, and IndiaOn. While the company was well ahead of its original plan to release four portals in 2007, Michel still faced a number of challenges. He had learned a great deal from Military.com and Affinity Labs' first launches, but in the case of each new community, was faced with how best to construct the vertical and attract a sufficiently large audience. While the model seemed highly scalable because each vertical used the same core technology, every sector had its unique features. In the fall of 2007, executives from Monster opened up a dialogue with Michel about selling the company or expanding their relationship. Michel wondered if the time was right to sell or if he should grow Affinity Labs further with the hope of creating a company that could command the high valuations seen recently by a number of social networking concerns.

Case Description Affinity Labs, Inc.

Strategic Managment Tools Used in Case Study Analysis of Affinity Labs, Inc.

STEP 1. Problem Identification in Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

STEP 2. External Environment Analysis - PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis of Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

STEP 3. Industry Specific / Porter Five Forces Analysis of Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

STEP 4. Evaluating Alternatives / SWOT Analysis of Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

STEP 5. Porter Value Chain Analysis / VRIO / VRIN Analysis Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

STEP 6. Recommendations Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

STEP 7. Basis of Recommendations for Affinity Labs, Inc. case study

Case Analysis of Affinity Labs, Inc.

Affinity Labs, Inc. is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Innovation & Entrepreneurship , Texas Business School provides HBR case study assignment help for just $9. Texas Business School(TBS) case study solution is based on HBR Case Study Method framework, TBS expertise & global insights. Affinity Labs, Inc. is designed and drafted in a manner to allow the HBR case study reader to analyze a real-world problem by putting reader into the position of the decision maker. Affinity Labs, Inc. case study will help professionals, MBA, EMBA, and leaders to develop a broad and clear understanding of casecategory challenges. Affinity Labs, Inc. will also provide insight into areas such as – wordlist , strategy, leadership, sales and marketing, and negotiations.

Case Study Solutions Background Work

Affinity Labs, Inc. case study solution is focused on solving the strategic and operational challenges the protagonist of the case is facing. The challenges involve – evaluation of strategic options, key role of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, leadership qualities of the protagonist, and dynamics of the external environment. The challenge in front of the protagonist, of Affinity Labs, Inc., is to not only build a competitive position of the organization but also to sustain it over a period of time.

Strategic Management Tools Used in Case Study Solution

The Affinity Labs, Inc. case study solution requires the MBA, EMBA, executive, professional to have a deep understanding of various strategic management tools such as SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

Texas Business School Approach to Innovation & Entrepreneurship Solutions

In the Texas Business School, Affinity Labs, Inc. case study solution – following strategic tools are used - SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

We have additionally used the concept of supply chain management and leadership framework to build a comprehensive case study solution for the case – Affinity Labs, Inc.

Step 1 – Problem Identification of Affinity Labs, Inc. - Harvard Business School Case Study

The first step to solve HBR Affinity Labs, Inc. case study solution is to identify the problem present in the case. The problem statement of the case is provided in the beginning of the case where the protagonist is contemplating various options in the face of numerous challenges that Affinity Michel is facing right now. Even though the problem statement is essentially – “Innovation & Entrepreneurship” challenge but it has impacted by others factors such as communication in the organization, uncertainty in the external environment, leadership in Affinity Michel, style of leadership and organization structure, marketing and sales, organizational behavior, strategy, internal politics, stakeholders priorities and more.

Step 2 – External Environment Analysis

Texas Business School approach of case study analysis – Conclusion, Reasons, Evidences - provides a framework to analyze every HBR case study. It requires conducting robust external environmental analysis to decipher evidences for the reasons presented in the Affinity Labs, Inc..

The external environment analysis of Affinity Labs, Inc. will ensure that we are keeping a tab on the macro-environment factors that are directly and indirectly impacting the business of the firm.

What is PESTEL Analysis? Briefly Explained

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in Affinity Labs, Inc. case study. PESTEL analysis of " Affinity Labs, Inc." can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

How to do PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis? What are the components of PESTEL Analysis?

As mentioned above PESTEL Analysis has six elements – political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. All the six elements are explained in context with Affinity Labs, Inc. macro-environment and how it impacts the businesses of the firm.

How to do PESTEL Analysis for Affinity Labs, Inc.

To do comprehensive PESTEL analysis of case study – Affinity Labs, Inc. , we have researched numerous components under the six factors of PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors that Impact Affinity Labs, Inc.

Political factors impact seven key decision making areas – economic environment, socio-cultural environment, rate of innovation & investment in research & development, environmental laws, legal requirements, and acceptance of new technologies.

Policy Making Impact on Affinity Labs, Inc.

Government policies have significant impact on the business environment of any country. The firm in “ Affinity Labs, Inc. ” needs to navigate these policy decisions to create either an edge for itself or reduce the negative impact of the policy as far as possible.

Data safety laws – The countries in which Affinity Michel is operating, firms are required to store customer data within the premises of the country. Affinity Michel needs to restructure its IT policies to accommodate these changes. In the EU countries, firms are required to make special provision for privacy issues and other laws.

Competition Regulations – Numerous countries have strong competition laws both regarding the monopoly conditions and day to day fair business practices. Affinity Labs, Inc. has numerous instances where the competition regulations aspects can be scrutinized.

Import restrictions on products – Before entering the new market, Affinity Michel in case study Affinity Labs, Inc." should look into the import restrictions that may be present in the prospective market.

Export restrictions on products – Apart from direct product export restrictions in field of technology and agriculture, a number of countries also have capital controls. Affinity Michel in case study “ Affinity Labs, Inc. ” should look into these export restrictions policies.

Foreign Direct Investment Policies – Government policies favors local companies over international policies, Affinity Michel in case study “ Affinity Labs, Inc. ” should understand in minute details regarding the Foreign Direct Investment policies of the prospective market.

Taxation & Regulation Impact on Affinity Labs, Inc.

Corporate Taxes – The rate of taxes is often used by governments to lure foreign direct investments or increase domestic investment in a certain sector. Corporate taxation can be divided into two categories – taxes on profits and taxes on operations. Taxes on profits number is important for companies that already have a sustainable business model, while taxes on operations is far more significant for companies that are looking to set up new plants or operations.

Tariffs – Chekout how much tariffs the firm needs to pay in the “ Affinity Labs, Inc. ” case study. The level of tariffs will determine the viability of the business model that the firm is contemplating. If the tariffs are high then it will be extremely difficult to compete with the local competitors. But if the tariffs are between 5-10% then Affinity Michel can compete against other competitors.

Government Scheme & Subsidies Impact on Affinity Labs, Inc.

Research and Development Subsidies and Policies – Governments often provide tax breaks and other incentives for companies to innovate in various sectors of priority. Managers at Affinity Labs, Inc. case study have to assess whether their business can benefit from such government assistance and subsidies.

Consumer protection – Different countries have different consumer protection laws. Managers need to clarify not only the consumer protection laws in advance but also legal implications if the firm fails to meet any of them.

Political System & Stability, and its Impact on Affinity Labs, Inc.

Political System and Its Implications – Different political systems have different approach to free market and entrepreneurship. Managers need to assess these factors even before entering the market.

Freedom of Press is critical for fair trade and transparency. Countries where freedom of press is not prevalent there are high chances of both political and commercial corruption.

Corruption level – Affinity Michel needs to assess the level of corruptions both at the official level and at the market level, even before entering a new market. To tackle the menace of corruption – a firm should have a clear SOP that provides managers at each level what to do when they encounter instances of either systematic corruption or bureaucrats looking to take bribes from the firm.

Independence of judiciary – It is critical for fair business practices. If a country doesn’t have independent judiciary then there is no point entry into such a country for business.

Government attitude towards trade unions – Different political systems and government have different attitude towards trade unions and collective bargaining. The firm needs to assess – its comfort dealing with the unions and regulations regarding unions in a given market or industry. If both are on the same page then it makes sense to enter, otherwise it doesn’t.

Economic Factors that Impact Affinity Labs, Inc.

Social Factors that Impact Affinity Labs, Inc.

Technological Factors that Impact Affinity Labs, Inc.

Environmental Factors that Impact Affinity Labs, Inc.

Legal Factors that Impact Affinity Labs, Inc.

Step 3 – Industry Specific Analysis

What is Porter Five Forces Analysis

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in Affinity Labs, Inc. case study. PESTEL analysis of " Affinity Labs, Inc." can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

Step 4 – SWOT Analysis / Internal Environment Analysis

Step 5 – Porter Value Chain / VRIO / VRIN Analysis

Step 6 – Evaluating Alternatives & Recommendations

Step 7 – Basis for Recommendations

References :: Affinity Labs, Inc. case study solution