Framework
TOWS matrix
The question it answers
When a leadership team has finished a SWOT but doesn't know what to do next, how should it pair strengths and weaknesses with opportunities and threats to produce strategic options?
- Origin
- Weihrich, 1982
- Diagram type
- 2×2 matrix
- Level of analysis
- Firm
Diagram
TOWS matrix
Threats (T)External factorsOpportunities (O)
WO: use opportunities to fix weaknesses
Development strategies.
Medium riskSO: use strengths to seize opportunities
Highest potential, growth-oriented.
Low riskWT: minimise weaknesses, avoid threats
Defensive, sometimes necessary.
High riskST: use strengths to blunt threats
Protect competitive position.
Medium riskWeaknesses (W)Internal factorsStrengths (S)
Pitfalls
Pitfall
Listing more than five items per SWOT box so the matrix thins out; stopping at brainstorming without ranking by impact and ease.
Sources
References
Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.
- Weihrich, H. (1982) ‘The TOWS matrix: a tool for situational analysis’, Long Range Planning, 15(2), pp. 54–66.doi:10.1016/0024-6301(82)90120-0Source page