Competitive Growth Strategy in the Wardah Beauty Product Industry: Integrating IFAS, EFAS, and SWOT Approaches
Keywords:
competitive growth, digital marketing, market adaptation, Wardah beauty products, SWOT analysisAbstract
The Wardah beauty products (Wardah) industry faces increasing competitive pressure arising from changing consumer preferences, price sensitivity, health-oriented lifestyles, digital purchasing behavior, and intensified competition among established and emerging brands. This study aims to formulate a competitive growth strategy for PT Paragon Technology and Innovation Indonesia in Makassar by integrating internal and external factor analysis with SWOT-based strategic matching. A qualitative descriptive case-study approach was employed using purposive selection of key informants, direct observation, interviews, company documents, sales records, and relevant literature. The strategic assessment was operationalized through Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS), External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS), and SWOT analysis. The IFAS score of 2.72 indicates that the company's internal strengths outweigh its weaknesses, particularly product quality, product and packaging innovation, distribution capability, market share, and human-resource competence. The EFAS score of 2.58 indicates a relatively favorable external position, supported by the untapped potential of national beauty product consumption, government nutrition programs, healthy-lifestyle trends, and digital-market development. The resulting strategic position falls within Quadrant I, indicating a growth-oriented strategic posture. The findings suggest that competitive growth should not rely solely on conventional product expansion but should integrate market penetration, product adaptation, digital marketing, e-commerce utilization, consumer education, and stronger customer engagement. The study contributes by connecting conventional SWOT-based strategic assessment with digital market adaptation in the Wardah beauty industry, thereby translating environmental analysis into an actionable competitive growth agenda.
References
Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79–95.
Cadden, T., Weerawardena, J., Cao, G., Duan, Y., & McIvor, R. (2023). Examining the role of big data and marketing analytics in SMEs innovation and competitive advantage: A knowledge integration perspective. Journal of Business Research, 168, 114225.
Cao, D., Meadows, M., Wong, D., & Xia, S. (2021). Understanding consumers' social media engagement behaviour: An examination of the moderation effect of social media context. Journal of Business Research, 122, 835–846.
Chen, H., & Tian, Z. (2022). Environmental uncertainty, resource orchestration and digital transformation: A fuzzy-set QCA approach. Journal of Business Research, 139, 184–193.
Ciampi, F., Faraoni, M., Ballerini, J., & Meli, F. (2022). The co-evolutionary relationship between digitalization and organizational agility. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 176, 121383.
Cozzolino, A., Corbo, L., & Aversa, P. (2021). Digital platform-based ecosystems: The evolution of collaboration and competition between incumbent producers and entrant platforms. Journal of Business Research, 126, 385–400.
Dwivedi, Y. K., et al. (2021). Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information Management, 59, 102168.
Hanelt, A., Bohnsack, R., Marz, D., & Antunes Marante, C. (2021). A systematic review of the literature on digital transformation: Insights and implications for strategy and organizational change. Journal of Management Studies, 58(5), 1159–1197.
Hussain, A., Akbar, M., Shahzad, A., Poulova, P., Akbar, A., & Hassan, R. (2022). E-commerce and SME performance: The moderating influence of entrepreneurial competencies. Administrative Sciences, 12(1), 13.
Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Garcia-Perez, A., Candelo, E., & Couturier, J. (2021). Exploring the impact of digital transformation on technology entrepreneurship and technological market expansion. Journal of Business Research, 124, 100–111.
Kim, K. H. (2021). Digital and social media marketing in global business environment. Journal of Business Research, 131, 627–629.
Knudsen, E. S., Lien, L. B., Timmermans, B., Belik, I., & Pandey, S. (2021). Stability in turbulent times? The effect of digitalization on the sustainability of competitive advantage. Journal of Business Research, 128, 360–369.
Lim, W. M., Rasul, T., Kumar, S., & Ala, M. (2022). Past, present, and future of customer engagement. Journal of Business Research, 140, 439–458.
Lua, H., & Shaharudin, M. S. (2024). Role of digital transformation for sustainable competitive advantage of SMEs: A systematic literature review. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2419489.
Meier, A., Eller, R., & Peters, M. (2025). Creating competitiveness in incumbent small- and medium-sized enterprises: A revised perspective on digital transformation. Journal of Business Research, 186, 115028.
Mustafa, F., Ausat, A. M. A., & Kraugusteeliana. (2024). The role of business information systems in strategic decision-making: Implications for innovation and market adaptation. Jurnal Minfo Polgan, 13(2), 1468–1475.
Mustafa, F., Melinda, T. F., Yusnanto, T., Rukmana, A. Y., & Majid, J. (2023). The role of e-commerce use, capital availability and business training on performance of small medium enterprise (SMEs) in Indonesia. MALCOM: Indonesian Journal of Machine Learning and Computer Science, 3(2), 247–252.
Piepponen, A., Ritala, P., Keränen, J., & Maijanen, P. (2022). Digital transformation of the value proposition: A single case study in the media industry. Journal of Business Research, 150, 311–325.
Santiago, J., Borges-Tiago, M. T., & Tiago, F. (2022). Is firm-generated content a lost cause? Journal of Business Research, 139, 945–953.
Shree, D., Kumar Singh, R., Paul, J., Hao, A., & Xu, S. (2021). Digital platforms for business-to-business markets: A systematic review and future research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 137, 354–365.
Sudirjo, F., Kushariyadi, Mustafa, F., Osman, I., & Henri Kusnadi, I. (2024). Analysis of the effectiveness of integrated customer relationship management strategy implementation on loyalty of national logistics company customers. Jurnal Informasi dan Teknologi, 6(1), 223–228.
Sunarso, B., Tusriyanto, & Mustafa, F. (2023). Analysing the role of visual content in increasing attraction and conversion in MSME digital marketing. Journal of Contemporary Administration and Management, 1(3), 193–200.
Sutrisno, S., Mustafa, F., & Permana, R. M. (2025). Integrative strategy in strengthening MSME competitiveness: The role of locally rooted entrepreneurial values in building sustainable competitive advantage. Technopreneurship and Educational Development Review, 2(2), 181–189.
Troise, C., Corvello, V., Ghobadian, A., & O'Regan, N. (2022). How can SMEs successfully navigate VUCA environment: The role of agility in the digital transformation era. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, 121227.
Yani, A., Mustafa, F., & Santosa, S. (2025). Optimizing the collaboration between MSMEs and digital marketplaces: Innovative strategies to enhance market expansion and business sustainability in the digital economy era. Journal of Contemporary Administration and Management, 3(1), 624–630.
Zhang, J., & Lee, E.-J. (2022). “Two Rivers” brain map for social media marketing: Reward and information value drivers of SNS consumer engagement. Journal of Business Research, 149, 494–505.
Zhu, Y., & Yu, D. (2024). Digital transformation and firms’ bargaining power: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 183, 114851.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 Fahrina Mustafa, Mirzalina Zaenal, Andi Raina Ananda Herdiyana, Andi Tenri Harahap

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.



