UBS VRIO / VRIN Analysis | Assignment Help

What is VRIO / VRIN Analysis ?

VRIO stands for – Value of the resource, Rareness of the resource, Imitation Risk, and Organizational Competence.

VRIO is a resource focused strategic analysis tool. To build a sustainable competitive advantage the resources that –casename— needs to be valuable, rare, and difficult to imitate. Secondly the –casename— needs to possess capabilities, organizational structure, and culture to optimize the available resources usage. VRIO analysis can help organizations such as UBS to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.

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What is a Valuable Resource for UBS? Defining Valuable in VRIO

A resource or capability is considered valuable for UBS , if it allows the UBS to exploit opportunities or negate threats emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow UBS to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for UBS.

What are Rare Resources for UBS? Defining Rare in VRIO

In an industry that UBS operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. UBS require rare resources to compete in the industry. If UBS don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then UBS won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide UBS competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution

What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for UBS? Defining Inimitable in VRIO

A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to UBS for certain period of time as all the competitors are going to try to imitate or replicate that resource. A sustained competitive advantage emerges, if the resource is difficult to imitate by the competitors. UBS can create inmitability by innovating on the product side, reducing pain points on service delivery, and having an effective post sales servicing strategy. Check out the SWOT analysis of UBS

What is a Organization for UBS? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the UBS has all the valuable resources that are both rare and difficult to imitate, it won’t automatically result into a sustainable competitive advantage. The key to build the sustainable competitive advantage is to have organizational capabilities, expertise, and structure to exploit the resources. If UBS is not organized based on its strengths then it won’t able to exploit all the resources that it possesses.

Resources	Value	Rare	Imitation	Organization	Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that UBS can exploit & New Resources Required to Enter those Industries	Can be valuable as they will create new revenue streams	No	Can be imitated by competitors	All the capabilities of the organization are not fully utilized yet	Has potential
Global and Local Presence of UBS	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of UBS but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Marketing Expertise within UBS	Yes, firms are competing based on differentiation in the industry	No, as most of the competitors also have good marketing departments and expertise	Pricing strategies of UBS are often matched by competitors	Yes, UBS is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Access to Cheap Capital for UBS	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, UBS has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of UBS	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Customer Community of UBS	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the UBS has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for UBS competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on UBS customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at UBS	Yes, without a comprehensive digital strategy it is extremely difficult to compete	No, as most of the firms are investing into digitalizing operations	Can be imitated by competitors	One of the leading player in the industry	Digital strategy has become critical in the industry but it can't provide sustainable competitive advantage to
Brand Positioning of UBS in Comparison to the Competitors	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors but it will require big marketing budget	Yes, the firm has positioned its brands based on consumer behavior	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps UBS in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of UBS but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution	Yes	Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with UBS dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, UBS strategy is built on successful innovation and localization of products	Yes, as talent is critical to firm's growth	Difficult to imitate for the current competitors of UBS	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – UBS retail strategy	Yes, UBS has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, UBS has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Track Record of Leadership Team at UBS	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Alignment of Activities with UBS Corporate Strategy	Yes	No	Each of the firm has its own strategy	Yes, company has organizational skills to extract the maximum out of it.	Still lots of potential to build on it

UBS SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, Weighted SWOT Case Study Solution & Analysis

Books and References

Ahir Gopaldas and Anton Siebert (2022 July August) "What You’re Getting Wrong About Customer Journeys", Harvard Business Review , 92
Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Taran Swan (2021) "Drive Innovation with Better Decision-Making", Harvard Business Review 86
Dyer, J. H., & Hatch, N. (2004). Using Supplier Networks to Learn Faster. Sloan Management Review, 45(3), 57–63
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99–120
Dyer, J. H., Kale, P., & Singh, H. (2004, July–August). When to ally and when to acquire. Harvard Business Review, 109–115