EE 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 EE to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.

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

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

What are Rare Resources for EE? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to EE 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. EE 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 EE

What is a Organization for EE? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the EE 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 EE 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
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, EE 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 EE	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for EE - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and EE can exploit the emerging opportunities	No, most of the competitors are investing in IT to enter the space	The AI and inhouse analytics can be difficult to imitate	It is just the start for the organization	In the long run it can provide sustainable competitive advantage
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of EE	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by EE organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Track Record of Leadership Team at EE	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps EE in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of EE but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at EE	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
EE Customer Network and Loyalty	Yes, 23% of the customers contribute to more than 84% of the sales revenue	Yes, firm has invested to build a strong customer loyalty	Has been tried by competitors but none of them are as successful as EE	EE is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide EE medium term competitive advantage
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks	Yes, they are extremely valuable for EE to thwart competition	Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of EE will find it extremely difficult to copy	Risk of imitation is low but given the margins in the industry disruption chances are high	So far the firm has not utilized the full extent of its IPR & other properties	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Customer Community of EE	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the EE has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for EE competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on EE customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – EE retail strategy	Yes, EE has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, EE has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of EE	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution	Yes	Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with EE dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Pricing Strategies of EE	Yes, EE has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide EE with a Temporary Competitive Advantage

EE 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