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

Order a Cognizant VRIO / VRIN Analysis now

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

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

What are Rare Resources for Cognizant? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Cognizant? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Cognizant 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 Cognizant 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
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Cognizant	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Cognizant organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Cognizant - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Cognizant 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
Global and Local Presence of Cognizant	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of Cognizant but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Alignment of Activities with Cognizant 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
Brand awareness of Cognizant products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of Cognizant products are high	Yes, Cognizant has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	Cognizant has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Pricing Strategies of Cognizant	Yes, Cognizant has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide Cognizant with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Brand Positioning of Cognizant 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
Track Record of Project Execution	Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun	Yes, especially in the segment that Cognizant operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, Cognizant is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of Cognizant	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Cognizant 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 Cognizant	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Cognizant products	Yes, new niches are emerging in the market	No, as most of the competitors are also targeting those niches	Yes can be imitated by the competitors	Brand extensions will require higher marketing budget	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Financial Resources of Cognizant	Yes	No	Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors	Cognizant has reasonably sound financial position	Cognizant has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage
Track Record of Leadership Team at Cognizant	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Marketing Expertise within Cognizant	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 Cognizant are often matched by competitors	Yes, Cognizant is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage

Cognizant 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