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

Order a Salesforce VRIO / VRIN Analysis now

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

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

What are Rare Resources for Salesforce? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Salesforce? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Salesforce 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 Salesforce 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
Global and Local Presence of Salesforce	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of Salesforce but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Salesforce - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Salesforce 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
Financial Resources of Salesforce	Yes	No	Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors	Salesforce has reasonably sound financial position	Salesforce has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage
Brand Positioning of Salesforce 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
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks	Yes, they are extremely valuable for Salesforce to thwart competition	Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Salesforce 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
Track Record of Leadership Team at Salesforce	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Salesforce	Yes, it is valuable in the industry given the various segmentations & consumer preferences.	Most of the competitors are trying to enter the lucrative segments	Can be imitated by the competitors	The firm has used it to good effect, details can be found in case exhibit	Provide short term competitive advantage but requires constant innovation to sustain
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Salesforce retail strategy	Yes, Salesforce has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, Salesforce 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 Project Execution	Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun	Yes, especially in the segment that Salesforce operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, Salesforce is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at Salesforce	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 awareness of Salesforce products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of Salesforce products are high	Yes, Salesforce has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	Salesforce has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Customer Community of Salesforce	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Salesforce has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Salesforce competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Salesforce customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Salesforce	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Salesforce organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running

Salesforce 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