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

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What is a Valuable Resource for Saint Gobain? Defining Valuable in VRIO

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

What are Rare Resources for Saint Gobain? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Saint Gobain? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Saint Gobain 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 Saint Gobain 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
Track Record of Leadership Team at Saint Gobain	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at Saint Gobain	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 Saint Gobain 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
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution	Yes	Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with Saint Gobain dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Saint Gobain 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 Saint Gobain	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Alignment of Activities with Saint Gobain 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
Customer Community of Saint Gobain	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Saint Gobain has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Saint Gobain competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Saint Gobain customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Saint Gobain - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Saint Gobain 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
Saint Gobain 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 Saint Gobain	Saint Gobain is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide Saint Gobain medium term competitive advantage
Marketing Expertise within Saint Gobain	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 Saint Gobain are often matched by competitors	Yes, Saint Gobain is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps Saint Gobain in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of Saint Gobain but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Saint Gobain	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
Sales Force and Channel Management of Saint Gobain	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force	Can provide Saint Gobain sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there.

Saint Gobain 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