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

Order a Staples VRIO / VRIN Analysis now

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

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

What are Rare Resources for Staples? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Staples? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Staples 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 Staples 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
Brand Positioning of Staples 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
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Staples	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
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Staples 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
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Staples	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Staples organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Marketing Expertise within Staples	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 Staples are often matched by competitors	Yes, Staples is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Alignment of Activities with Staples 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
Access to Cheap Capital for Staples	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Staples has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of Staples	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Customer Community of Staples	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Staples has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Staples competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Staples customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Staples 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 Staples	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution	Yes	Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with Staples dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing 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 Staples operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, Staples is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that Staples 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
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Brand awareness of Staples products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of Staples products are high	Yes, Staples has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	Staples has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Staples 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