Order custom Harvard Business Case Study Analysis & Solution. Starting just $19
Fern Fort University
VALERO 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 VALERO to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.
Order a VALERO VRIO / VRIN Analysis now
What is a Valuable Resource for VALERO? Defining Valuable in VRIO
A resource or capability is considered valuable for VALERO , if it allows the
VALERO to exploit opportunities or negate threats
emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow VALERO to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for VALERO.
What are Rare Resources for VALERO? Defining Rare in VRIO
In an industry that VALERO operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. VALERO require rare resources to compete in the industry. If VALERO don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then VALERO won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide VALERO competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution
What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for VALERO? Defining Inimitable in VRIO
A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to VALERO 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. VALERO 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 VALERO
What is a Organization for VALERO? Defining Organization in VRIO
Even if the VALERO 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 VALERO 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 VALERO 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 |
Financial Resources of VALERO | Yes | No | Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors | VALERO has reasonably sound financial position | VALERO has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks | Yes, they are extremely valuable for VALERO to thwart competition | Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of VALERO 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 |
Marketing Expertise within VALERO | 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 VALERO are often matched by competitors | Yes, VALERO is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise | Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Track Record of Leadership Team at VALERO | Yes | Yes | Can't be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – VALERO retail strategy | Yes, VALERO has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers | Yes, VALERO 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 VALERO operates in | No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise | Yes, VALERO is successful at it | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of VALERO | 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 |
VALERO 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 VALERO | VALERO is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect | Provide VALERO medium term competitive advantage |
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for VALERO - using Present IT Capabilities | Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and VALERO 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 VALERO | Yes | Yes | Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers | Fully utilized by VALERO organizational structure and capabilities | Keeps the business running |
Sales Force and Channel Management of VALERO | Yes | No | Can be imitated by competitors | Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force | Can provide VALERO sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there. |
Customer Community of VALERO | Yes, as customers are co-creating products | Yes, the VALERO has able to build a special relationship with its customers | It is very difficult for VALERO competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication | Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on VALERO customers community ecosystem | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Alignment of Activities with VALERO 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 |
VALERO 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
MBA Admission help, MBA Assignment Help, MBA Case Study Help, Online Analytics Live Classes
Order Now
Previous VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Otis VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- MS&AD VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Southwest VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Southern Company VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Morrisons VRIO / VRIN Analysis
Next 5 VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Netease 163.com VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- GS Group VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Optus VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- KB Financial Group VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Polo Ralph Lauren VRIO / VRIN Analysis