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Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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 Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.
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What is a Valuable Resource for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America? Defining Valuable in VRIO
A resource or capability is considered valuable for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America , if it allows the
Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America to exploit opportunities or negate threats
emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America.
What are Rare Resources for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America? Defining Rare in VRIO
In an industry that Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution
What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America? Defining Inimitable in VRIO
A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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 Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America
What is a Organization for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America? Defining Organization in VRIO
Even if the Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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 Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America - using Present IT Capabilities | Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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 Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles | Yes | Can be imitated by competitors of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America but at a relatively high cost | Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America retail strategy | Yes, Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers | Yes, Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America has dedicated channel partners | Difficult to imitate though not impossible | Yes, over the years company has used it successfully | Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness | Yes, as it helps Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America in delivering lower costs | No | Can be imitated by competitors of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America but it is difficult | Yes | Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage |
Access to Cheap Capital for Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America has access to cheap capital | No | Can be imitated by the competitors of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | Not been totally exploited | Not significant in creating competitive advantage |
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges | Yes | No | Can't be imitated by competitors of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | Not based on information provided in the case | Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage |
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | 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 |
Marketing Expertise within Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | 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 Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America are often matched by competitors | Yes, Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise | Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Brand awareness of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America products and services | Yes, the brand awareness of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America products are high | Yes, Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America has one of the leading brand in the industry | No | Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America has utilized its leading brand position in various segments | Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Brand Positioning of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America 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 |
Sales Force and Channel Management of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | Yes | No | Can be imitated by competitors | Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force | Can provide Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there. |
Pricing Strategies of Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | Yes, Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America has sound pricing strategies | No | Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry | Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine | It can only provide Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America with a Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations | Yes | No | Can be imitated by competitors | Yes | Not critical factor |
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America | 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 |
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
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