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

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What is a Valuable Resource for Unum Group? Defining Valuable in VRIO

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

What are Rare Resources for Unum Group? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Unum Group? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Unum Group 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 Unum Group 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
Financial Resources of Unum Group	Yes	No	Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors	Unum Group has reasonably sound financial position	Unum Group has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Unum Group - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Unum Group 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
Unum Group 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 Unum Group	Unum Group is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide Unum Group medium term competitive advantage
Track Record of Project Execution	Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun	Yes, especially in the segment that Unum Group operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, Unum Group is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Unum Group	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Unum Group organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Pricing Strategies of Unum Group	Yes, Unum Group has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide Unum Group with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Unum Group retail strategy	Yes, Unum Group has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, Unum Group 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 Leadership Team at Unum Group	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of Unum Group	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Unum Group 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
Brand Positioning of Unum Group 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
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Unum Group 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 Unum Group	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Customer Community of Unum Group	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Unum Group has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Unum Group competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Unum Group customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage

Unum Group 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