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Assurant 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 Assurant to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.
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What is a Valuable Resource for Assurant? Defining Valuable in VRIO
A resource or capability is considered valuable for Assurant , if it allows the
Assurant to exploit opportunities or negate threats
emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow Assurant to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Assurant.
What are Rare Resources for Assurant? Defining Rare in VRIO
In an industry that Assurant operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Assurant require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Assurant don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Assurant won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Assurant competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution
What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Assurant? Defining Inimitable in VRIO
A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Assurant 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. Assurant 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 Assurant
What is a Organization for Assurant? Defining Organization in VRIO
Even if the Assurant 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 Assurant 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Assurant | 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 |
Pricing Strategies of Assurant | Yes, Assurant has sound pricing strategies | No | Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry | Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine | It can only provide Assurant with a Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Brand Positioning of Assurant 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 |
Alignment of Activities with Assurant 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 |
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Assurant 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 |
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets | Yes, Assurant 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 Assurant | To a large extent yes | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Assurant - using Present IT Capabilities | Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Assurant 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 |
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks | Yes, they are extremely valuable for Assurant to thwart competition | Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Assurant 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 |
Financial Resources of Assurant | Yes | No | Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors | Assurant has reasonably sound financial position | Assurant has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Access to Cheap Capital for Assurant | Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Assurant has access to cheap capital | No | Can be imitated by the competitors of Assurant | Not been totally exploited | Not significant in creating competitive advantage |
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that Assurant 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 |
Assurant 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 Assurant | Assurant is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect | Provide Assurant medium term competitive advantage |
Marketing Expertise within Assurant | 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 Assurant are often matched by competitors | Yes, Assurant is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise | Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Track Record of Leadership Team at Assurant | Yes | Yes | Can't be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Assurant 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
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