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

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What is a Valuable Resource for Ralph Lauren? Defining Valuable in VRIO

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

What are Rare Resources for Ralph Lauren? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Ralph Lauren? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Ralph Lauren 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 Ralph Lauren 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
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Ralph Lauren	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Ralph Lauren organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at Ralph Lauren	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
Track Record of Leadership Team at Ralph Lauren	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks	Yes, they are extremely valuable for Ralph Lauren to thwart competition	Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Ralph Lauren 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
Global and Local Presence of Ralph Lauren	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of Ralph Lauren but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Ralph Lauren - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Ralph Lauren 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
Brand Positioning of Ralph Lauren 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
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of Ralph Lauren	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Alignment of Activities with Ralph Lauren 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
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Ralph Lauren retail strategy	Yes, Ralph Lauren has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, Ralph Lauren has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Pricing Strategies of Ralph Lauren	Yes, Ralph Lauren has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide Ralph Lauren with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Financial Resources of Ralph Lauren	Yes	No	Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors	Ralph Lauren has reasonably sound financial position	Ralph Lauren has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage
Access to Cheap Capital for Ralph Lauren	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Ralph Lauren has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of Ralph Lauren	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage

Ralph Lauren 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