Kindred Healthcare 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 Kindred Healthcare to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.

Order a Kindred Healthcare VRIO / VRIN Analysis now

What is a Valuable Resource for Kindred Healthcare? Defining Valuable in VRIO

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

What are Rare Resources for Kindred Healthcare? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Kindred Healthcare? Defining Inimitable in VRIO

A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Kindred Healthcare 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. Kindred Healthcare 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 Kindred Healthcare

What is a Organization for Kindred Healthcare? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Kindred Healthcare 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 Kindred Healthcare 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
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Kindred Healthcare retail strategy	Yes, Kindred Healthcare has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, Kindred Healthcare has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Brand awareness of Kindred Healthcare products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of Kindred Healthcare products are high	Yes, Kindred Healthcare has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	Kindred Healthcare has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Pricing Strategies of Kindred Healthcare	Yes, Kindred Healthcare has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide Kindred Healthcare with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps Kindred Healthcare in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of Kindred Healthcare but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage
Global and Local Presence of Kindred Healthcare	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of Kindred Healthcare but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Kindred Healthcare 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 Kindred Healthcare	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Alignment of Activities with Kindred Healthcare 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
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of Kindred Healthcare	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Kindred Healthcare 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
Track Record of Leadership Team at Kindred Healthcare	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Kindred Healthcare - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Kindred Healthcare 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
Access to Cheap Capital for Kindred Healthcare	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Kindred Healthcare has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of Kindred Healthcare	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Customer Community of Kindred Healthcare	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Kindred Healthcare has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Kindred Healthcare competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Kindred Healthcare customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage

Kindred Healthcare 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