Order custom Harvard Business Case Study Analysis & Solution. Starting just $19
Fern Fort University
Marathon Oil 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 Marathon Oil to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.
Order a Marathon Oil VRIO / VRIN Analysis now
What is a Valuable Resource for Marathon Oil? Defining Valuable in VRIO
A resource or capability is considered valuable for Marathon Oil , if it allows the
Marathon Oil to exploit opportunities or negate threats
emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow Marathon Oil to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Marathon Oil.
What are Rare Resources for Marathon Oil? Defining Rare in VRIO
In an industry that Marathon Oil operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Marathon Oil require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Marathon Oil don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Marathon Oil won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Marathon Oil competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution
What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Marathon Oil? Defining Inimitable in VRIO
A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Marathon Oil 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. Marathon Oil 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 Marathon Oil
What is a Organization for Marathon Oil? Defining Organization in VRIO
Even if the Marathon Oil 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 Marathon Oil 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution | Yes | Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with Marathon Oil dominant market position | Can be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Marathon Oil - using Present IT Capabilities | Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Marathon Oil 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 |
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that Marathon Oil 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 |
Marketing Expertise within Marathon Oil | 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 Marathon Oil are often matched by competitors | Yes, Marathon Oil is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise | Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Global and Local Presence of Marathon Oil | Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles | Yes | Can be imitated by competitors of Marathon Oil but at a relatively high cost | Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges | Yes | No | Can't be imitated by competitors of Marathon Oil | Not based on information provided in the case | Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage |
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Marathon Oil 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 |
Alignment of Activities with Marathon Oil 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 |
Track Record of Leadership Team at Marathon Oil | Yes | Yes | Can't be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Brand Positioning of Marathon Oil 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, Marathon Oil 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 Marathon Oil | To a large extent yes | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks | Yes, they are extremely valuable for Marathon Oil to thwart competition | Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Marathon Oil 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 |
Access to Cheap Capital for Marathon Oil | Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Marathon Oil has access to cheap capital | No | Can be imitated by the competitors of Marathon Oil | Not been totally exploited | Not significant in creating competitive advantage |
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Marathon Oil | 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 |
Marathon Oil 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
MBA Admission help, MBA Assignment Help, MBA Case Study Help, Online Analytics Live Classes
Order Now
Previous VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- WEC Energy Group VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Jones Lang LaSalle VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Avery Dennison VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Newell Brands VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- PulteGroup VRIO / VRIN Analysis
Next 5 VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- TravelCenters of America VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- United Rentals VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- HRG Group VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Old Republic International VRIO / VRIN Analysis
- Windstream Holdings VRIO / VRIN Analysis