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

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What is a Valuable Resource for Neiman Marcus Group? Defining Valuable in VRIO

A resource or capability is considered valuable for Neiman Marcus Group , if it allows the Neiman Marcus 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 Neiman Marcus Group to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Neiman Marcus Group.

What are Rare Resources for Neiman Marcus Group? Defining Rare in VRIO

In an industry that Neiman Marcus Group operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Neiman Marcus Group require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Neiman Marcus Group don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Neiman Marcus Group won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Neiman Marcus 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 Neiman Marcus Group? Defining Inimitable in VRIO

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

What is a Organization for Neiman Marcus Group? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Neiman Marcus 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 Neiman Marcus 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
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Neiman Marcus Group retail strategy	Yes, Neiman Marcus Group has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, Neiman Marcus Group has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at Neiman Marcus Group	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
Alignment of Activities with Neiman Marcus Group 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
Marketing Expertise within Neiman Marcus Group	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 Neiman Marcus Group are often matched by competitors	Yes, Neiman Marcus Group is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Track Record of Project Execution	Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun	Yes, especially in the segment that Neiman Marcus Group operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, Neiman Marcus Group is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Global and Local Presence of Neiman Marcus Group	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of Neiman Marcus Group but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Track Record of Leadership Team at Neiman Marcus Group	Yes	Yes	Can't be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution	Yes	Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with Neiman Marcus Group dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Neiman Marcus 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 Neiman Marcus Group	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Neiman Marcus 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 Neiman Marcus Group	Neiman Marcus Group is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide Neiman Marcus Group medium term competitive advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Neiman Marcus Group - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Neiman Marcus 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
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Neiman Marcus Group	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Neiman Marcus Group organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Customer Community of Neiman Marcus Group	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Neiman Marcus Group has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Neiman Marcus Group competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Neiman Marcus Group customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage

Neiman Marcus 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