CUNA Mutual 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 CUNA Mutual Group to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.

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What is a Valuable Resource for CUNA Mutual Group? Defining Valuable in VRIO

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

What are Rare Resources for CUNA Mutual Group? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to CUNA Mutual 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. CUNA Mutual 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 CUNA Mutual Group

What is a Organization for CUNA Mutual Group? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the CUNA Mutual 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 CUNA Mutual 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
CUNA Mutual 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 CUNA Mutual Group	CUNA Mutual Group is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide CUNA Mutual Group medium term competitive advantage
Access to Cheap Capital for CUNA Mutual Group	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, CUNA Mutual Group has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of CUNA Mutual Group	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Sales Force and Channel Management of CUNA Mutual Group	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force	Can provide CUNA Mutual Group sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there.
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that CUNA Mutual Group 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
Brand Positioning of CUNA Mutual Group 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
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for CUNA Mutual Group - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and CUNA Mutual 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
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks	Yes, they are extremely valuable for CUNA Mutual Group to thwart competition	Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of CUNA Mutual Group 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
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, CUNA Mutual 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 CUNA Mutual Group	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Brand awareness of CUNA Mutual Group products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of CUNA Mutual Group products are high	Yes, CUNA Mutual Group has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	CUNA Mutual Group has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Customer Community of CUNA Mutual Group	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the CUNA Mutual Group has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for CUNA Mutual Group competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on CUNA Mutual Group customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of CUNA Mutual Group	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Global and Local Presence of CUNA Mutual Group	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of CUNA Mutual Group but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps CUNA Mutual Group in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of CUNA Mutual Group but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage

CUNA Mutual 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