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

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What is a Valuable Resource for SkyWest? Defining Valuable in VRIO

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

What are Rare Resources for SkyWest? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for SkyWest? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the SkyWest 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 SkyWest 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 SkyWest dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of SkyWest	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by SkyWest organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Access to Cheap Capital for SkyWest	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, SkyWest has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of SkyWest	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps SkyWest in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of SkyWest but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage
Marketing Expertise within SkyWest	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 SkyWest are often matched by competitors	Yes, SkyWest is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – SkyWest retail strategy	Yes, SkyWest has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, SkyWest has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of SkyWest	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
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks	Yes, they are extremely valuable for SkyWest to thwart competition	Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of SkyWest 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
Sales Force and Channel Management of SkyWest	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force	Can provide SkyWest sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there.
Track Record of Project Execution	Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun	Yes, especially in the segment that SkyWest operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, SkyWest is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges	Yes	No	Can't be imitated by competitors of SkyWest	Not based on information provided in the case	Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage
Brand awareness of SkyWest products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of SkyWest products are high	Yes, SkyWest has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	SkyWest has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Successful Implementation of Digital Strategy at SkyWest	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

SkyWest 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