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

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VRIO / VRIN Analysis

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


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

What are Rare Resources for Timken? Defining Rare in VRIO


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

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


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

What is a Organization for Timken? Defining Organization in VRIO


Even if the Timken 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 Timken 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
Customer Community of Timken Yes, as customers are co-creating products Yes, the Timken has able to build a special relationship with its customers It is very difficult for Timken competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Timken customers community ecosystem Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Access to Cheap Capital for Timken Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Timken has access to cheap capital No Can be imitated by the competitors of Timken Not been totally exploited Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Sales Force and Channel Management of Timken Yes No Can be imitated by competitors Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force Can provide Timken sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there.
Alignment of Activities with Timken 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
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations Yes No Can be imitated by competitors Yes Not critical factor
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Timken 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
Timken 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 Timken Timken is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect Provide Timken medium term competitive advantage
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that Timken 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
Pricing Strategies of Timken Yes, Timken has sound pricing strategies No Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine It can only provide Timken with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Brand Positioning of Timken 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
Track Record of Project Execution Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun Yes, especially in the segment that Timken operates in No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise Yes, Timken is successful at it Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets Yes, Timken 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 Timken To a large extent yes Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks Yes, they are extremely valuable for Timken to thwart competition Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Timken 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
Financial Resources of Timken Yes No Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors Timken has reasonably sound financial position Timken has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage


Timken 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

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