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Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 Alexion Pharmaceuticals to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.
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What is a Valuable Resource for Alexion Pharmaceuticals? Defining Valuable in VRIO
A resource or capability is considered valuable for Alexion Pharmaceuticals , if it allows the
Alexion Pharmaceuticals to exploit opportunities or negate threats
emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow Alexion Pharmaceuticals to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
What are Rare Resources for Alexion Pharmaceuticals? Defining Rare in VRIO
In an industry that Alexion Pharmaceuticals operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Alexion Pharmaceuticals require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Alexion Pharmaceuticals don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Alexion Pharmaceuticals won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Alexion Pharmaceuticals competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution
What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Alexion Pharmaceuticals? Defining Inimitable in VRIO
A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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. Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 Alexion Pharmaceuticals
What is a Organization for Alexion Pharmaceuticals? Defining Organization in VRIO
Even if the Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness | Yes, as it helps Alexion Pharmaceuticals in delivering lower costs | No | Can be imitated by competitors of Alexion Pharmaceuticals but it is difficult | Yes | Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage |
Pricing Strategies of Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Yes, Alexion Pharmaceuticals has sound pricing strategies | No | Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry | Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine | It can only provide Alexion Pharmaceuticals with a Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Alexion Pharmaceuticals retail strategy | Yes, Alexion Pharmaceuticals has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers | Yes, Alexion Pharmaceuticals has dedicated channel partners | Difficult to imitate though not impossible | Yes, over the years company has used it successfully | Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Brand awareness of Alexion Pharmaceuticals products and services | Yes, the brand awareness of Alexion Pharmaceuticals products are high | Yes, Alexion Pharmaceuticals has one of the leading brand in the industry | No | Alexion Pharmaceuticals has utilized its leading brand position in various segments | Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Alexion Pharmaceuticals is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect | Provide Alexion Pharmaceuticals medium term competitive advantage |
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 |
Track Record of Project Execution | Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun | Yes, especially in the segment that Alexion Pharmaceuticals operates in | No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise | Yes, Alexion Pharmaceuticals is successful at it | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Financial Resources of Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Yes | No | Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors | Alexion Pharmaceuticals has reasonably sound financial position | Alexion Pharmaceuticals has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution | Yes | Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with Alexion Pharmaceuticals dominant market position | Can be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges | Yes | No | Can't be imitated by competitors of Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Not based on information provided in the case | Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage |
Alignment of Activities with Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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 |
Sales Force and Channel Management of Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Yes | No | Can be imitated by competitors | Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force | Can provide Alexion Pharmaceuticals sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there. |
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Yes | Yes | Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers | Fully utilized by Alexion Pharmaceuticals organizational structure and capabilities | Keeps the business running |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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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