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Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 Mutual of America Life Insurance to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.
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What is a Valuable Resource for Mutual of America Life Insurance? Defining Valuable in VRIO
A resource or capability is considered valuable for Mutual of America Life Insurance , if it allows the
Mutual of America Life Insurance to exploit opportunities or negate threats
emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow Mutual of America Life Insurance to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Mutual of America Life Insurance.
What are Rare Resources for Mutual of America Life Insurance? Defining Rare in VRIO
In an industry that Mutual of America Life Insurance operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Mutual of America Life Insurance require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Mutual of America Life Insurance don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Mutual of America Life Insurance won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Mutual of America Life Insurance competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution
What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Mutual of America Life Insurance? Defining Inimitable in VRIO
A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Mutual of America Life Insurance 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. Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 Mutual of America Life Insurance
What is a Organization for Mutual of America Life Insurance? Defining Organization in VRIO
Even if the Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sales Force and Channel Management of Mutual of America Life Insurance | Yes | No | Can be imitated by competitors | Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force | Can provide Mutual of America Life Insurance sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there. |
Track Record of Leadership Team at Mutual of America Life Insurance | Yes | Yes | Can't be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Vision of the Leadership for Next Set of Challenges | Yes | No | Can't be imitated by competitors of Mutual of America Life Insurance | Not based on information provided in the case | Can Lead to Strong Competitive Advantage |
Access to Cheap Capital for Mutual of America Life Insurance | Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Mutual of America Life Insurance has access to cheap capital | No | Can be imitated by the competitors of Mutual of America Life Insurance | Not been totally exploited | Not significant in creating competitive advantage |
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Mutual of America Life Insurance - using Present IT Capabilities | Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 |
Financial Resources of Mutual of America Life Insurance | Yes | No | Financial instruments and market liquidity are available to all the nearest competitors | Mutual of America Life Insurance has reasonably sound financial position | Mutual of America Life Insurance has relatively sustainable Competitive Advantage |
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 |
Global and Local Presence of Mutual of America Life Insurance | Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles | Yes | Can be imitated by competitors of Mutual of America Life Insurance but at a relatively high cost | Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry | Providing Strong Competitive Advantage |
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks | Yes, they are extremely valuable for Mutual of America Life Insurance to thwart competition | Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 |
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Mutual of America Life Insurance | Yes | Yes | Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers | Fully utilized by Mutual of America Life Insurance organizational structure and capabilities | Keeps the business running |
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Mutual of America Life Insurance retail strategy | Yes, Mutual of America Life Insurance has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers | Yes, Mutual of America Life Insurance 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 Mutual of America Life Insurance | 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 |
Marketing Expertise within Mutual of America Life Insurance | 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 Mutual of America Life Insurance are often matched by competitors | Yes, Mutual of America Life Insurance is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise | Temporary Competitive Advantage |
Access to Critical Raw Material for Successful Execution | Yes | Yes, as other competitors have to come to terms with Mutual of America Life Insurance dominant market position | Can be imitated by competitors | Yes | Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
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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