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

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

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

What are Rare Resources for Universal? Defining Rare in VRIO

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

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

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

What is a Organization for Universal? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Universal 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 Universal 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 Universal dominant market position	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Providing Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Track Record of Project Execution	Yes, especially in an industry where there are frequent cost overun	Yes, especially in the segment that Universal operates in	No, none of the competitors so far has able to imitate this expertise	Yes, Universal is successful at it	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Supply Chain Network Flexibility of Universal	Yes	Yes	Near competitors also have flexible supply chain and share some of the suppliers	Fully utilized by Universal organizational structure and capabilities	Keeps the business running
Brand Positioning of Universal 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
Brand awareness of Universal products and services	Yes, the brand awareness of Universal products are high	Yes, Universal has one of the leading brand in the industry	No	Universal has utilized its leading brand position in various segments	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Opportunities for Brand Extensions for Universal 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
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Marketing Expertise within Universal	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 Universal are often matched by competitors	Yes, Universal is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Universal - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Universal 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
Position among Retailers and Wholesalers – Universal retail strategy	Yes, Universal has strong relationship with retailers and wholesalers	Yes, Universal has dedicated channel partners	Difficult to imitate though not impossible	Yes, over the years company has used it successfully	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Intellectual Property Rights, Copyrights, and Trademarks	Yes, they are extremely valuable for Universal to thwart competition	Yes, IPR and other rights are rare and competition of Universal 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
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Universal	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
Pricing Strategies of Universal	Yes, Universal has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide Universal with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Universal 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 Universal	Universal is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide Universal medium term competitive advantage

Universal 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