...“VRIO framework is the tool used to analyze firm’s internal resources and capabilities to find out if they can be a source of sustained competitive advantage.” In order to understand the sources of competitive advantage firms are using many tools to analyze their external (Porter’s 5 Forces, PEST analysis) and internal (Value Chain analysis, BCG Matrix) environments. One of such tools that analyze firm’s internal resources is VRIO analysis. The tool was originally developed by Barney, J. B. (1991) in his work ‘Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage’, where the author identified four attributes that firm’s resources must possess in order to become a source of sustained competitive advantage. According to him, the resources must be Valuable, Rare, imperfectly Imitable and Non-substitutable. His original framework was called VRIN. In 1995, in his later work ‘Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage’ Barney has introduced VRIO framework, which was the improvement of VRIN model. VRIO analysis stands for four questions that ask if a resource is: Valuable? Rare? Costly to Imitate? And is a firm Organized to capture the value of the resources? A resource or capability that meets all four requirements can bring sustained competitive advantage for the company. Valuable The first question of the framework asks if a resource adds value by enabling a firm to exploit opportunities or defend against threats. If the answer is yes, then a resource is considered valuable. Resources...
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...In order to develop a good strategy it is essential that you know your strengths and weaknesses, i.e. what it is you are good at. An internal analysis is “a process of identifying and evaluating an organizations’ specific characteristics, including its resources, capabilities, and core competencies” (p. 106, Coulter 2005). Internal analysis is important in order to find out where improvements are needed and what you could exploit more in order to gain competitive advantage. Internal analysis takes an inside-out perspective compared to the outside-in perspective of the external analysis. The question here is what you can do yourself. Other relevant questions are if the resources and competencies you possess fit the opportunities in the environment, and if the company can exploit these resources and competencies in new ways. There are three perspectives on how to gain competitive advantage through internal strategic analysis. The resource based view (RBV), the competence based view (CBV), and the dynamic capabilities view. The resource based view There are several types of resources that a company possesses; physical resources, human resources, financial resources, intellectual capital, threshold resources, and unique resources. The RBV is based on the view that these resources are unique if they create sustained competitive advantage, and that a company’s strategy should be based on these resources. For a resource to be unique, it has to possess four attributes; it needs to...
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...Strategic Management & Business Analysis “The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management: The Source of Heterogeneity of the firm” Tokuda Akio Ritsumeikan International Affairs Vol.3, pp125-150 (2005) Paper Review Assignment # 1 Introduction: The paper in hand is discussing the resource based view (RBV) while highlighting the entrepreneurial view point as a competitive advantage. It also formulize the conceptual framework of the resource based view by contrasting it to with competitive force approach (CFA), as the CFA explores the source of sustainable competitive advantage in the external environment of the firm while the RBV pays attention to the internal resources of the firm. The main objective of this paper is to amend the RBV from a dynamic point of view & incorporate the theory of entrepreneurship in the RBV of strategic management. As it is insufficient that most researchers have overlooked the entrepreneurial abilities and strategies as a crucial source of competitive advantage of a firm despite that the abilities of the entrepreneur are undoubtedly the principal human resource possessed by a firm. I. Strategy & External Environment of a Firm: Researches has proven that the firm needs to seek strategic fit between the external environment (threats & opportunities) & the internal resources the firm (strength & weaknesses). In 1980s the CFA presented by Porter conceptual framework was based on the “structure...
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...Evaluating Firm Strengths and Weaknesses What Does Internal Analysis Tell Us? Internal analysis provides a comparative look at a firm’s capabilities • what are the firm’s strengths? • what are the firm’s weaknesses? • how do these strengths & weaknesses compare to competitors? Why Does Internal Analysis Matter? Internal analysis helps a firm: • determine if its resources and capabilities are likely sources of competitive advantage • establish strategies that will exploit any sources of competitive advantage Traditional research on firm strengths and weaknesses • Theories of distinctive competence – General managers as distinctive competencies – Institutional leadership as a distinctive competence • Ricardian economics • Penrose’s theory of firm growth Research on the skills of general managers, institutional leaders, economic rents and firm growth have been brought together to develop a rigorous model to analyze a firm’s strengths and weaknesses: the resource-based view of the firm The Theory Behind Internal Analysis The Resource-Based View • developed to answer the question: Why do some firms achieve better economic performance than others? • used to help firms achieve competitive advantage and superior economic performance • assumes that a firm’s resources and capabilities are the primary drivers of competitive advantage and economic performance The Resource-Based View Resources and Capabilities Resources: • tangible and intangible assets of a firm » tangible:...
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...REVIEW OF “LOOKING INSIDE FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE” What do we look for in order to attain competitive advantage? Where will we look? How will we find it? Well, there are a lot of questions that could be asked so that we can source out a firm's competitive advantage. Several things are needs to be assessed, evaluated and decided on in order to formulate a firm's competitive advantage. For Jay Barney, the author of Looking inside for competitive advantage, a company's competitive advantage can be source out from its external opportunities and threats and its internal strengths and weaknesses. From these environmental factors, we can now pick up the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. Along with these strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, are resources and capabilities that either utilize the opportunities and strengths or counteract with threats and weaknesses of the firm. The author Jay B. Barney indirectly states that valuable tools are available to analyze external forces but there seems to be a lack of valuable tools to analyze internal Strengths and Weaknesses, in the article referred to as “internal attributes” or “resources and capabilities” that are built on a company’s financial, physical, human, and organizational assets. In order to overcome this gap Michael Porter and his associates have developed a number of these models and frameworks for analyzing environmental opportunities and threats. Porter worked on the "FIVE FORCES...
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...the organization achieve its competitive advantage. Changes in the environment such as widespread globalization, rapid technology and other such factors have led to organizations realizing the significance of controlling human resources in a firm. Since organizations have also become more dynamic and complex, the need to manage human resources has become more essential. In recent years, many individuals demanded for a more strategic approach to managing people in a firm, rather than the traditional methods, and thus the idea of strategic human resource management (SHRM) was adopted. Strategic human resource management is a branch of human resource management, and it can be defined as ‘ the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation, flexibility and competitive advantage.’ (Sinha, R 2007). This essay is going to focus on how strategic human resource management helps organizations achieve a sustained competitive advantage. Sustainable competitive advantage is the position a firm develops in relation to its competitors that are not duplicable an unsurpassable than its competitors. Recently scholars have come to the basis of HR skills and competences as sources of competitive advantage. Human resource practices as well as competitive strategies are based on the assumption that employee behaviors are needed for each type of competitive strategy and that these behaviors...
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...Strategic Management - Internal Analysis Dr. Mohammad Hamsal 1 International Ports Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 2 Port of Singapore (PSA) Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 3 PSA Terminals Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 4 Port Operations Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 5 PSA Vision: The World’s Port of Call Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 6 PSA Vision: The World’s Port of Call Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 7 Brief Recent History of PSA Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 8 17 Ports in 11 Countries in 7 Years Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 9 PSA Vision: The World’s Port of Call Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 10 Operating & Innovating Capabilities Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 11 Managing & Learning Capabilities Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 12 Leading & Engaging Capabilities Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 13 PSA Strategy Word-Class Transhipment Hub Strategic Management - Internal Analysis 14 Minimal Disruption Fast Turnaround Efficient Flexibility 90 Sailing Days, Deal with 200 Shipping Lines, 600 Ports, 123 Countries Good Scheduling, One-Stop Services, Zero Error Integrated Resources Natural Harbor, Convenient Location, Capital Investment, Transportation Infrastructure, IT & Port Operations, Skilled Labors Source: Gordon, Lee & Lucas Jr....
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...used to analyze internal firm activities. Its goal is to recognize, which activities are the most valuable (i.e. are the source of cost or differentiation advantage) to the firm and which ones could be improved to provide competitive advantage. In other words, by looking into internal activities, the analysis reveals where a firm’s competitive advantages or disadvantages are. The firm that competes through differentiation advantage will try to perform its activities better than competitors would do. If it competes through cost advantage, it will try to perform internal activities at lower costs than competitors would do. When a company is capable of producing goods at lower costs than the market price or to provide superior products, it earns profits. M. Porter introduced the generic value chain model in 1985. Value chain represents all the internal activities a firm engages in to produce goods and services. VC is formed of primary activities that add value to the final product directly and support activities that add value indirectly. Although, primary activities add value directly to the production process, they are not necessarily more important than support activities. Nowadays, competitive advantage mainly derives from technological improvements or innovations in business models or processes. Therefore, such support activities as ‘information systems’, ‘R&D’ or ‘general management’ are usually the most important source of differentiation advantage. On the other hand...
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...to be unique, sporadic, and thus a better basis for sustainable advantage. However psychological literature supports that generalized investments have value for the firm through it’s effects on worker’s commitment to the firm. This paper examines the impact of firm’s specificity in human capital versus generalization commitment of externalized workers. Externalized workers, face persistence pressure to maintain assets that are highly desirable in the market. Firms cannot offer lifetime contracts but nonetheless offer workers greater assurances of remaining competitive in the job market through more attention to general skills development and training. These skills increase the probabilities of the employees remaining employable, thus reducing their anxieties about the diminished job security (internal workers) or the stability of the employment relation (external workers), decreasing the likelihood of future or prolong unemployment. The study show more positive response in external workers when generalized investment by employers are made. Firms often fear to invest in externalized labor but the potential positive effects it has on employee’s commitment level are valuable outcomes of firm’s investments in general skills development and other transferable resources. The resource-based literature holds that the key strategic assets for a firm are its human capital. Loyalty and commitment are important sources of firm’s effectiveness, and it is worthwhile to increase commitment...
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...“Value chain represents the internal activities a firm engages in when transforming inputs into outputs.” Understanding the tool VCA is a strategy tool used to analyze internal firm activities. Its goal is to recognize, which activities are the most valuable (i.e. are the source of cost or differentiation advantage) to the firm and which ones could be improved to provide competitive advantage. In other words, by looking into internal activities, the analysis reveals where a firm’s competitive advantages or disadvantages are. The firm that competes through differentiation advantage will try to perform its activities better than competitors would do. If it competes through cost advantage, it will try to perform internal activities at lower costs than competitors would do. When a company is capable of producing goods at lower costs than the market price or to provide superior products, it earns profits. M. Porter introduced the generic value chain model in 1985. Value chain represents all the internal activities a firm engages in to produce goods and services. VC is formed of primary activities that add value to the final product directly and support activities that add value indirectly. Below you can see the Porter’s VC model. Primary Activities | | Support Activities | Although, primary activities add value directly to the production process, they are not necessarily more important than support activities. Nowadays, competitive advantage mainly derives from technological...
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...vision statement, and continues on through objectives, internal & external analysis, strategic choices (both business-level and corporate-level), and strategic implementation. The firm will hope that this process results in a competitive advantage in the marketplace they operate in. VRIO falls into the internal analysis step of these procedures, but is used as a framework in evaluating just about all resources and capabilities of a firm, regardless of what phase of the strategic model it falls under. VRIO is an acronym for the four question framework you ask about a resource or capability to determine its competitive potential: the question of Value, the question of Rarity, the question of Imitability (Ease/Difficulty to Imitate), and the question of Organization (ability to exploit the resource or capability). * The Question of Value: "Is the firm able to exploit an opportunity or neutralize an external threat with the resource/capability?" * The Question of Rarity: "Is control of the resource/capability in the hands of a relative few?" * The Question of Imitability: "Is it difficult to imitate, and will there be significant cost disadvantage to a firm trying to obtain, develop, or duplicate the resource/capability?" * The Question of Organization: "Is the firm organized, ready, and able to exploit the resource/capability?" Question of Value The basic question asked by the V in the VRIO framework for internal analysis is “Is this resource or capability valuable...
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...is not a comprehensive source for studying Please note this is not a comprehensive source for studying Ch 6 -1 Ch 6 -2 Strategy Analysis & Choice “Whether it’s broke or not, fix it – make it better. Not just products, but the whole company if necessary.” – Bill Saporito “Life is full of lousy options.” – General P.X. Kelley Please note this is not a comprehensive source for studying Ch 6 -3 1 Strategy Analysis & Choice Subjective decisions based on objective information Generating alternative strategies Selecting strategies to pursue Best alternative course of action to achieve mission & objectives Derived from vision, mission, objectives, external audit, and internal audit Please note this is not a comprehensive source for studying Ch 6 -4 Strategy Analysis & Choice Generating Alternatives – Participation in generating alternative strategies should be as broad as possible Please note this is not a comprehensive source for studying Ch 6 -5 Comprehensive StrategyFormulation Framework Stage 1 - Input Stage EFE Matrix IFE matrix CPM Stage 2 - Matching Stage SWOT SPACE matrix BCG matrix IE Matrix Grand strategy matrix Stage 3 - Decision Stage QSPM Please note this is not a comprehensive source for studying Ch 6 -6 2 Strategy-Formulation Framework External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) Stage 1: The Input Stage Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) ...
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...Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management, 17, 99-120 Research in the field of strategic management suggests that firms obtain sustainable competitive advantages by implementing strategies that exploit their internal strengths, while neutralising external threats and avoiding internal weaknesses. Recent work has tended to focus primarily on analysing a firm’s opportunities and threats within its competitive environment. The purpose of this article is to analyse the conditions under which firm resources can be a source of sustained competitive advantage for a firm. The study builds on the assumptions that strategic resources are heterogeneous and immobile across firms, and that these resources are stable over time. Four empirical indicators of the potential of firm resources to generate sustained competitive advantage are proposed: value, rareness, imitability and substitutability. Within this context, for a firm resource to have the potential of generating competitive advantage, it must be: * valuable, in the sense that it exploits opportunities and/or neutralises threats in a firm’s environment; * rare among a firm’s current and potential competition; * imperfectly imitable (either through unique historical conditions, causal ambiguity, or social complexity); and * without strategically equivalent substitutes. As an example of how this framework might be applied, it is used in the analysis of the competitive implications of three...
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...Strategic Management External and Internal Assessments 1 External Strategic Assessment “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin “Nothing focuses the mind better than the constant sight of a competitor who wants to wipe you off the map.” – Wayne Calloway, Former CEO, PepsiCo 2 1 External Audit – Sources of Information •Internet •Libraries •Suppliers •Distributors •Salespersons •Customers •Competition 3 External Strategic Management Audit - The macro environment Scanning (PESTEL analyses, Scenarios) - Industry or Sector Analysis (5 forces, industry/product life cycle) - Competitors scanning (Strategic Group Map, CPM) - The Organization responses (EFEM) 4 2 Layers of the business environment 5 Key Aspects of PESTEL Analysis • Not just a list of influences • Need to understand key drivers of change • Drivers of change have differential impact on industries, markets, and organisations • Focus is on future impact of environmental factors • Combined effect of some of the factors likely to be most important 6 3 Macroenvironment – PESTEL (1) 7 Microenvironment – PEST(EL) Political Economic • Government stability (+) • Taxation policy (+) • Foreign trade regulations (+) • Social welfare policies (-) • Business cycles (-) • GNP trends (-) • Interest rates (--) • Inflation (+) • Unemployment...
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...is a good start to the case analysis process. What we gather from the initial analysis can then be used to direct functional departments (finance, supply chain, marketing etc.) to gather relevant data, which can be used to do further analysis. The initial analysis should follow the following process: ------------------------------------------------- Part 1 Points assigned: 15 (financial + external+ internal) A) Financial Analysis: Look for both accounting and economic measure of performance in the case. If any such indicators are not given in the case or you can’t calculate these indicators from the data provided in the case (i.e. profit-loss statement, balance sheet, and relevant data associated with WACC calculation etc.), skip this part of the analysis. However, if such data is present please go ahead and calculate relevant financial ratio and economic indicators of performance as instructed in the text and discussed in the class. Competitive advantage is often measured in accounting terms and economic terms. A firm is said to have a competitive advantage if one or more of its accounting measures exceed(s) the industry average for that particular measure. For example, if a firm’s return on sales is 23 percent and the industry average is 15 percent, we would take that as an...
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