Question

"Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage" by Barney is a foundational article on the power of having a competitive advantage over your industry rivals based on VRIO. After reading this article, please provide two current examples of companies that you think have a competitive advantage over their competitors. Companies should be used only one time. Your examples can range from large corporations to small local companies. Be sure to support your answer.

Answer 1

The first example can be drawn from the unique design, quality and strong ability to cater the demand by Apple with its product portfolio having products like iPhone, iPad and iPod. The innovation driven design and quality, create value for the consumers that are very difficult to imitate and attract legal suits against the other companies who try to steal the design. It brings a feeling of rarity to the owners of Apple products. Besides, the R&D capabilities have helped the organization to always be a few steps ahead of the nearest competitors. As a result, the company is able to create its own market without any significant competition. It is only possible due to the competitive advantage.

The second example is the unique HR practices followed by the company Netflix that creates human resources for the company, acting as a competitive advantage. The central idea of the best HR practice is not about offering only incentives to motivate the employees, but it is to bring the best talent in the organization to work with that motivates the existing employees. Besides, the organization never sits on past laurels, rather work on next challenges. It creates a work environment that makes employees to understand their responsibilities and strive for the next level of success. As a result, a human resource team is developed that holds a competitive advantage in the business environment.