Vrin Competitive Advantage

VRIN Framework as Source of Sustainable Competitive Advantage in an Organization: A Literature Review

Nor Ahlina Binti Ibrahim and Amin Vakilbashi

International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. [e-mail], [e-mail]

Abstract - Nowadays, firms mostly operating in business conditions which are competitive on one hand and unstable, dynamic and also complex on the other. Those who operate globally, the situation is even unattractive. The resource base view is mostly showed as a explaining framework for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations develop competitive advantages through strategically developed resources over the longer period of time. Anyhow, heterogeneous results

Competitive advantage is reached and maintained. We conclude that from the RBV viewpoint, to have a competitive advantage, firms demand to have VRIN resources. The unit of analysis is the resource. We take the definition of firm competitive advantage as creating more economic value than a marginal competitor that achieves only break-even. Wu (2010) divided resources in two groups, VRIN and non-VRIN, and concluded that the groups are positively correlated to competitive advantage in low and medium volatility environments, but in high volatility environments, only VRIN resources have an influence on competitive

The situation is even grimmer for those operating globally. As a reaction to the situation VRIN framework is becoming the principal focus of the organizations as a beginning of competitive advantage. More recently, in the literature on strategic human resource management is changing focus towards strategic talent pool as a mean of acquiring competitive advantage. VRIN framework is mostly depicted as a explaining framework for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations develop competitive advantages through strategically developed resources over the longer period of time (Barney, 2011). Strategic talent management is also regarded as a source of competitive advantages in the dynamic organizations (Mahdi, O. R., Almsafir, M. K., Yao, L, 2011). However, the definition and field boundary of talent management is still not well defined despite a substantial interest of academicians and practitioners in it (Collings, & Mellahi, 2010). A detailed critique of strategic talent management as rare, inimitable, valuable and non-substitutable resource for the organization under RBV framework. The clear theoretical explanation of how strategic talent management becomes the source of competitive advantage is not very much addressed yet. The story takes the status and theoretically explains how to approach for VRIN framework as a origin of