VRIN Analysis Valuable The value of a company is more than just its net worth. It is also the ability of the company to identify and leverage opportunities while reducing the impact of threats in the external environment. These valuable capabilities allow for a company to “create value for customers,” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2017). In the case of Gore, these valuable capabilities include its “Real, Win, Worth” model. Gore focuses on producing “unique and valuable” opportunities that gave them separation of position within the market (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2017). The “Real, Win, Worth” model asks several key questions to determine if a project is going to move forward: “Is the opportunity real? Is there really somebody out there that will buy this? Can we win? What do the economics look like? Can we make money doing this? Is it unique and valuable? Can we have a sustained advantage?” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson). The focus that Gore places on producing unique and valuable products places them in a strategic position within the market to provide customers with materials and brands that are difficult to emulate. While other companies may be able to simulate one of Gore’s products, the continuous innovation is going to continue to place Gore ahead of its competitors. Gore’s celebration of innovators and providing time for seasoned employees to work on personal initiatives draws top talent and provides Associates with a sense of ownership within the company. This loyalty results in “highly self-motivated, focused and ready” Associates (Gore, 2020). This, in-turn, is a valuable capability for Gore to leverage opportunities. For highly loyal talent that is provided the chance to bring their own initiatives to Gore for consideration, it deepens the pool of ideas and resources within the company. Rare As mentioned previously, Gore’s “unique and valuable” project focus provides Gore with an advantage within the market. As not a lot of companies possess Gore’s style of leadership or innovation, Gore’s core competencies are not widely possessed, making these capabilities rare and dramatically limiting market competitors. While other companies may have the ability to produce fabrics similar to Gore-Tex, Gore’s pool of innovators and drive to create a sustained advantage will continue to set Gore apart. Costly to Imitate Gore has been operating since 1958, and since has grown into an innovation superpower, with its hands in aerospace, apparel and textiles, the automotive industry, chemical engineering, environmental protection, fire and public safety, industry and manufacturing, life sciences, military equipment, mobile electronics, oil and gas, power and utilities, semiconductors and microelectronics, technology and communication, and the test and measurements industry (Gore, 2020). This scale of different industries in which Gore operates makes Gore difficult, if not impossible to imitate by other firms without an excessively large amount of capital up front to begin producing immediately. Even then, the social complexity of Gore’s capabilities – such as its strategic partnerships that it has developed over decades of work, with the over 2000 patents that it possesses would still set potential competitors at a severe disadvantage in the pursuit of Gore’s position. Nonsubstitutable Gore’s products may have substitutable alternatives, such as Elixer guitar strings not being selected over D’Addario strings, but the culture of innovation and equality that Gore promotes is Nonsubstitutable. Products are visible elements that always run the risk of being copied by market entrants, however, the invisible elements within Gore are impossible to copy. Gore’s fundamental belief system that are the basis for its culture, its reliance on leaders that organically take on roles in the company as opposed to a set hierarchy, and the fact that loyal Associates succeed because the company’s success is their own are long-standing staples in the way that Gore operates, something that has developed since the company’s onset, and would be nearly impossible to find in another company. Value Proposition Value proposition will introduce a company to prospective buyers and refers to the value a company promises to deliver to their customers (Investopia.com, 2006). The value proposition is also a statement that will tell others how the company operates, what they stands for and they deserve business. WL Gore Company’s value proposition is that they provide excellence, innovation and high quality in everything they do. The key components of Gore’s value chain that help contribute to this proposition include fairness, freedom, commitment and waterline which are the basic guiding principles that Bill Gore used when founding the company. · Fairness – Associates at Gore are urged to be fair in all circumstances and with all interactions whether they be with customers, suppliers or their colleagues within the company. · Freedom – Gore associates are encouraged to improve their knowledge, skill, scope of responsibility and range of activities which is the freedom in the key components. Associates are allotted up to 10% of their working hours to work on projects that they are passionate about which allows additional freedom. · Commitment – Bill Gore uses a lattice organization which involves among other things involves self-commitment among associates. This requires associates to make their own commitments which they are expected to keep. · Waterline – The waterline principle means that everyone within the organization will consult with other associates before taking any actions that could hurt the reputation of the company or its financial health. The basic analogy is that shooting at a boat above the waterline, it may rock the boat but will not sink it, where shooting below the waterline could sink it which is unacceptable.