IPA IP 2025 Question 4
A question IPA Japan published in 令和7年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問4, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Which of the following is the most appropriate method of analyzing the resources a company has by evaluating them with four elements, economic value, rarity, inimitability, and organization, in order to formulate management strategies such as the priority of investment?
Explanation
VRIO analysis — it evaluates a company's own resources by Value, Rarity, Inimitability and Organization.
VRIO analysis looks inward at the company's management resources (people, goods, money, information, technology, brands) and asks four questions in turn:
- •Value: does the resource create economic value, for example by exploiting an opportunity or countering a threat?
- •Rarity: do few competitors have it?
- •Inimitability: is it hard or costly for others to copy?
- •Organization: is the company organized to make full use of it?
A resource that passes all four is a source of sustained competitive advantage, so the analysis guides where to invest and which strengths to build strategy on.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) 4P — the marketing mix: Product, Price, Place and Promotion
- •(b) PPM — product portfolio management, which places businesses or products by market growth rate and relative market share to allocate resources among them
- •(c) SWOT analysis — sorts internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats; it has no four-test evaluation of resources
Key rule: VRIO = Value, Rarity, Inimitability, Organization: the internal check of whether a resource gives lasting competitive advantage.
Business Strategy Management · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.