The company we are researching is Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) based in the UK, and specializes in pharmaceutical biotechnology.

GSK Internal Capabilities, Industry Structure, and Market Entry Strategy Student Name University Course Professor Name Date GSK Internal Capabilities, Industry Structure, and Market Entry Strategy IV. Internal Capabilities The internal capabilities of a company comprise a key source of strategic competitive advantage. Michael Porter, renowned for his works on competitiveness and competitive strategy, was also a prominent advocate for a firm’s market-based positioning approach designed for strategic competitive advantage. In this case, the point of view adopted is that the primary driver of superior performance in a given company is its individual organizational resources instead of to the corporate-level resources (Bridges, 2024). As such, GSK’s internal capabilities are considered a major source of strategic competitiveness in the Malaysian market facilitating strategic initiatives, boost competitive edge, and foster operational efficiency. From the ideas of Michael Porter, the resource-based view (RBV) presents an ideal theory for viewing internal capabilities. This theory focuses is concerned with the importance of resources with the following characteristics: rare, valuable, inimitable, and non-substitutable. These characteristics comprise the core components of the VRIN framework, which helps delineate the strategic internal resources and capabilities of a firm (Sun et al., 2024). In theGSK case study, the VRIN framework becomes ideal when exploring theinternal capabilities facilitating GSK’s competitiveness. Valuable Capabilities At GSK’s Malaysian operations, valuable capabilities come in the form of R&D and technology – the company majorly uses these capabilities to drive innovation.A robust R&D helps GSK create and develop new pharmaceutical products. Investments in both R&D and new technologies are supported by the vast financial resources of GSK. New technologies often have a disruptive effect, which is often harnessed by companies like GSK to achieve the desired market-based positioning as an industry leader in both new products and technologies. Ideally, new technologies provide several advantages – operational efficiency, fast-tracking discovery of new products, and facilitating personalized medicine. Rare Capabilities Despite the immense value of investments in new technologies and R&D, these capabilities are not considered rare. Therefore, GSK only achieves competitive parity, with the only advantage emanating from the superior financial backing for both the R&D and investments in new technologies. Inimitability R&D and investments in new technologies are imitable, which means GSK can only achieve a temporary competitive advantage. However, innovation driven by these capabilities can offer a permanent competitive advantage in the case of patented technologies and products – this is because these cannot be imitated. Non-Substitutability A long-term competitive advantage is possible when the products are non-substitutable. For GSK, this advantage lasts only as long as rivals’ R&D does not produce substitutes. Value Chain Perspective Besides the RBV/VRIN approach, a value chain perspective ...