Dollinger index

Resources and Capabilities 51

ments, the “packaging” for the product. When we go to Sicor’s Web site

(http://www.sicor.com/), we see that it is an international firm with facilities all over the

world. The site also reveals that in addition to its technological resources, Sicor has

enormous relationship capital (alliances), intellectual and human resources (world-class

scientists and executives), and superb worldwide labs (physical resources).

Strategic Liabilities

Just as ventures and businesses can have strategic resources, they can also have strategic

liabilities. This is especially true with respect to incumbent firms. They have resources

and capabilities that may well be obsolete. They have relationships with partners who

are no longer central, and they belong to networks that are not as relevant as they once

were. They may be wedded to technology that has been surpassed. If an entrepreneur

enters a market in which other companies have strategic liabilities, the entrepreneur’s

strategic assets will be enhanced.

Table 2.2 below summarizes the characteristics of the six resources.

To see an example of the effective acquisition and deployment of strategic resources

in action, please review the case at the end of the chapter. Zara is a designer, manufac-

turer, marketer, and retailer of women’s fashion clothing. This is a tough business; many

such firms fail. But Zara has been able to capture the imagination and the dollars of both

European and American women through its systematic use of very hard-to-copy

resources. The Zara story is remarkable and ongoing.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

It seemed clear to researchers that people who became entrepreneurs took extraordinary

risks and thought in a different way from people who were not entrepreneurs. The study

of personality characteristics and traits emphasized the way that enduring behavioral

tendencies influence business start-up.

Personality Characteristics

A critical (some might say thecritical) resource for the new venture is the entrepreneur

or founding team. Therefore, we must consider the characteristics of the entrepreneur

Resource Valuable? Rare? Hard to copy? Nonsubstitutable?

Physical yes sometimes not usually sometimes

Reputational yes yes yes yes

Organizational yes yes yes yes

Financial yes sometimes no no

Intellectual yes yes usually sometimes

Technological yes sometimes sometimes sometimes

TABLE 2.2 Strategic Resources Summary