Resources and Capabilities of Harley-Davidson

Description

Resources and capabilities of Harley-Davidson

Q1 /    What are the resources and capabilities of Harley-Davidson? And how do they grant the firm competitive advantage to compete in the motorcycle industry? words: 600 words
Q2/ How effectively Harley Davidson’s strategy is implemented and how the firm exploit its key strengths while protecting itself from its key weaknesses? Words: 600 words
Q3/ What threats to its continuing success does Harley Davidson face, and how should it respond to current & future challenges?  Words: 800 words

General Instructions:
Read the case of Harley Davidson from Robert M. Grant – Contemporary Strategy Analysis_ Text and Cases Edition (2016, Wiley) with related used analysis model. Also, support the answers of the above questions with examples from the case and from other academic articles and texts including quality newspaper and business periodicals, e.g., the FT, The Economist and the official company website. Preview:

Harley-Davidson’s Resources and Capabilities and How They add to the Company’s Competitive Advantage

Resources have been defined as inputs into the production process (Grant, 1991) and as the productive assets owned by the firm (Grant, 2016). Based on these definitions, resources are basically what the firm has and that it can use to create value. Resources can be tangible, intangible, or human as noted by Grant (2016). Tangible resources are resources that can be touched, such as financial resources (like cash, securities, and borrowing capacity) and physical items (like land, plant, equipment and mineral reserves). Intangible resources are resources that cannot be touched and include such things as reputation (brand and relationships), position, technology (such as patents and copyrights) and culture. Human resources include skills or know-how and productive effort offered by the firm’s employees (Grant, 2016). It also includes motivation and capacity for communication. It is worth noting that the firm does not own its workers but it purchases their services through employment contracts. On their own, or in combination with other resources to form capabilities, resources can be sources of competitive advantage (Edwards, 2014). Continue …