Tameer announces the Business Bay Tower: VIRO Analysis

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Most of us know Tameer. For those who don’t, according to Tameer website, Tameer is involved in construction of outstanding real estate projects distinguished by a clear vision that relies on accurately selecting the unique location and then adopting innovative and non traditional designs, specifications and services for erecting buildings. Tameer has successfully concluded a number of real estate deals with the government of Sharjah and with a number of business people. Today, the firm's investment portfolio in the market totals AED 40 billion.

The fact that Tameer is going to build the Business Bay Tower in Sharjah, implies that Tameer has many resources and capabilities considered to be their strengths which allows them to compete and expand in the real estate industry. Two of these resources and capabilities could be the brand identity and the physical technology that would help them facilitate such a project. From the resources and capabilities standing point, Barney’s framework (VIRO framework) is highly related to this article.

Are these resources Valuable? Both the brand identity and the physical technology resources (capabilities), that Tameer is using in the Business Bay Tower, are valuable. It is valuable because it enables Tameer to respond to environmental threats and opportunities. This goes inline of how Barney addresses the question of value which asks whether a firm’s resources and capabilities enable the firm to respond to environmental threats and opportunities. To support, Tameer’s physical technology resource used in the Business Bay Tower enables it to respond to environmental threats such as the competitor’s expansion in the real estate industry, Emaar as an example. Furthermore, employing an outstanding technology plus their strong brand identity will enable Tameer to respond to opportunities as their website mentions, “[Tameer] now pursues plans to penetrate the UAE market and a number of other countries through large and distinguished projects within the framework of an ambitious contemporary plan for the future”.

Are these resources Rare? In my opinion, I think that the technology that Tameer is using to build Business Bay Tower is not a rare one because I think that there are other competing firms that already possess such a technology. Not only that, other competing firms also possess a strong brand identity. For example, Emaar (Tameer’s competing firm) possesses both the brand identity and the physical technology. Therefore, these resources are not rare.

Having said that those resources employed in the Business Bay Tower project are valuable but not rare will generate a competitive parity, as a competitive implication wise. In other words, Tameer’s economic performance in this project will be normal.