Barney (1991) defines VRIO analysis as a strategic management tool used to analyze a company's internal resources and capabilities, with the aim of determining whether they can be used to gain a competitive advantage for the company. This involves asking and striving to answer questions that ask whether a resource is: valuable; Rare; expensive to imitate; and if a company is well organized to capture the value of resources? Any resource that meets these four requirements can provide a sustainable competitive advantage to the company. The graphical representation of the VRIO analysis tool is as follows. Scarcity of resources Resources accessible to one or a limited number of companies are considered scarce. When a resource is valuable and rare, the company gains a temporary competitive advantage. However, if the resource is valuable but accessible to multiple firms, competitive parity between firms is achieved (Jurevicius, 2013). ResourcesJurevicius (2013) explains that a resource is considered costly to imitate when other companies that do not have access to it are unable to imitate it, purchase it, or obtain a substitute for it, at a price deemed reasonable for the acquiring company. Imitation can occur either through duplication or substitution (Jurevicius, 2013). Barney (1995) explains why some firms may have access to resources that are too costly to imitate and are not available to other firms. This may be due to historical factors, causal ambiguity, or simply sociological complexities. Resources developed over a long period of time, mainly through intense research and development activities, prove too expensive for other companies to imitate. First mover advantages ... middle of paper ...... or competitive advantage. Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), pp. 49-61. Jurevicius, O. (2013). VRIO analysis, Strategic Management Insight. [online] available at accessed April 8, 2014. Masdar City, (n. d). The global energy center of the future: Masdar City. [online], available at accessed April 8, 2014. Saxena, RP (2011). Dubai Mall: a versatile destination in the Middle East. Researchgate.net. [online] available at Zerkel, E. (2014). Masdar City: Sustainable City of the Future, The Weather Channel. [online] available at www.weather.com/news/science/earth-day/masdar-united-arab-emirates Sustainable-city-20130726, accessed April 7, 2014.