In this lecture, we explore Jay Barney’s influential Resource-Based View of the firm and his argument that sustainable competitive advantage comes from unique internal resources and capabilities. We examine the VRIN framework — resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable — and see how companies from Apple to Toyota and Zara have leveraged such resources to maintain their edge. The episode also considers critiques of RBV, its extension into dynamic capabilities, and the ethical questions raised when resources such as data, culture, or natural assets are used for competitive advantage. Barney’s work reminds us that strategy is not only about markets and positioning, but about what firms uniquely bring to the competition.