Chapter: Chapter 07: Growth
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is most accurate concerning corporate growth rates?
a) High growth rates decay quickly, and large companies struggle to grow.
b) High growth rates are sustainable for 10 years or more, but large companies struggle to
grow.
c) High growth rates decay quickly, but large companies grow more easily than small
companies.
d) High growth rates are sustainable for 10 years or more, and large companies grow more
easily than small companies.
2. Which of the following are types of organic revenue growth?
I. Mergers.
II. Acquisitions.
III. Portfolio momentum.
IV. Market share performance.
a) I and II only.
b) I, II, and III only.
c) II and IV only.
d) III and IV only.
3. Which of the following is LEAST likely to result in above-average, long-run value creation?
a) Create new markets through new products.
b) Attract new customers into the market.
c) Convince existing customers to buy more of a product.
d) Gain market share from rivals through product promotion.
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4. The strategy of making bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate product sales:
a) Has not been proven to create value.
b) Can create positive and about average value compared to other strategies.
c) Can create positive and above-average value compared to other strategies.
d) Can create positive but below-average value compared to other strategies.
5. Companies in which of the following industries or sectors have had the lowest growth rates?
a) Software.
b) IT services.
c) Automobiles.
d) Health-care equipment.
6. Which of the following is true concerning an increase in market share that comes at the
expense of established competitors?
a) It rarely creates much value for long, except when it results in pushing a competitor out of
the market completely.
b) It generally creates value for a fairly long period, but it will decay after about 10 years.
c) It never creates any value over the long run because the effects are random across firms and
net to zero for any given firm over time.
d) None of these.
7. Which of the following usually result in above-average value creation?
I. Make large acquisitions.
II. Attract new customers into the market.
III. Convince existing customers to buy more of a product.
IV. Make bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate product growth.
a) I and II only.
b) I, III, and IV only.
c) II and III only.
d) II, III, and IV only.
8. For which situation does additional growth likely create more value?
a) High-ROIC company in a mature market.
b) Low-ROIC company in a fast-growing market.
c) Low-ROIC company in a mature market.
d) Medium-ROIC company in a mature market.
9. Which of the following is most accurate concerning the median revenue growth rates of
firms over the years 1965 to 2013?
a) The range was 1.5 percent to 12 percent, with a median of 7.2 percent.
b) The range was 0 percent to 9 percent, with a median of 5.3 percent.
c) The range was 2.2 percent to 8.8 percent, with a median of 4.2 percent.
d) The range was –0.2 percent to 6.6 percent, with a median of 3.3 percent.
10. Companies that grow faster than 30 percent in one year generally within five years see their
growth decline to:
a) About 4 percent and then down to 2 percent within 10 years.
b) About 12 percent and then down to 10 percent within 10 years.
c) About 10 percent and then down to 8 percent within 10 years.
d) About 8 percent and then down to 6 percent within 10 years.
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11. Companies that grow more slowly than 0 percent in one year generally within five years see
their growth increase to:
a) About 4 percent and then up to 4.5 percent within 10 years.
b) About 1 percent and then up to 2 percent within 10 years.
c) About 6 percent and then up to 8 percent within 10 years.
d) About 8 percent and then up to 10 percent within 10 years.
12. Which of the following explain the reasons that growth-rate rankings change among
industries so much over time?
I. The business cycle.
II. Changing regulations.
III. Fluctuating exchange rates.
IV. Product life cycles.
a) I and II only.
b) I and IV only.
c) II and III only.
d) III and IV only.
13. For firms that grew at rates less than 5 percent in the 2000–2003 period, what percentage
grew at rates greater than 10 percent in the 2010–2013 period?
a) 44 percent.
b) 15 percent.
c) 13 percent.
d) 28 percent.
14. For firms that grew at rates greater than 15 percent in the 2000–2003 period, what
percentage grew at rates less than 10 percent in the 2010–2013 period?
a) 58 percent.
b) 37 percent.
c) 21 percent.
d) 42 percent.
15. Incremental innovation will rarely create lasting value.
16. Average industry revenue growth varies considerably across industries, but the growth rates
among companies in the same industry are fairly uniform.
17. The only way to achieve consistently high growth is to consistently find new product
markets and enter them successfully in time to enjoy their more profitable high-growth phase.
18. While the pace of growth can vary greatly across products, the pattern of growth is usually
the same for almost all products and services.
19. If a company increases its market share because of a product having momentum, it can be
said that growth was generated via portfolio momentum.
20. Explain the “portfolio treadmill” effect and what it means for a firm that wishes to sustain
growth.