97) An approach that is UNLIKELY to help a company’s low-cost provider strategy succeed is
A) possessing resources and capabilities to keep costs below those of its competitors.
B) pursuing cost-effective management of value chain activities better than rivals.
C) deploying effective leveraging of cost drivers.
D) having the innovative capability to bypass certain value chain activities being performed by
rivals.
E) evolving the capabilities to simultaneously deliver lower cost and higher-quality/differentiated
features.
98) What are the five generic competitive strategies? Briefly describe each one and identify the
type of competitive advantage that each strategy is aimed at achieving.
99) Identify cost drivers in a company’s value chain. Explain how these drivers impact a firm’s
generic strategy.
100) Identify uniqueness drivers in a company’s value chain. Explain how these drivers impact a
firm’s generic strategy.
101) Compare and contrast cost drivers and uniqueness drivers in a company’s value chain.
Explain how these drivers might support a firm’s generic strategy.
102) Describe the strategy of striving to be the industry’s overall low-cost provider. What does a
company have to do to achieve low-cost provider status?
103) Describe the two basic cost-reducing approaches a company can take to become a low-cost
provider in its industry.
104) Match each of the organizations/companies below to its competitive strategy. Explain your
choices.
Organization/Company Competitive Strategy
Clinícasdel Azúcar Low cost
Canada Goose Focused low cost
Prada Differentiation
Trader Joe’s Focused differentiation
Vanguard Best-Cost
105) What market conditions and circumstances make a low-cost provider strategy attractive?
What are the pitfalls in pursuing a low-cost provider strategy? What can go wrong?
106) What are the distinctive features of a broad differentiation strategy? Under what
circumstances is a broad differentiation strategy appealing?
107) What are the pitfalls to be avoided in pursuing a broad differentiation strategy?
108) What are the distinctive features of a best-cost provider strategy? Under what circumstances
is a best-cost provider strategy appealing?
109) What type of competitive advantage does a best-cost provider strategy aim at achieving?
Explain what a company has to do to achieve this advantage.
110) Provide two examples of companies pursuing a low-cost strategy and two examples of
companies pursuing a best-cost strategy and explain how their strategic targets are similar or
different.
111) What are the distinctive features of a focused low-cost strategy? How does it differ from a
low-cost leadership strategy?
112) What are the distinctive features of a focused differentiation strategy? How is it different
from a broad differentiation strategy?
113) What strategy would you recommend for a small-sized company entering a highly
segmented market, each segment with a complex set of needs and spending power?
114) A mobile manufacturer decides to reduce the price of its latest line of smartphones, which
are not the cheapest but have features that are popular among most users. Which strategy is the
manufacturer using?
115) In what market and competitive circumstances are focused low-cost and focused
differentiation strategies not attractive?
116) Explain how the marketing emphasis of a low-cost provider differs from the marketing
emphasis of a best-cost provider.
117) Explain how the keys to sustaining a broad differentiation strategy differ from the keys to
sustaining a best-cost producer strategy.
118) What are the keys to sustaining a focused low-cost strategy?
119) One of the big dangers in crafting a competitive strategy is that managers, torn between the
pros and cons of the various generic strategies, will opt for “stuck in the middle” strategies that
represent compromises between lower costs and greater differentiation and between broad and
narrow market appeal. True or false? Explain your answer.
120) For a company’s competitive strategy to succeed in delivering favorable performance and
the intended competitive edge over rivals, it has to be well-matched to a company’s internal
situation and underpinned by an appropriate set of resources, know-how, and competitive
capabilities. True or false? Explain your answer.