(p. 47)-The path a technology follows through time is termed as technology trajectory.
(p. 51-52)-S-curves in technology performance and s-curves in technology diffusion are
fundamentally different processes.
(p. 295)-If a firm’s objective is maximum market skimming, it will initially set a high
price on new products.
(p. 245)-Parallel development processes are universally endorsed.
(p. 245)-The use of executive sponsors reduces the effectiveness of a development
process.
(p. 5)-The innovation process is often conceived of as a funnel because most potential
new product ideas make it through the development process.
(p. 103)-A disadvantage of using parallel development processes is that it greatly
lengthens the new product development time.
(p. 35)-Knowledge that is explicit requires more frequent and close interaction to be
meaningfully exchanged than knowledge that is tacit.
(p. 5)-According to the concept of innovation funnel, the number of successful products
launched will be greater than the number of raw ideas generated.
(p. 257)-Three-dimensional printing can generate a model in a few hours.
(p. 243)-A sequential process has an early warning system to indicate that planned
features are not manufacturable.
(p. 161)-Some firms avoid collaboration for fear of giving up their proprietary
technologies.
(p. 170)-Solo internal development is, on average, a relatively fast and inexpensive way
of developing a technology.
(p. 163)-Obtaining some of the necessary capabilities or resources from a partner rather
than building them in-house will increase a firm’s asset commitment.
(p. 275)-Proximity and frequent interaction help teams to develop shared norms and a
dialect for communicating about a project.
(p. 54)-Technology diffusion curve is s-shaped because adoption is initially fast when a
new technology is introduced to the market.
(p. 247)-Many firms use beta testing to get customer input early in the development
process.
(p. 72)-Though learning curves are found in a wide range of organizational processes,
there are substantial differences in the rates at which organizations learn.
(p. 2)-Innovation and new technologies have led to longer product life cycles and
slower product obsolescence.
(p. 294)-In crafting an advertising message, firms must focus more on making the
advertisements entertaining and memorable than on providing a significant quantity of
informative content.
(p. 202)-External development efforts typically lack the coordination of internal
development.
(p. 113)-When demand is increasing, there is less revenue to go around and firms will
experience more competitive pressure.
(p. 118)-Resources of a tangible nature that can be readily codified are called tacit
resources.
(p. 143)-Breakthrough projects involve development of products that incorporate
revolutionary new product and process technologies.
(p. 29)-Incubators are regional districts, typically set up by government, to foster R&D
collaboration between government, universities, and private firms.
(p. 293)-Cannibalization is the process by which a firm’s sales of one product diminish
due to a substitute product offering by a competitor.
(p. 3)-Technological innovation results in complete eradication of negative externalities.
(p. 215)-In the context of innovation productivity, a firm’s overall size is not an
easy-to-manipulate attribute of the firm.
(p. 100)-Not all innovations require complementary goods.
(p. 170)-Collective research organizations can take the form of trade associations.
(p. 251)-In the product development process, expenditures increase as uncertainty
increases.
(p. 195)-Titles and names can be copyrighted.
(p. 20)-If an individual knows a field too well, it can stifle his ability to come up with
solutions that require an alternative perspective.
(p. 71)-Increasing returns to adoption means that the more a technology is adopted, the
more valuable it becomes.
(p. 48)-Product innovations are more important than process innovations to
organizations because they are less visible than process innovations.
(p. 224)-A loosely coupled structure is best suited for activities that involve exchange of
tacit knowledge.
(p. 272)-Managers of lightweight teams are normally junior or middle management
employees.
(p. 138)-If a firm has the option of investing in R&D, the cost of commercializing a
new technology that is developed can be considered the:
A. exercise price.
B. price of a call option.
C. benefit of exercising the option.
D. -the value of the option.
(p. 32)-Which of the following is true of interfirm collaborative research and
development networks?
A. Collaborative research networks are not important or viable in high-technology
sectors.
B. Interfirm networks can enable firms to achieve much more than they could achieve
individually.
C. The flow of information and other resources through a network is independent of the
network’s size.
D. Information diffusion is fairly slow and limited in collaborative research networks
with dense structures and many paths for information to travel.
(p. 192)-Angelo has designed a license plate holder for automobiles that makes theft of
the license plate practically impossible. He has filed an application for a patent through
the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) office, and it has been approved. How long is this
application going to protect his right to file for patent protection in the member
countries of the PCT?
A. 3 days
B. 6 months
C. 1 year
D. 2 years
(p. 196)-_____ specifies a minimum level of copyright protection for all member
countries, and it requires member countries to offer the same protection to both its own
citizens and foreign nationals.
A. The Berne Convention
B. Treaty of Easton
C. The Patent Cooperation Treaty
D. The Madrid Agreement
(p. 72)-As firms develop complementary technologies to improve the productivity or
ease of utilization of a core technology, the technology:
A. becomes more attractive to other firms.
B. loses its credibility in the market.
C. loses its dominant design position in the industry.
D. experiences a decrease in its installed base.
(p. 191)-In the United States, utility patent owners are granted a term of _____ years of
protection.
A. 35
B. 20
C. 90
D. 50
(p. 147-148)-Fabmark Consultancy was asked by a client to evaluate the attractiveness
of a potential project to develop a new product line. The data provided by the client
included cash flow estimates (in dollars), ranking of marketability by the sales force,
and ranking of different product attributes from a potential customer focus group.
Which of the following methods would allow Fabmark Consultancy to combine this
information and analyze it?
A. Q-sort
B. Data envelopment analysis
C. Attribute ranking
D. -Breakeven analysis
(p. 144)-A firm that invests heavily in derivative projects that may be immediately
commercialized with little risk:
A. will have greater long-term strategic momentum.
B. will be on the leading edge of technology.
C. will likely be unable to compete when the market shifts to a newer technology.
D. -will have poor returns on its R&D investment in the short run.
(p. 269)-Ruth works in the advertising department of her company. It was observed that
she interacted more frequently and more intensely with team members who shared her
interests and social background, but ignored others. This phenomenon exhibited by
Ruth is referred to as:
A. free riding.
B. social loafing.
C. homophily.
D. groupthink.
(p. 201)-LiteShoes Inc. has recently obtained architectural control for its shoe glider
technology. By doing so, the company has:
A. improved its efficiency in controlling the rate at which the technology is upgraded or
refined.
B. limited its ability to measure the product’s compatibility with the complements
produced by others.
C. limited its potential to influence other firms in the industry.
D. eliminated the possibilities of “feature creep.”
(p. 251)-Beta Cleaning Equipment Corp. has started the actual design and development
of a new floor buffing machine. It has the details of manufacturing, marketing, and
operations of the new product as well. According to the stage-gate process, what is the
next stage of this project?
A. Launch of the product by producing it commercially and selling it
B. Verification and validation of the new product, and its marketing and production
C. Formation a focus group to make sure the product meets user expectations
D. Development of a business case to justify the project
(p. 221)-Liam, an employee of Centaurs Inc., is part of a new product development
team that operates in a completely different manner from its parent organization. Within
the team, there is considerable decentralization of authority and limited bureaucracy. It
also has its own unique culture. Liam’s team can be most accurately referred to as:
A. a mechanistic team.
B. skunk works.
C. an inorganic group.
D. a mainstream circle.
(p. 227)-Oxygenic Inc. is a company with major decentralized divisions in Germany,
Russia, and the United States. The scientists in Russia develop cancer treatment
methods. Treatment clinics are organized in Germany. The U.S. division gathers finance
and markets the treatment methods. The activities of the different divisions are
coordinated by the central office of the firm to meet companywide objectives. This is
most clearly an example of a _____ strategy.
A. center-for-global
B. local-for-local
C. locally leveraged
D. globally linked
(p. 308)-Which of the following statements is true of using marketing to shape
perceptions and expectations?
A. Preannouncements reduce excitement about a product before its release.
B. A firm that aggressively promotes its products loses its actual installed base and its
perceived installed base.
C. A firm should avoid using vaporware if other vendors beat the firm to market and the
firm fears that customers may select a dominant design.
D. A firm can signal its commitment to an industry by making substantial investments
that would be difficult to reverse.
(p. 78)-TechSense, an electronics manufacturing firm, allows its customers to resell old
TechSense products at its retail outlets. The firm reuses the metal, wires, and plastic—
extracted from these old products—in its new products. This way the company has been
able to take waste management to a whole new level. According to the Buyer Utility
Map, the firm is applying environmental friendliness utility lever in the _____ stage of
buyer experience cycle.
A. supplements
B. purchase
C. use
D. disposal
(p. 113)-Mr. Crunchy Inc. is a firm experiencing severe losses. However, with large
initial investment in manufacturing equipment and infrastructure, the firm is finding it
difficult to abandon the industry. According to Porter’s five-force model, the company is
facing a(n):
A. vertical integration.
B. exit barrier.
C. horizontal integration.
D. substitute threat.
(p. 93-94)-If the aspects that customers have come to expect in a technology are
difficult for competitors to imitate, being the technology leader will:
A. result in an inability to preemptively capture scarce assets.
B. enable it to yield sustained monopoly rents.
C. result in lower bargaining power over suppliers.
D. mean negligible research and development costs.
(p. 191)-To ensure that companies do not receive patents in countries where they do not
intend to set up production of the invention, some countries have a “working
requirement,” according to which:
A. if the product is not profitable, it will not be granted a patent.
B. patents in a country will only be granted to people who have been working in the
country for at least one year.
C. the invention must be manufactured in the country where the patent was granted
within a specified period of time.
D. the workers who manufacture the product must be from the country where the patent
was granted.
(p. 254)-Sigma Cleaning Inc. wants to use the house of quality matrix in designing and
developing a new vacuum cleaner. What is the last step that Sigma Cleaning will have
to take?
A. Determination of the relative value or weight of customer requirements
B. Creation of a new design based on the design targets
C. Identification of the engineering attributes that determine the performance of the
vacuum cleaner
D. Evaluation of the competing products to determine how well they meet customer
needs
(p. 34)-_____ are regional groups of firms that have a connection to a common
technology and may engage in buyer, supplier, and complementor relationships, as well
as research collaboration.
A. Technology transfer offices
B. Technology incubators
C. Strategic business units
D. Technology clusters
(p. 114)-Sam’s Sugar Corp., a leading cane sugar manufacturer, faces a threat of going
out of business when a rival company introduces a zero-calorie sweetener to replace the
high-calorie cane sugar. According to Porter’s five-force model, the two products are:
A. complements.
B. supplements.
C. intermediates.
D. substitutes.
(p. 269)-The vice president of Biomedics Inc. is trying to decide on the composition of
a new product development team. If she chooses members from multiple functional
areas in the firm, which of the following disadvantages is she most likely to experience?
A. Increase in instances of whistle-blowing
B. Increase in communication and coordination costs
C. Lesser cross-fertilization of ideas
D. Lesser instances of social loafing
(p. 295)-Which of the following is an advantage of making a new generation of
technology backward compatible?
A. Consumers will have to buy completely new complements.
B. Consumer switching costs may be lower because they anticipate using their existing
complements.
C. It directly increases the sales of complementary goods for its new generation of
technology.
D. It is typically less expensive to make a new generation of technology backward
compatible than to make it incompatible.
(p. 164)-Which of the following is a feature of joint venture that differentiates it from
other forms of alliances?
A. It usually does not result in the creation of a new business entity.
B. It increases asset commitment to products that will become rapidly obsolete.
C. It increases cycle time of a technology.
D. It involves a significant equity stake by the partners.
(p. 300)-When Green Water Publication publishes professional books, it donates or
sends a number of these new books to university libraries and professors. Which of the
following strategies is the firm using to accelerate distribution?
A. Bundling relationship
B. Product modularity
C. Sponsorship
D. Consignment arrangement
(p. 275)-Virtual teams are best defined as teams in which members:
A. may be situated at a great distance from each other and collaborate intensively via
advanced information technologies.
B. are drawn from multiple functional areas in the firm such as R&D, marketing,
manufacturing, and distribution, and they work at the company headquarters.
C. have the tendency to cooperate only with people whom they perceive as being
similar to themselves.
D. have the tendency of shirking their responsibilities and blaming one another for their
poor performance.
(p. 269)-The vice president of Sunflower Computers Inc. is trying to decide on the
composition of a new product development team. If he chooses members who are from
different backgrounds, he is most likely to reap the benefits of:
A. a broader knowledge base.
B. lesser cross-fertilization of ideas.
C. homophily.
D. social loafing.
(p. 191)-Jonathan has recently developed a new kind of camera. He has a working
prototype and plans to patent his invention. He needs to raise money for production, so
he wants articles about his camera to appear in various publications. Discuss the
problems that Jonathan might have to face if he wants to seek patents in other countries
in the future.
(p. 49)-Which of the following statements is true of the different types of innovations?
A. Process innovations are more visible than product innovations.
B. An innovation that was once considered radical may eventually be considered
incremental as the knowledge base underlying the innovation becomes more common.
C. An innovation is considered a component innovation if it significantly affects the
overall configuration of the system of which it is a component.
D. Architectural innovation is also called modular innovation.
(p. 169-170)-Alumplus Aluminum Company has come up with a new type of metal.
However, producing it would take up 75 percent of its manufacturing capacity and
would hinder its ability to continue producing its other products. Alumplus Aluminum
hires LM Group of Manufacturers to manufacture the new type of metal. This
collaborative arrangement is most likely to be classified as _____.
A. outsourcing
B. disintermediation
C. capability complementation
D. solo internal development
(p. 169)-Which of the following statements is true of outsourcing?
A. It involves significantly low amounts of transaction costs.
B. It is the most viable option for companies seeking to avoid becoming hollow.
C. It is the best way for a company to develop in-house manufacturing capabilities.
D. It carries a risk of proprietary technology being expropriated by the contract
manufacturer.
(p. 255)-In failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), potential problems in a system
are classified according to the time at which they occurred.
(p. 198)-Software whose code is made freely available to others for use, augmentation,
and resale is referred to as:
A. wholly proprietary systems.
B. patented software.
C. open source software.
D. copyright protected systems.
(p. 145)-In a survey, Sam was asked to rank, on a scale of 1 to 5, how important
different cell phone features were to him. The result was then used by the surveying
firm to assess the different attributes of the ranking. This survey would most accurately
be termed a _____ analysis.
A. figurative
B. translational
C. fictional
D. -conjoint
(p. 1)-Explain the impact of computer-aided design and flexible manufacturing
technologies on firms.
(p. 118)-What properties must resources have to be a potential source of sustainable
competitive advantage?
(p. 29-31)-In the context of government-funded research, explain the term incubator.
(p. 173)-How can firms evaluate potential partners?
(p. 295-296)-When Pearl Soft Shampoo was released by Clary Laboratories Inc. in the
late 1970s, it was an innovative hair care concept because it repaired split ends. Even
though the new product was an improvement on the previous ones, Clary Laboratories
entered the market with low prices and dealer incentives. Discuss the possible reasons
for this marketing strategy.
(p. 291-292)-BioSense Prosthetics Inc. is a market leader in prosthetics and earns very
high profits. The company has developed a computerized prosthetic arm and is trying to
decide when to introduce it to the market. What options does it have?
(p. 304-305)-Frosty Products Inc. is coming out with a new type of computerized
refrigerator with a flat panel display that accesses the Internet for recipes, nutrition
information, etc. Which group (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority,
or laggards) should the company target its promotion toward initially, and what type of
message and medium should it use?
(p. 192)-Albert has designed a license plate holder for automobiles that makes theft of
the license plate practically impossible. He has limited income and feels that he needs
to protect his patent in numerous countries so that he can sell his product there in the
future. Discuss how Albert can accomplish this.
(p. 245-247)-What are the risks of championing?
(p. 102)-Loren has invented a product that detects water leakages caused by broken
pipes and sends out an alarm similar to a smoke alarm. However, Loren has very little
personal money to invest in this new product. Therefore, he borrows enough money
from his friends to enter the market and begins to experience some success. The product
is not patentable because it is too similar to other existing technologies. Major
corporations have seen his success and have now entered the market with competing
products. What will be the probable destiny of Loren’s company?
(p. 3)-What are some of the negative impacts on society due to technological
innovation? How would you respond to critics of technological innovation who cite
these negative impacts?
(p. 168)-Why do licensing agreements impose restrictions on the licensee? How does
licensing enable a firm to opt for a steady stream of royalties rather than risk losing the
dominant position of its technology?
(p. 274)-Describe project charter and contract book. Explain their purposes. How are
they related to each other?
(p. 56-57)-How can the s-curves be used as a prescriptive tool? What would be the
limitations of this approach?
(p. 194)-What is a trademark? How can the rights to a trademark or service mark be
established?
(p. 57)-What are the factors that determine whether switching to a new technology will
benefit a firm?
