Discovery of scientific principles that pertain to natural laws can be patented.
In crafting an advertising message, firms must focus more on making the
advertisements entertaining and memorable rather than on providing a significant
quantity of informative content.
Discounted cash flow estimates of a project are only as accurate as the original
estimates of the profits from a technology.
A legally induced adherence to a dominant design is not possible.
The degree to which a firm is able to capture the rents from its innovation is known as
its monopolization potential.
The time invested by buyers to become familiar with a product’s operation cannot be
considered as a switching cost.
Homogeneous teams should possess more information, on average, than heterogeneous
groups.
Inventors tendency toward introversion cause them to be good at manipulating
concepts.
An organization’s overall creativity level is a simple aggregate of the creativity of the
individuals it employs.
Firms can use strategic alliances to exploit their own capabilities by leveraging them in
another firm’s development efforts.
Pizza Stop has been expanding globally, due to which the cumulative output of
employees has been increasing. In the context of learning effect, Pizza Stop will
typically experience a(n):
a. decrease in input costs.
b. increase in waste rates.
c. increase in direct labor hours required to produce a unit of pizza.
d. decrease in the performance levels of the employees.
As a result of the rapid pace of innovation:
a. product life cycles have become short.
b. product development cycles have become long.
c. market segmentation has reduced.
d. product obsolescence has slowed down.
Preadvertised products that are not actually on the market yet and may not even exist
are referred to as _____.
a. substitute products
b. value-added products
c. consignments
d. vaporware
John was serving in an autonomous team and was asked to sign a document honoring
the project plan and pledging to work towards the goals specified. This document,
which defined in detail the basic plan to achieve the goals of the project, is called a:
a. vision statement.
b. code of ethics.
c. mission statement.
d. contract book.
At Tech Edge Inc., a special team is set up for making a robot capable of assisting blind
people in daily activities. The members of the team are taken from various areas of the
firm including R&D, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution. The new team is put
under the charge of a senior manager. This team is an example of a:
a. cross-functional team.
b. functional team.
c. homogenous team.
d. self-directed work team.
Roboturbo has decided to make its technology of manufacturing robots open so that
external companies can contribute to the development of the technology. It is most
likely that as a result of this decision:
a. a much larger pool of talent and resources will try to improve the technology.
b. a greater degree of coordination of research efforts for this technology will develop.
c. the direction of the technology development will be more unified.
d. Roboturbo will be able to control the entry and timing of technology enhancements.
What is the advantage of collaborating at the development stage of a technology?
a. To increase asset commitment
b. To ensure cooperation in the commercialization stage
c. To increase a product’s cycle time
d. To facilitate the emergence of multiple competing standards for a product
The internal rate of return of a project is the discount rate that:
a. adds the cash outflow to the current period.
b. reduces the cash outflow from the current period.
c. maximizes the net present value of the investment.
d. makes the net present value of the investment zero.
With respect to research and development, which of the following can be considered the
exercise price?
a. The cost of the R&D program
b. The cost of future investment required to capitalize on the R&D program
c. The returns to the R&D investment
d. The returns to the R&D investment minus the cost of the R&D program
When movie star Rachel’s troubled marriage came to the limelight, the sales of her line
of clothes and perfumes escalated. This is an example of:
a. bundling relationships.
b. publicity.
c. cannibalization.
d. personal selling.
As firms develop complementary technologies to improve the productivity or ease of
utilization of the core technology, the technology will:
a. become more attractive to other firms.
b. lose its credibility in the market.
c. lose its dominant design position in the industry.
d. experience a decrease in its installed base.
Technological innovations increase:
a. the gross domestic product of an economy.
b. product life cycles.
c. the time required for product development and introduction.
d. the production costs of multiple product variations.
June is the member of a new product development team. Her supervisor asked her about
her experience in the team and she replied, “Our team seems to be suffering from
homophily.” This means that:
a. team members are not exerting the expected amount of effort.
b. team members spend all their time chatting about their personal issues.
c. team members are only interested in talking to people who are senior to them.
d. team members only like other people whom they perceive as being similar to
themselves.
The demand-pull approach to research and development refers to:
a. research and development that focuses on developing products that are expected to
increase demand in a particular market segment.
b. research and development that begins by examining the outcomes of the firm’s basic
research and the potential commercial applications that may be constructed from those
outcomes.
c. research and development that focuses on developing products that are expected to
decrease the demand for their substitute products.
d. research and development that originates as a response to the specific problems or
suggestions of customers.
Which of the following types of international virtual teams conducts all R&D through
decentralized divisions, but each division coordinates with one person?
a. Decentralized self-coordination
b. System integrator as coordinator
c. Core team as system architect
d. Centralized venture team
Which of the following is a disadvantage associated with autonomous teams?
a. The project manager of an autonomous team does not have any control over
resources contributed from different functional departments.
b. The autonomous team structure does not accommodate cross-functional integration.
c. It is hard for autonomous teams to fold back into the parent organization when a
project is completed.
d. Autonomous teams do not have a project manager because of which they face a lot of
coordination problems.
Smart Space Inc. makes shoe racks that are portable and can also be dismantled. After
purchasing the shoe rack, customers can visit the company’s Web site to learn how to
fix it, where to place it, and how to dismantle it when not required. According to the
“Buyer Utility Map,” Smart Space Inc. is aiming to provide simplicity and convenience
in the _____ stage of buyer experience.
a. disposal
b. use
c. supplements
d. delivery
_____ specifies a minimum level of copyright protection for all member countries, and
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