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Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
1. Valuable but common resources and capabilities will lead to competitive parity but not an advantage.
a.
True
b.
False
2. The employees at GinesCorp. are tangible assets.
a.
True
b.
False
3. Ambidexterity is known as the ability to use one’s two hands equally well, but in the management literature it describes
capabilities to simultaneously deal with paradoxes.
a.
True
b.
False
4. The reputation that a firm gets based on positive press is an example of a tangible asset.
a.
True
b.
False
5. A value chain analysis tells us how a bundle of resources and capabilities come together to add value.
a.
True
b.
False
6. Successful firms such as Apple do not know exactly what contributes to its success, and different managers of the same
firm may have a different list, usually suggesting that it is many things in combination.
a.
True
b.
False
7. Intangible assets can be broadly organized in four categories-financial, physical, technological, and organizational
resources and capabilities.
a.
True
b.
False
8. Only value-adding resources can lead to competitive advantage, whereas non-value-adding capabilities may lead to
competitive disadvantage.
a.
True
b.
False
9. ShawnGraphy is a photography studio. The photography crew, makeup artists, and managers on the business side are
the studio’s tangible assets.
a.
True
b.
False
10. The institution-based view of global business deals with the external opportunities and threats, whereas the resource-
based view concentrates on a firm’s internal strengths and weaknesses.
a.
True
b.
False
Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
11. Offshoring, also known as international outsourcing, has proven to be a long term benefit to Western firms and
economies.
a.
True
b.
False
12. The debate on offshoring is a relevant part of the larger debate on globalization and directly affects your future as a
manager, a consumer, and a citizen.
a.
True
b.
False
13. The driving force behind the recent outsourcing of service activities such as IT, HR, and logistics is that many firms,
which used to view certain activities as a very special part of their industries, now believe that these activities have
relatively generic attributes that can be shared across industries.
a.
True
b.
False
14. Valuable, rare, and hard-to-imitate resources determine the success and failure of firms around the globe.
a.
True
b.
False
15. SlimJims Inc. is an organization that possess strong capabilities in upstream activities, such as design, and downstream
activities, such as marketing. It has given manufacturing contracts to suppliers in low-cost countries. This is an example of
outsourcing.
a.
True
b.
False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
16. Lavalle is a movie studio in New Jersey. Its components include photography crews, musicians, singers, makeup
artists, animation specialists, and managers on the business side. These components are called _____.
a.
current assets
b.
material assets
c.
tangible assets
d.
complementary assets
17. In the context of the VRIO framework, the question of _____ is a reminder of the cliché: If everyone has it, an
individual cannot make money from it.
a.
organization
b.
imitation
c.
rarity
d.
value
18. A "LEGO" view of a firm:
a.
fails to realize that social capital associated with complex relationships and knowledge permeating many firms
can be a source of competitive advantage.
b.
states that in order to attain competitive advantage, market-based and nonmarket- based (political) capabilities
need to complement each other
c.
is another way of saying "casual ambiguity"
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Class:
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chapter 4
d.
is a term used to describe a firm’s ambidexterity
19. _____ is moving formerly offshored activities back to the home country of the focal firm.
a.
Domestic in-house activity
b.
Foreign direct investment
c.
Onshoring
d.
Reshoring
20. _____ are the tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.
a.
Benchmarks
b.
Commodities
c.
Resources
d.
Value chains
21. Which of the following statements is true of benchmarking?
a.
It focuses on a VRIO framework.
b.
It deals with setting up subsidiaries to perform in-house work in foreign locations.
c.
It is a process in SWOT analysis.
d.
It is the process of turning over an activity to an outside supplier.
22. JB and Sons is a firm that has valuable, rare, and hard-to-imitate capabilities that are organizationally embedded and
exploited. JB and Sons can expect _____ firm performance.
a.
below average
b.
average
c.
above average
d.
persistently above average
23. _____ is a process of market competition through which unique products that command high prices and high margins
gradually lose their ability to do so, thus becoming commodities.
a.
Commodification
b.
Singularization
c.
Commoditization
d.
Redistribution
24. Which of the following statements is true of intangible resources?
a.
They include human, innovation, and reputational resources.
b.
They include technological and organizational resources and capabilities.
c.
They are organized as financial and physical resources.
d.
They are observable and quantifiable.
25. A small Austrian fishery firm wanted to expand into a new region of the country, but was in competition with a
bigger, more established firm. The smaller firm, however, was successful in developing and maintaining key political
relationships and were ultimately granted the necessary government permits. Which of the following was key to the
smaller firm’s success?
a.
causal ambiguity
b.
commoditization
Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
c.
social complexity
d.
ambidexterity
26. A _____ is a series of activities used in the production of goods and services that make a product or service more
valuable.
a.
rarity sequence
b.
SWOT analysis
c.
value framework
d.
value chain
27. Which of the following statements is true of the resource-based view of global business?
a.
It deals with the external opportunities and threats.
b.
It concentrates on a firm’s internal strengths and weaknesses.
c.
It consists of only primary activities and support activities.
d.
It refers to the difficulty of identifying the causal determinants of firm performance.
28. Critics of ______ make the political argument that many large firms in developed economies are unethical and are
interested only in the cheapest and most exploitable labor. Not only is work commoditized, but people are also degraded
as tradable commodities that can be jettisoned.
a.
offshoring
b.
environmental law
c.
reshoring
d.
benchmarking
29. ______ enables firms to anticipate future needs and move early to identify, develop, and leverage resources and
capabilities for future competition.
a.
Strategic foresight
b.
Social complexity
c.
Valuable, rare, and hard-to-imitate resources
d.
Easily imitable capabilities
30. The employees at Leo Corp. are _____ assets. They help the firm gain a competitive advantage.
a.
complementary
b.
tangible
c.
intangible
d.
material
31. If managers find that their firm’s particular activity is unsatisfactory, which of the following is a remedy for the
situation?
a.
Long Range Planning
b.
Captive sourcing
c.
Using a franchise model
d.
Using a decision model
32. Managers attempt, via the _____, to distinguish resources and capabilities that are valuable, rare, hard-to-imitate, and
organizationally embedded from those that do not share these attributes.
Name:
Class:
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chapter 4
a.
statistical analysis
b.
cause and effect analysis
c.
VRIO framework
d.
SWOT analysis
33. Which of the following assets is difficult to imitate?
a.
Current assets
b.
Intangible assets
c.
Tangible assets
d.
Material assets
34. A leading tool in global business is SWOT analysis. It determines a firm’s:
a.
strengths, weaknesses, organizational skills, and teams.
b.
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
c.
savings, working capital, objectives, and teams.
d.
strategies, working capital, outcomes, and threats.
35. A _____ engages managers to ascertain a firm’s strengths and weaknesses on an activity-by-activity basis, relative to
rivals.
a.
value chain analysis
b.
cause and effect analysis
c.
VRIO framework
d.
franchise model
36. _____ helps managers make decisions on what capabilities to focus on in-house and what to outsource.
a.
Value chain analysis
b.
Cause and effect analysis
c.
Strategic management
d.
System dynamics
37. Which of the following statements is true of a VRIO framework?
a.
It focuses on visual analysis, range, impact, and objective of resources and capabilities.
b.
It focuses on value, rarity, imitability, and organizational aspects of resources and capabilities.
c.
It involves the difficulty of identifying the actual cause of a firm’s successful performance.
d.
It involves a series of activities used in the production of goods and services that make a product.
38. Which of the following best defines capabilities?
a.
They are the tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.
b.
They are the difficulties that arise when trying to outsource work to a domestic firm.
c.
They refer to the socially complex ways of organizing typical of many firms.
d.
They refer to the difficulty of identifying the causal determinants of successful firm performance.
39. Which of the following is an implication for action based on the resource-based view of management?
a.
Managers do not need to build up resources and capabilities.
b.
Relentless imitation is likely to be a successful strategy.
Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
c.
Benchmarking is an important and successful strategy which will lead to competitive advantage.
d.
Students need to make themselves into "untouchables" whose jobs cannot be easily outsourced.
40. Which of the following statements is true of tangible resources?
a.
They include reputational resources and capabilities.
b.
They include human, innovation, and reputational resources and capabilities.
c.
They are hard to observe and impossible to quantify.
d.
They are organized as financial, physical, technological, and organizational resources.
41. Which of the following statements is true of captive sourcing?
a.
It means setting up subsidiaries to perform in-house work in foreign locations.
b.
It means moving offshored activities back to the home country.
c.
It means outsourcing to an international firm.
d.
It means outsourcing to a domestic firm.
42. According to the resource-based view of management, an implication for action is that managers need to build firm
strengths based on the _____.
a.
VRIO framework
b.
SWOT analysis
c.
decision model
d.
system dynamics
43. _____ refers to the socially elaborate ways of organizing typical of many firms.
a.
Social constructionism
b.
Structuralism
c.
Interactionism
d.
Social complexity
44. Which of the following statements is true of non-value adding capabilities?
a.
They identify the causal determinants of successful firm performance.
b.
They can lead to competitive disadvantage.
c.
They give a firm a sustained competitive advantage even if it is not properly organized.
d.
They consist of primary activities and support activities.
45. Which of the following terms is also known as foreign direct investment?
a.
Reshoring
b.
Offshoring
c.
Onshoring
d.
Captive sourcing
46. According to the resource-based view of management, an implication for action is that _____ though important, is not
likely to be a successful strategy.
a.
benchmarking
b.
commoditization
c.
reshoring
d.
ambidexterity
Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
47. Valuable and rare resources and capabilities can be a source of competitive advantage:
a.
only if competitors have a difficult time imitating them.
b.
only if value-adding resources become obsolete.
c.
only if intangible capabilities can be imitated.
d.
only if tangible resources can be reproduced.
48. Years & Years Group is a luxury fashion house. It has no shortage of competitors, but it has valuable, rare, and hard-
to-imitate resources and capabilities. This will lead to _____.
a.
social complexity
b.
competitive advantage
c.
competitive disadvantage
d.
social simplicity
49. Which of the following assets is easy to imitate?
a.
Current assets
b.
Intangible assets
c.
Tangible assets
d.
Complementary assets
50. Which of the following statements is true of onshoring?
a.
It means moving offshored activities back to the home country.
b.
It means setting up subsidiaries abroad.
c.
It means outsourcing to an international firm.
d.
It means outsourcing to a domestic firm.
51. Explain the question of imitability.
52. Define resources and describe tangible and intangible resource.
53. If a firm is a bundle of resources and capabilities, how do the resources and capabilities come together to add value?
54. What is outsourcing? Provide an example.
55. Define ambidexterity and social complexity.
Name:
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chapter 4
Answer Key
Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
Name:
Class:
Date:
chapter 4
