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29.
If a resource is rare or unique to a particular firm, then
30.
The "Gold Crisps" potato wafers manufactured by True Foods Inc. have been the highest
selling wafers in the market. Though the market for wafers is flooded with competitors,
True Foods Inc. has been able to maintain its market position for a long time. This is
mainly attributed to the unique taste of the wafers that comes from the unique natural
flavoring used by the company. This competency of True Foods Inc. will be considered as
a(n) _____ resource in the VRIO framework.
31.
Next Door Cellular is a leading mobile network operator. Since most of the resources used
by Next Door Cellular are easily available, the company's brand name is the only resource
that distinguishes it from the other operators. No other competitor in the industry has a
strong brand name like that of Next Door Cellular. This unique asset that has helped the
company gain a competitive advantage will be considered as a(n) _____ resource in the
VRIO framework.
32.
EasyOpen Inc. gained a patent for an electronic corkscrew. Soon the company made a
huge profit on this device. Recently, however, other firms have produced electronic
corkscrews. As a result, EasyOpen lost its competitive advantage. Which of the following
would
most
likely be the reason for this development?
33.
In knowledge-intensive industries, the marginal costs after initial invention are
34.
The "diagonal assembly system" was a production system pioneered by the automobile
company Gogo. Recently, Gogo was able to sue a competitor and won the suit, thereby
receiving $100 million in damages. Which of the following would
most
likely enable Gogo
to win such a lawsuit?
35.
With regard to the VRIO framework, Crocs Shoes was unable to sustain its competitive
advantage primarily because its products were
36.
A firm's resource is most likely to be an internal strength and a core competency when the
resource is
37.
If Finolo and Ethver, companies that manufacture televisions, develop the same customer
knowledge base and create products that provide the same customer appeal as Invoro, a
market leader in consumer electronics, then
38.
Riya has recently started a restaurant in a commercial area where there are many other
established restaurants and popular fast-food chains. Riya owns the plot on which her
restaurant is located and this makes her cost of operations lower than the competitors.
This factor allows her to offer her products at a competitive price. Riya has also invested a
huge amount on the interiors of the restaurant and in equipping the kitchen with the latest
appliances used by her competitors. In this scenario, which of the following is the most
valuable resource for Riya's business?
39.
Otion Inc. is a relatively new firm in the consumer electronics industry. The company's
primary objective is to become the market leader in less than 5 years, for which it has to
gain and sustain a competitive advantage. In the context of the VRIO framework, which of
the following resources should Otion Inc. primarily focus on to achieve its objective?
40.
True Moto Corp. (TMC) is a leading automobile company. The company has been able to
sustain its competitive advantage primarily due to its high-quality and efficient electric
motors. Most of its competitors have failed to develop similar electric motors at a
reasonable price. Which of the following resource attributes listed in the VRIO framework
has helped TMC sustain its competitive advantage?
41.
During market testing, Sensation Cosmetics (SC) realized that the cosmetics industry was
dominated with multiple, well-established brands. These brands mostly sold their products
in exclusive outlets and departmental stores. A new entrant like SC would require a
different business model to be successful. Thus, SC started selling its products through
direct marketing. In this scenario, Sensation Cosmetics accomplished substitution
primarily through
42.
Creating resources that meet the VRIO criteria is strategically important to a firm because
it
43.
Pulse Mobiles Inc. is a cell phone manufacturing company. Its latest range of smartphones
bears a straight resemblance to the Y-series range of smartphones from Talkie Gen Inc.,
in terms of its shape and look-and-feel. Which of the following strategies has Pulse
Mobiles Inc. used to replicate the valuable and rare resource of Talkie Gen Inc.?
44.
Even though many valuable, rare, and inimitable resources were generated at Xerox's Palo
Alto Research Center (PARC), the management at Xerox's headquarters failed to gain a
competitive advantage by exploiting the breakthroughs in computing software and
hardware. What is the most likely implication of this example?
45.
_____ are barriers to imitation that prevent rivals from competing away the advantage a
firm may enjoy.
46.
The share price of Groupon, a daily-deal website, fell by 90 percent just a year after its
successful initial public offering. The firm was not able to sustain its competitive
advantage because of the emergence of other daily-deal sites that were able to better
serve the needs of local markets and specific population groups. Which of the following is
the most accurate inference from this example?
47.
Ambrosia Inc., a leading chocolate producer, anticipated that the prices of cocoa beans
would double in less than three years. This would disrupt the availability of cocoa in the
industry. Thus, Ambrosia Inc. decided to purchase cocoa plantations in Ghana. As
predicted, the prices of cocoa increased twofold. Because of the company-owned cocoa
plantations, Ambrosia Inc. was able to sustain its competitive advantage in turbulent
times. Which of the following isolating mechanisms does this scenario best illustrate?
48.
_____ describes a process in which the options one faces in a current situation are limited
by decisions made in the past.
49.
Path dependence rests on the notion that
50.
Mova Electronics, a leading pager manufacturer, recently declared itself bankrupt. This
was attributed to a decision the company made in the past. While most of Mova's
competitors were shifting their research focus toward cell phones, Mova invested most of
its retained earnings on improvising its pagers. Once the pager market drastically declined,
Mova Electronics was unable to capitalize on the new technology. Which of the following
does this scenario best illustrate?
51.
VRD Systems Inc. took many decades to build its core competencies, and these
competencies were based primarily on the decisions made by the company's top
management in the past. This process is called
52.
Which of the following is
not
a condition that can help a firm sustain its competitive
advantage?
53.
A firm's resources and capabilities are costly to imitate. This is because rival companies
do not clearly understand the relationship between the resources and capabilities
controlled by the firm. In this case, the firm's competitive advantage is protected against
imitation by
54.
When the laptop market overtook the desktop market, Blue Tech Inc., a leader in desktop
technology, was left at a competitive disadvantage. Later, Blue Tech Inc.'s management
channeled all of the company's efforts and revenue to develop an efficient laptop from
scratch in less than a year. However, the company failed because most of its competitors
had already been in the laptop market for five years. Blue Tech Inc.'s models were inferior
to the ones in the market. In this scenario, Blue Tech Inc.'s failure can be best attributed
to
55.
Due to path dependence
