Strategic-positioning decisions should be supported by only a select few tactical
decisions made to implement and reinforce the firm’s strategy.
Early stages of the industry life cycle encourage significant global expansion.
Industrial organization (I/O) economics is a discipline that helps managers analyze an
industry.
All of the available entry vehicles have comparable degrees of risk and control.
Product design can sometimes be altered to lower a firm’s production costs.
Within the entrepreneurial firm, there is usually a significant overlap between the
people element and the structure element.
The new-venture process in an existing firm represents the beginning of a new
organization.
Transferring best practices and core competencies can create value.
The balanced scorecard approach is weakened when compensation is tied to financial
and nonfinancial measures.
It is important for managers to draw industry boundaries in a way that enables them to
understand the dynamics of competition.
The recent increase in new-venture public offerings can be attributed to the willingness
of firms to allow new ventures to function independently when they’re ________.
A) more distinctive from than complimentary to the core business
B) more profitable than their competitors
C) more complimentary to than distinctive from the core business
D) less profitable than their competitors
What question must managers ask concerning the relationship between staging and
international strategy?
A)Which geographic areas will we enter?
B)How does our international strategy lower our costs?
C)When will we go international?
D)Which international market-entry strategies will we use?
Leader background differences include ________.
A)gender
B)network ties
C)religion
D)work experience
The organizational structure that is pyramid-shaped is the ________ structure.
A) franchise
B) matrix
C) network
D) partnership
Pacific Cycle markets a product for virtually every market segment, offers a range of
quality in its product mix, and keeps costs down by ________.
A)eliminating middle management in the firm
B)using American labor from a low-wage state
C)outsourcing all of its production to Asia
D)taking orders for sample merchandise
Types of revolutionary strategies that can introduce major disruption into an industry
include all except ________.
A)reconceiving a product or service
B)reconfiguring the value chain
C)reconsidering the market
D)rescaling the industry
Synergy may derive from all of the following sources except ________.
A)increased threat from suppliers
B)superior financial strength
C)potential cost savings
D)leveraging of capabilities
With the exception of Wal-Mart and GE, the mix of top global firms is clearly clustered
among all but which of the following industries?
A)clothing and entertainment
B)oil and gas
C)banking and insurance
D)automotive
All of the following are challenges faced by managers when establishing operations in a
new country except ________.
A)the logistics of installing facilities
B)establishing external business networks
C)staffing
D)the logistics of income distribution
All of the following are production costs except ________.
A)fixed costs
B)variable costs
C)average costs
D)scale costs
All of the following are examples of a leader’s interpersonal roles except ________.
A)liaison
B)monitor
C)leader
D)figurehead
When a threat is identified in an early stage, the most appropriate competitor-response
strategy is ________.
A)containment
B)absorption
C)shaping
D)neutralization
If uncertainty or a lack of information makes someone uncomfortable, he or she is
probably ________.
A)tolerant of ambiguity
B)complex
C)intolerant of ambiguity
D)intolerant of complexity
Which of the following does not cause a misalignment between the levers and the
strategy?
A) management has made appropriate choices about which levers to employ
B) management is employing too simple a repertoire of levers
C) management is employing too complex a repertoire of levers
D) there are changes in the competitive environment
Two frameworks that managers find useful in gaining an understanding of their
competitors are competitor analysis and ________.
A)PESTEL analysis
B)stakeholder analysis
C)I/O analysis
D)strategic-group analysis
According to the internal perspective, the major determinant of competitive advantage
is ________.
A.industry structure and positioning of the firm
B.product differentiation
C.the firm’s resources and capabilities
D.the practice of adopting strategies to make an industry more attractive
Alliances give firms access to things they may lack, which can include all except which
of the following?
A)increased knowledge
B)needed resources
C)additional capabilities
D)takeover rights
Imperfect competition is characterized by few competitors, heterogeneous products, and
________.
A)numerous suppliers
B)limited buyers
C)perfect information
D)no entry barriers
Which of the following is not a role of strategic leadership in the implementation
process?
A) making lever decisions
B) resource allocation decisions
C) reward decisions
D) communicating with stakeholders
Alliances are viewed as effective vehicles for creating all of the following except
________.
A)new capabilities
B)new products
C)new markets
D)new sub-alliances
Legal factors must be considered when performing an analysis of a firm’s external
environment. Common factors include the ease with which regulations can change, the
cost of regulatory compliance, and ________.
A)whether the firm’s practices violate existing codes
B)the cost of upgrades to the firm’s equipment
C)the cost of building permits for new factories and buildings
D)the height restrictions on buildings in the area
In the model of industry analysis, the force that may increase profits by increasing
demand for an industry’s products is ________.
A)complementors
B)threats of substitutes
C)supplier power
D)buyer power
SNOCAP’s competitive advantage is based on which of the following elements?
A) offering the most popular music and videos
B) fast Internet download speed and large database
C) rights protection and commerce
D) entrepreneurship and payment options
Investors can make reasonable estimates of a business unit’s potential independent value
by using ________ ratios.
A)revenue to cost
B)price to earnings
C)human resource costs to price
D)price to cost
________ occurs when a partner intentionally or unintentionally falsifies information
concerning the quantity or quality of a resource or capability.
A)Misappropriation
B)Misrepresentation
C)Misapprehension
D)Misunderstanding
How can firms diversify in dynamic contexts?
What are some possible reasons for the high failure rate of alliances?
What are table stakes?
Discuss the roles and actions of the board of directors.
Where can synergies in business come from?
What is the value curve is and why is it important?
Discuss the growth stage of the industry life cycle, and its impact on strategy.