According to Anderson and Tushman, in the era of ferment, firms focus on efficiency
and market penetration.
Formulating a technological innovation strategy first requires an accurate appraisal of
where the firm currently is.
A firm intending to refine an earlier entrant’s technology should avoid fast-cycle
development processes.
In a market characterized by network externalities, the benefit from using a good
decreases with an increase in the number of other users of the same good.
In industries that have increasing returns to adoption, allowing competitors to get a
head start in building an installed base is a safe strategy.
While the value of a stock is independent of the call holder’s behavior, the value of an
R&D investment is not independent of the investor’s behavior.
Increasing returns to adoption means that, the more a technology is adopted, the more
valuable it becomes.
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is faster and more flexible than traditional
methods of manufacturing.
Incubators are regional districts, typically set up by government, to foster R&D
collaboration between government, universities, and private firms.
The contract book must be developed before a project charter can be written.
Liam, an employee at Centaurs Inc., is a 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, limited bureaucracy, and it also has
its own unique culture. Liam’s team can be referred to as:
a. a mechanistic team.
b. skunk works.
c. an inorganic group.
d. a quality circle.
The stage after the investigation and conceptualization of the project is:
a. verifying and validating the proposed new project and its marketing.
b. building a business case that includes a defined product.
c. the actual design and development of the product
d. defining the test plans to be utilized in the next stage.
Felix has designed a pair of sunglasses that can be folded and put into a case that easily
fits into a shirt or pant pocket. Felix wants to know if he can receive a patent on this
invention. Which of the following responses is most accurate under U.S. patent law?
a. He can receive a patent as the invention is only eligible for a copyright protection.
b. He cannot receive a patent since he is merely making the sunglasses more portable.
c. He cannot receive a patent as the invention is not a useful.
d. He can receive a patent as the invention is a tangible product.
In failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), potential problems in a system are
classified according to the time at which they occurred.
Prahalad and Hamel use the term _____ to refer to a harmonized combination of
multiple resources and skills that distinguish a firm in the marketplace.
a. primary activities
b. tacit resources
c. socially complex resources
d. core competencies
If a firm has a longer new product development process, it means that the firm will:
a. have a better chance to introduce a refined version of a competitor’s technology.
b. face a high possibility of losing to an early entrant.
c. have an increased ability to respond to changes in customer requirements.
d. overburden its development team by following a parallel development process.
Singing Cards has decided to make the technology behind the making of musical cards
open. Which of the following is likely to be one of the advantages associated with this
decision?
a. The technology will accrue more rapid adoptions.
b. The company will be able to monopolize the market.
c. The production of complementary goods will slow down and eventually cease.
d. The technology’s installed base will accumulate much more slowly.
Which of the following can be protected by a copyright?
a. Familiar symbols
b. Names of people
c. An improvisational speech that has not been recorded
d. A novel
Erison Group, an advertising company, wants to hire an individual for the post of
creative head. Which of the following is the characteristic that the company has to look
for while recruiting for that particular post?
a. An individual who completely adheres to the existing logic and paradigms and has
extensive knowledge of the field
b. An individual who has low tolerance for ambiguity, and avoids taking risks
c. An individual who has a moderate degree of knowledge of the field, but is
intrinsically motivated
d. An individual who prefers to look at problems in conventional ways
A variety of rice created by Biocrop Inc., through recombinant DNA technology, was
found to be rich in both carbohydrates and proteins. After the success of this rice
variety, the particular technology was implemented by less-developed countries to
increase the nutrient level of fruits, pulses, and greens in order to feed their
malnourished children. This is an example of _____.
a. technological cluster
b. technological spillover
c. technological convergence
d. technological determinism
Neon Inc. is an electronics manufacturing company. It has adopted a dominant design
for its television audio speakers. Which of the following is the firm most likely to
experience, as a result of this decision?
a. Neon Inc. will have to invest heavily in R&D to come up with new designs for the
audio speakers.
b. Neon Inc. will face increasing returns to adoption.
c. Neon Inc. will have reduced opportunities to develop complementary assets.
d. The design adopted by Neon Inc. will be unpopular among most of the other
manufacturers.
Which of the following is true of a collective research organization?
a. It does not help firms to leverage their competencies.
b. It is a short-term commitment.
c. It is a great way to gain immediate returns.
d. It allows a firm to share the cost and risk of basic research.
Which of the following is a defining characteristic of autonomous teams?
a. Autonomous teams are not held accountable for the success of a project.
b. Autonomous teams do not have a project manager and so there is always a
coordination problem.
c. The degree of cross-functional integration is low in the case of autonomous teams.
d. Autonomous teams often do not conform to the operating procedures of the rest of
the organization.
Jupiter Tech Inc. conducted a failure modes and effects analysis of a digital
identification system that it had developed. The scores are as follows:
Severity = 4
Likelihood of occurrence = 2
Inability of controls to detect it = 3
What is the risk priority number of the digital identification system?
a. 24
b. 6
c. 2.67
d. 9
A(n) _____ of a product is an early working prototype of a product released to users for
testing and feedback.
a. beta version
b. substitute
c. spiral model
d. alpha model
Which of the following is true of dominant design?
a. It is not possible to have legally induced adherence to a dominant design.
b. When a firm’s technology is locked in as the dominant design of a market, it earns
low rewards.
c. A firm that supports a technology that is chosen as the dominant design is in a poor
position to shape the evolution of the industry.
d. A firm may find itself locked out of the market if it is unable to adopt the dominant
technology.
Which of the following is an example of user innovation?
a. Samuel has invented a detachable bicycle in order to make profits by selling it to a
reputed bicycle manufacturing firm.
b. Sandra, an engineer, has developed a device that helps track the location of her
teenage daughter’s car.
c. Jessica, an ace designer for a clothing brand, has been asked to work on a dyeing
technique that changes fabric color according to the room temperature.
d. Ivan, a scientist at a reputed pharmaceutical company, has developed an
anti-inflammatory drug for the company to commercialize.
When Fun Bun, an international fast food chain, first moved into China, it had to teach
farmers how to grow a particular variety of potatoes and bakers had to be taught to
make hamburger buns. This is an example of:
a. corporate social responsibility.
b. an undeveloped supply channel.
c. incumbent inertia.
d. monopoly rents.
Oxygenic 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 an example of a
_____ strategy.
a. center-for-global
b. local-for-local
c. locally leveraged
d. globally linked
When computers were first commercialized, Todd found it to be very confusing. He
heard conflicting claims about which hardware to buy and about the various software
systems available. He finally purchased something expensive, but found it to be
unreliable. Very soon, Todd realized that companies had changed the models for the
hardware and software they sold. This illustrates _____ phase of the technology
evolution model described by Utterback and Abernathy.
a. fluid
b. dominant design
c. specific
d. incremental
According to the stage-gate process developed by Robert G. Cooper, _____ are the
results of the previous stage and are the inputs for the gate review.
a. criteria
b. outputs
c. deliverables
d. beta versions