The environmental forces that influence organizational buying behavior include:
a. economic factors.
b. political and legal factors.
c. technological factors.
d. all of the above.
e. (a) and (b) only.
The evaluative criteria that engineers apply to a purchasing decision may be quite
different from those used by purchasing managers because engineers:
a. are exposed to different journals or publications.
b. possess different professional goals and values.
c. have a different educational background.
d. attend different conferences.
e. all of the above.
Quantitative forecasting includes the primary methodology called:
a. time series.
b. causal.
c. regression.
d. all of the above.
e. (a) and (c) only.
Supply chains should manage _____ in an integrated manner across organizational
borders.
a. relationships
b. information
c. material flow
d. all of the above.
e. (b) and (c) only.
For the medical x-ray market, Du Pont initiated a formal positioning study among
hospital administrators, radiology department administrators, and technical managers in
order to identify the firm’s relative standing and the specific needs (criteria) for each
level of buying influence within each potential segment. This provides an illustration of
segmentation on the basis of:
a. the importance of purchase.
b. attitude toward vendors.
c. value-in-use.
d. key criteria.
e. decision-specific conflict.
The successful implementation of value-based strategies requires close coordination
between the _____ and _____ units in the firm.
a. product
b. sales
c. service
d. all of the above.
e. (b) and (c) only
In the technology adoption life cycle, the stage that represents a period of aftermarket
development where supply exceeds demand is called:
a. the chasm.
b. the tornado.
c. the bowling alley.
d. the main street.
e. the end of life.
In the technology adoption life cycle, the gap between visionaries and pragmatists
where sales often drop significantly is called:
a. the bowling alley.
b. main street.
c. the chasm.
d. the end of life.
e. the early market.
Those buying decisions that involve a large set of choice alternatives and pose little
uncertainty, and involve buyers actively searching for information, applying
sophisticated analysis techniques, and careful consideration of long-term needs are
called:
a. simple modified rebuy.
b. complex modified rebuy.
c. casual purchases.
d. routine low priority purchases.
e. specialty purchases.
_____ encompasses the procedures, policies, and processes a firm uses to resolve
customer service problems promptly and efficiently.
a. A value network
b. Service recovery
c. Service quality
d. Service loyalty
e. Service offering
When a business marketer decides to target only those firms with centralized buying
centers, what macrolevel segmentation variable is being used?
a. Geographical location.
b. Usage rate.
c. Structure of procurement.
d. End market served.
When organizational buyers modify a salesperson’s message to make it more consistent
with their predispositions toward the company, this provides an illustration of:
a. selective exposure.
b. selective attention.
c. selective perception.
d. selective retention.
e. selective memory.
In the hierarchy of strategies, _____ strategy centers on how a firm will compete in a
given industry and will position itself against its competitors.
a. functional
b. corporate
c. business-level
d. product
e. divisional
Multinational firms have traditionally managed operations outside their home country
with an approach that permits individual subsidiaries to compete independently in
different country-markets. Here each subsidiary resembles a strategic business unit that
is expected to contribute earnings and growth to the organization. This describes:
a. a multidomestic strategy.
b. a differentiated strategy.
c. a global strategy.
d. an export-based strategy.
e. a coordinated strategy.
Using the continuum of working relationships, the industry bandwidth refers to:
a. the range of relationship strategies (from transactional to collaborative) that are
pursued by competing firms.
b. the number of competitors in the particular industry.
c. always-a-share customers.
d. the lost-for-good customer.
e. the number of organizations in a straight rebuy situation.
_____ are the set of skills, systems, and technologies a company uses to create uniquely
high value for customers.
a. Strategic assets
b. Core competencies
c. Core processes
d. Core strategies
e. Customer interfaces
Buying firms prefer a transactional relationship when:
a. the complexity of the purchase is high.
b. there is a competitive supply market featuring many alternatives.
c. the supply market is stable.
d. all of the above
e. (b) and (c) only
A skimming strategy is appropriate when:
a. there is high price elasticity of demand.
b. strong threat of imminent competition.
c. the firm has a distinctly new product in a monopoly period.
d. All of the above.
e. Only (b) and (c).
In pursuing international entry options, joint ventures often constitute a feasible option
because:
a. they provide the only path of entry into many foreign markets.
b. they may provide for better relationships with local organizations (for example, local
authorities) and with customers.
c. they may open up market opportunities that neither party to the venture could pursue
alone.
d. all of the above
e. (a) and (b) only
Concerning segmentation criteria, _____ concerns the degree to which segments
respond differently to different marketing mix elements, such as pricing or product
features.
a. measurability
b. accessibility
c. substantiality
d. compatibility
e. responsiveness
The goal of _____ is to describe where the firm is making or losing money in terms of
the important segments of its business.
a. strategic control
b. annual plan control
c. efficiency and effectiveness control
d. profitability control
Concerning segmentation criteria, _____ refers to the degree to which the segments are
large or profitable enough to be worth considering for separate marketing cultivation.
a. measurability
b. accessibility
c. substantiality
d. compatibility
e. responsiveness
The “best” mode of transportation to use in moving industrial products to customers is:
a. rail.
b. air.
c. truck.
d. barge.
e. dependent upon cost, service and investment tradeoffs.
Services are:
a. deeds.
b. processes.
c. performances.
d. all of the above.
e. (b) and (c) only.
A key account represents a customer who:
a. buys for an organization with geographically concentrated units.
b. involves a small number of key organizational members in the purchasing process.
c. purchases a significant volume as a percentage of a seller’s total sales.
d. All of the above.
e. Only (b) and (c).
Which type of goods are treated as an expense item because they do not enter the
production process or become part of the finished product?
a. Facilitating Goods
b. Foundation Goods
c. Entering Goods
d. None of the above are correct.
The geographical sales organization structure presents which of the following
disadvantages?
a. Each salesperson requires substantial product and customer knowledge.
b. This is the most costly form of sales organization.
c. Sales personnel may have a tendency to emphasize those products and end-use
applications with which they are most familiar.
d. all of the above
e. (a) and (c) only
The primary reason for using more than one type of intermediary for the same product
is:
a. the gross margin is not large.
b. the product tends toward technical complexity.
c. different market segments require different channel structures.
d. the product is not standard, but is closer to made-to-order.
The element of customer interface that refers to the knowledge captured from
customers and the degree to which this information is used to provide enhanced value
to the customer is:
a. fulfillment and support.
b. information and insight.
c. relationship dynamics.
d. pricing structure.
Manufacturers’ representatives are used:
a. by smaller firms that cannot afford their own sales force.
b. when a manufacturer’s market potential is limited.
c. to help reduce overhead costs.
d. All of the above.
e. Only a and c.
Responsibility charting constitutes an approach that can be used to classify
decision-making roles and to highlight the multifunctional nature of business marketing
decision making. A manager who takes initiative for analyzing a situation, developing
alternatives, assuring consultation with others, and who makes initial recommendations
is performing which of the following roles?
a. responsible
b. approve
c. consult
d. implement
e. inform
Commercial development projects that create the design and components that are
shared by a set of products are referred to as:
a. platform projects.
b. breakthrough projects.
c. research and development projects.
d. derivative projects.
e. none of the above
Computer disks and fiber-optics cable each created a new product category. The type of
commercial project that created these products would be classified as a:
a. platform project.
b. breakthrough project.
c. research and development project.
d. derivative project.
e. none of the above
If competitors are likely to continue to pursue price cutting, the best strategy for the
defender is to:
a. allow the competitor to win where it is least damaging to profitability.
b. create barriers that make it more difficult for competitors to reach less price-sensitive
customer segments.
c. center reactive price cuts on a particular geographic region.
d. all of the above.
e. (a) and (b) only.
To optimize the purchasing strategy, buying firms across industries are beginning to
segment the supply base: buyers seek a close relationship for strategic purchases and
employ a more distant arm’s-length approach in procuring non-strategic items. Describe
the resulting implications for firms that are evaluating potential customers to target with
relationship marketing strategies.
Answer:
n/a
Some experts emphasize that since customer needs are becoming increasingly
homogeneous worldwide, the opportunity exists to sell the same type of product across
countries and to use essentially the same marketing strategy around the globe. If
customers respond favorably to a strategy in St. Louis, will the same strategy work in
London or Tokyo? While a standardized approach might work for Coke or Levi’s, will it
work for business marketers like Dow Chemical or Hewlett-Packard? Explain.
Answer:
n/a
Collaborative exchange features very close information, social, and operational linkages
as well as mutual commitments made in expectation of long-run benefits.
The focus of____________________in the supply chain for business marketers is the
flow of product through the supply chain, with timely information driving the entire
process.
All business marketing decisions are affected, directly or indirectly, by other functional
areas.
Smucker’s sells products to both business and consumer markets. Compare and contrast
the marketing strategies that Smucker’s will use when selling their products to each type
of market.
Answer:
n/a
As software manufacturers and consulting organizations diffuse best practices, and the
relevant CRM software becomes widely available and economical to use, all
competitors will be equally equipped. However, when compared to rivals, some firms
will be rewarded by customers with higher rates of customer loyalty and lower rates of
defection while others will continue to stumble. In the end, to excel at customer
relationship management, a firm requires a customer-relating capability. Describe the
central elements of a customer-relating capability and how it can provide a firm with a
strong advantage over competitors.
Answer:
n/a
Central to SCM are the coordination and collaboration activities performed with
channel partners, which may include____________________,
____________________, third party____________________,
and____________________.
An emphasis on strict quality control standards is necessitated by service variability.
Purchasing managers assume a dominant role in repetitive buying situations.
Research suggests that among the service quality dimensions, responsiveness is most
important to customers.
Examples of possible micro bases of business market segmentation include size,
geographical location, and usage rate of buying organizations.
Internet marketing costs far less than direct mail marketing.
Members of the buying center assume different roles throughout the procurement or
organizational buying process. Discuss the nature of the five roles that a buying center
member may assume. Provide an example of each role in the organizational buying
context.
Answer:
n/a
Periodic training is required to sharpen the skills of experienced salespersons,
especially when the firm’s environment is____________________.