The criteria in the go/kill decision points are the questions or metrics used to make the
decision regarding whether or not to kill the project or allow it to proceed.
Many start-up firms demise because new innovations tend to be adopted very slowly at
first.
The ability of an organization to recognize, assimilate, and utilize new knowledge is
referred to as learning effect.
In a loosely coupled structure, development and production activities achieve
coordination through tight integration.
Among the various adopter categories, innovators have the greatest potential for
opinion leadership.
It is unusual for a company to lack certain complementary assets required to transform
a body of technological knowledge into a commercial product.
Bundling products together can offer firms the advantage of switching costs.
As firms’ routines and capabilities become more and more oriented around the
dominant architecture, the firms become less able to identify and respond to a major
architectural innovation.
Technology diffusion and information diffusion take the same amount of time.
As firms develop complementary technologies to improve the productivity or ease of
utilization of the core technology, the technology becomes less attractive to other firms.
Derivative projects offer fundamental improvements in the cost, quality, and
performance of a technology over preceding generations.
If you live in a country that is a member of the Madrid Union and you register a
trademark in your country, that trademark is valid in all other countries of the world.
A music downloading software and an MP3 player are substitutes for one another.
In Stage 1 of the stage-gate process, the team builds a business case that includes a
defined product, its business justification, and a detailed plan of action for the next
stages.
Breakthrough projects involve development of products that incorporate revolutionary
new technologies in a commercialized application.
Dalton discovered that using garlic salt on a regular hamburger made the hamburger
taste more like steak. He could then use a less expensive meat for the ‘smoked steak”
sandwich that he sold. This is an example of a(n) _____ innovation.
a. radical
b. discontinuous
c. architectural
d. component
A cross-functional team is one that has members of different ethnic backgrounds in a
single functional area.
Which of the following is typically true regarding a firm with a long development cycle
time?
a. It can quickly revise or upgrade its product offering.
b. Its cost of capital will increase.
c. It can take advantage of both first-mover and second-mover advantages.
d. It is more likely to be able to fully amortize the fixed costs of development before
that generation becomes obsolete.
The scientists at Brainstorm, a private medical research firm, have come up with a
remarkable medicine for curing cancer. This cancer treatment technology is well
protected and cannot be easily duplicated. Based on this information, it would be most
accurate to say that this technology:
a. cannot be patented.
b. is easily imitable.
c. is not socially complex.
d. has a high degree of appropriability.
The first entrants to sell in a new product or service category are referred to as _____.
a. pioneers
b. early leaders
c. early followers
d. laggards
The path a technology follows through time is termed its:
a. technology map.
b. technology trajectory.
c. technology cluster.
d. technology transfer.
In 2001, Shanghai’s Municipal Government set aside 13 square kilometers of land near
the Huangpu River for university laboratories and start-up firms in microelectronics,
digital technology, and life sciences. The project aimed to foster research in
microelectronics, the development of a technologically-advanced labor pool, and the
creation of new industries in Shanghai. This project would be best termed as a(n)
_____.
a. complementor
b. strategic unit
c. science park
d. free trade area
Allure Fabrics supplied cotton, linen, and silk fabrics to various designer wear
boutiques in and around Florida. The firm recently launched a boutique in Florida,
under its brand name, which sells women’s fashion apparel. Allure Fabrics is practicing:
a. forward vertical integration.
b. backward vertical integration.
c. horizontal integration.
d. substitution.
Dr. Peterson is a professor of Information Systems at Mount Newfield University. She
was asked to be a beta tester for the latest version of Microsoft Office a year before it
was released because she tends to use such programs in an advanced way and often
develops her own solutions to problems with the programs. She made several
suggestions for its improvement. She is a(n):
a. lead user.
b. laggard customer.
c. expert technician.
d. consumer advocate.
Which of the following is true of monopoly cost curve?
a. Monopoly costs to market share curve is more s-shaped than network externality
returns to market share curve.
b. The steepness of the monopoly cost curve is largely a function of the firm’s
discretionary behavior.
c. It is not possible for a network externality returns curve to cross a monopoly cost
curve.
d. A firm choosing to exploit its monopoly power is flattening the monopoly costs
curve.
Which of the following is true of loosely coupled organizational structures?
a. In loosely coupled structures, development and production activities have different
objectives and standards.
b. The possibility of achieving synergies is low in loosely coupled structures.
c. They are useful in organizations characterized by activities that require the frequent
exchange of complex or tacit knowledge.
d. They provide mechanisms for resolving conflict that are more effective or less
expensive than those available in the market.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using internal rate of return for assessing a
project?
a. It fails to take into account the time value of money and risk.
b. It cannot be calculated by trial and error.
c. It discriminates heavily against long term and risky projects.
d. It fails to provide concrete financial estimates.
When Sports 360, a sports bar in New York, saw yet another sports bar open up across
the street it knew that it would have to lower its price again to stay in business. The city
already had too many sports bars and Sports 360 intended on being one of those left
after the inevitable shake out. The best pricing strategy for Sports 360 will be:
a. premium pricing.
b. market skimming.
c. survival pricing.
d. a freemium program.
Super Alarm Inc. makes customized door security systems which it sells under its own
brand name. These security systems require installation, extensive customereducation,
and regular services. _____ will be the most appropriate selling method for Super
Alarm Inc.
a. Employing a direct sales force
b. Creating an online ordering system
c. Using a mail-order catalog system
d. Using a cannibalization strategy
Which of the following is typically true of heavyweight teams?
a. Project managers of heavyweight teams lack the authority to command resources.
b. Heavyweight teams are always temporary.
c. In heavyweight teams, the members are collocated with the project manager.
d. Heavyweight teams are considered inappropriate for platform projects.