Chapter 04 – Understanding Market Opportunities
End of Chapter Discussion Questions and Answers
1. You are an entrepreneur who has developed a packaging technology that instantly
chills single-serving containers of cold beverages such as beer, carbonated drinks, and
fruit juices. The customers of such packaging, therefore, would be beverage-makers.
You are not certain whether your technology is patentable. Using the seven domains
framework, assess this opportunity and describe any strategic decisions you could
make to maximize the opportunity’s attractiveness.
Answer:
Student answers may vary. Answers should include elements such as:
The entrepreneur should take the macro level elements (market attractiveness and industry
attractiveness) as given and assess the chances of success of the product. He or she has some
Obtaining a patent and identifying the CSFs would be important. Having contacts in the
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 04 – Understanding Market Opportunities
2. Drinking water pollution (contamination) has become a serious problem in many
countries. What problems and opportunities does this present for what consumer and
industrial goods?
Answer:
Student answers may vary. Answers should include elements such as:
As the regulatory environment becomes more active, countries will embrace the clean water
Some students may discuss that consumer marketers also have a responsibility to serve the
3. Taking into account the five competitive forces, what do you think lies ahead for the
worldwide automotive industry?
Answer:
Student answers may vary. Answers should include elements such as:
Rivalry among present competitors—this should intensify as companies try to maintain their
Threat of new entrants—the rivalry should present newcomers with serious obstacles to
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 04 – Understanding Market Opportunities
Bargaining power of suppliers—in the auto industry, suppliers are relatively weak since they
Bargaining power of buyers—with the exception of fleet buyers, buyers have little power. In
Threat of substitute products—with the exception of different forms of automobiles and
4. The president of a large manufacturer of household appliances (such as dishwashing
machines, refrigerators, washers, and dryers) that are manufactured and sold in the
United States, Japan, Mexico, and Europe has asked you to develop a system for
monitoring and evaluating the impact of major environmental trends on the company’s
strategies and programs. Briefly describe your proposed system in terms of how you
would organize your scanning activities, identify important environmental issues, and
evaluate the impact of each issue.
Answer:
Student answers may vary. Answers should include elements such as:
The manufacturer could use sources of information for macro trends and industry forces
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.