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Pulse Mobiles Inc. is a cell phone manufacturing company. Its latest range of smartphones are visually similar to the Y-series range of smartphones from Talkie Gen Inc., in terms of its shape and look-and-feel. Which of the following strategies has Pulse Mobiles Inc. used to replicate the valuable and rare resource of Talkie Gen Inc.?


A) direct imitation
B) strategic equivalence
C) substitution
D) innovation

E) A) and B)
F) B) and D)

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True Moto Corp. (TMC) is a leading automobile company. The company has been able to sustain its competitive advantage primarily due to its high-quality and efficient electric motors. Most of its competitors have failed to develop similar electric motors at a reasonable price. Which of the following resource attributes listed in the VRIO framework has helped TMC sustain its competitive advantage?


A) resource mobility
B) inexhaustible nature
C) intangibility of the company's resource
D) high costs involved in imitation

E) None of the above
F) A) and C)

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GN Corp. and BC Inc. are two competing firms in the same industry. GN Corp.'s tangible assets are valued at $15 billion and its intangible assets are valued at $35 billion. BC Inc.'s tangible assets are valued at $5 billion and its intangible assets are valued at $45 billion. What can be concluded from this information?


A) BC Inc. will be less competitive than GN Corp. because of its smaller investment in tangible assets.
B) It is likely that BC Inc. is better enabled than GN Corp. to gain and sustain a competitive advantage.
C) Judging from the assets listed, BC Inc. has probably been in the industry a much shorter time than GN Corp.
D) There is no resource heterogeneity between the two firms, BC Inc. and GN Corp., as they operate in the same industry.

E) B) and D)
F) A) and D)

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Describe causal ambiguity and provide an example of how it can act as a barrier against imitation of a firm's valuable resources.

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Student examples will vary. A sample ans...

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The owners of Puff Ball bakery want to open a second retail outlet. Which of the following scenarios is most likely to yield a competitive advantage?


A) Open a shop on an inexpensive piece of land near a new mixed-use residential and business district currently under construction.
B) Purchase an existing bakery from a business that closed due to declining sales and try to revive it.
C) Build a shop in a sparsely populated rural area where the land is inexpensive and few other bakeries exist.
D) Open a shop in a crowded downtown location where several other bakeries have been successful over the years.

E) A) and B)
F) B) and D)

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Brain Boost Inc. is a leading educational toy company. Competitors across the globe have failed to imitate Brain Boost's production models, supply chain systems, knowledge systems, and culture. These attributes have remained unique to Brain Boost Inc. for a long time. Which of the following assumptions of the resource-based model of competitive advantage does this scenario best illustrate?


A) resource homogeneity
B) resource cost
C) resource substitution
D) resource immobility

E) A) and B)
F) A) and D)

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Provide examples of the secondary activities in a firm's value chain.

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Support activities of a firm add value i...

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Due to resource immobility, a critical assumption in the resource-based model of a firm, the


A) competitive advantage of a firm exists for a short period of time.
B) resource bundles of a firm can be easily imitated by competitors.
C) resource differences between firms last for a long time.
D) competencies and capabilities of all firms in an industry are similar.

E) None of the above
F) All of the above

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Compare and contrast tangible and intangible resources.

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Tangible resources have physical attribu...

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Smooth Fusion Inc. is a software company that has built and acquired numerous assets over the years. According to the resource-based view of a firm, which of the following assets of Smooth Fusion Inc. will best enable it to gain and sustain a competitive advantage?


A) the cloud computing service that it uses
B) the capital the company raised from its shareholders
C) the expertise acquired by the employees in the company
D) the headquarters building owned by the company

E) A) and C)
F) A) and B)

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Online retailer NetShop had been drastically losing market share to its competitors. The management hired a reputed consulting firm to advise the company. The experts from the consulting firm pointed out that the company primarily lost out on its competitive advantage due to its poor customer service, including slow response times to customer inquiries and unclear return policies. These ineffective policies and procedures led to many disgruntled customers and a steady migration to more customer-friendly retailers. NetShop can best solve its problem by working on its


A) immobile assets.
B) support activities.
C) resource flows.
D) resource stocks.

E) All of the above
F) A) and D)

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An observer may conclude that the organizational culture of Zappos, an online retailer for shoes and clothing, might be the basis for its competitive advantage. However, reverse social engineering to crack Zappos' code of success might be much more difficult for a company trying to exactly imitate its strategy. Thus, the source of Zappos competitive advantage is said to be


A) socially complex.
B) inexhaustible.
C) non-substitutable.
D) nonambiguous.

E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

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InVue, a consumer electronics company, is the leading manufacturer of high-definition (HD) LED televisions. HD technology has been its core competency and the company holds 60 percent shares in that market. However, InVue's competitors have now begun to produce more-advanced technologies like 4K Ultra HD and Internet-enabled Smart televisions. According to the dynamic capabilities perspective, what should InVue do?


A) InVue should start working on Ultra HD and Smart television technologies to adapt its core competency to suit the external environment.
B) InVue should stick to its existing core competency, that is HD LED technology, as it is the best in that segment.
C) InVue should take steps to reduce the causal ambiguity and socially complexity of its core competency.
D) InVue should work on enhancing the mobility of its core competency.

E) C) and D)
F) A) and D)

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Crystal Tech Inc.'s competency in designing and manufacturing efficient microprocessors has made its laptops the most advanced computers in the market. This competency, along with the just-in-time manufacturing system, has enabled Crystal Tech Inc. to increase its profitability by lowering its production costs. Thus, Crystal's competency in designing and manufacturing microprocessors will be considered a(n) ________ resource in the VRIO framework.


A) valuable
B) substitute
C) imitable
D) organized

E) B) and D)
F) A) and C)

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A SWOT analysis would provide a definitive answer as to whether a firm's growing footprint in overseas markets is a strength or weakness.

A) True
B) False

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Dynamic capabilities are especially relevant for surviving and competing in markets that


A) shift quickly.
B) shift slowly.
C) remain constant.
D) remain unpredictable.

E) None of the above
F) B) and D)

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Amazon.com's network of distribution centers allow it to drastically reduce its delivery times compared to other online retailers. These distribution centers are examples of Amazon's


A) core competency.
B) intangible resources.
C) tangible resources.
D) capabilities.

E) All of the above
F) A) and D)

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The "diagonal assembly system" was a production system pioneered by the automobile company Gogo. Recently, Gogo was able to sue a competitor and won the suit, thereby receiving $100 million in damages. Which of the following would most likely enable Gogo to win such a lawsuit?


A) The competitor ran advertising that criticized Gogo's assembly system.
B) The competitor failed to apply for a patent of its own assembly system.
C) The competitor infringed on Gogo's patent of the "diagonal assembly system."
D) The competitor developed an assembly system that worked on a newer theory than Gogo's system.

E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

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Merton's Toothpaste has been the leader of dental care products for about 40 years. However, this company relied too long on its competency of reducing cavities without refining or upgrading other aspects of its product. As a result, other personal hygiene companies that began to offer toothpastes with natural whitening agents gained a competitive advantage over Merton's. This case is an example of


A) resource flow.
B) dynamic capabilities.
C) core rigidity.
D) value chain.

E) None of the above
F) A) and B)

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According to the resource-based view, a firm that differentiates itself from its competitors through its personalized approach to customer service is likely to sustain its competitive advantage for a long time.

A) True
B) False

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