Tech Ch 3 Quiz

The path a technology follows through time is termed its:

technology trajectory.

Which of the following statements is true regarding different types of innovations?

A radical innovation may over time become an incremental innovation.

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.

True

It is possible for a firm that follows an s-curve model too closely to end up switching technologies later than it should.

True

Product innovations are more visible than process innovations.

True

S-curves in technology performance and s-curves in technology diffusion are fundamentally different processes.

True

S-curves of technology diffusion are in part a function of the s-curves in technology improvement.

True

When a technology's performance is plotted against the amount of effort and money invested in the technology, it typically shows slow initial improvement, then accelerated improvement, then diminishing improvement.

True

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.

component

S-curves in technology diffusion are obtained by plotting the:

cumulative number of adopters of a technology against time.

When gutter shields were developed,they replaced gutter cleaning services hired by homeowners wishing to keep leaves and debris out of their gutters.In other words,the same need was met by an entirely new technology.This is an example of a(n) _____ technology.

discontinuous

Digital cameras replaced film cameras.This is an example of _____.

discontinuous technology

The replacement of eyeglasses by contact lenses is an example of a(n):

discontinuous technology

In the context of s-curve in technological improvement,plotting performance against time will result in the same characteristic curve as plotting performance against effort,only if:

effort is relatively constant over time.

The CEO of an automobile manufacturing firm directed the R&D department to come up with a radical innovation.Which of the following best fits the bill?

A car that runs on water and solar power.

Which of the following is most clearly an example of process innovation?

A donut chain develops a method that enables donuts to be baked in 15 minutes rather than the standard 30 minutes.

Which of the following is true of technology diffusion?

A drop in the prices of a new technology can accelerate technology diffusion.

Which of the following is true of component and architectural innovation?

Component innovation does not significantly affect the overall configuration of a system.

Which of the following is considered a radical innovation?

Developing a cell phone that allows customers to scan the prices of the products in stores and make payments for their purchases.

According to Anderson and Tushman,in the era of incremental change,most competition revolves around improving components rather than altering the architecture.

True

A modular innovation significantly affects the overall configuration of a system.

False

According to Anderson and Tushman,in the era of ferment,firms focus on efficiency and market penetration.

False

According to the Utterback and Abernathy model,firms in the fluid phase avoid experimenting with different form factors or product features.

False

Among the various adopter categories,innovators have the greatest potential for opinion leadership.

False

Firms cannot influence the shape of the s-curve through their development activities.

False

For a firm to adopt a component innovation, it typically requires that the firm have architectural knowledge about the way components link and integrate to form a whole system.

False

In the context of s-curves in technological improvement, as a technology begins to reach its inherent limits, the cost of each marginal improvement decreases.

False

In the context of s-curves in technological improvement, performance improvement in the early stages of a technology is rapid.

False

Technologies always get the opportunity to reach their performance limits before being replaced by a new technology.

False

Technology diffusion and information diffusion take the same amount of time.

False

Technology diffusion curve is s-shaped because adoption is initially fast when a new technology is introduced to the market.

False

The last 16 percent of the individuals in a social system to adopt an innovation are termed as late majority.

False

The path a technology follows through time is termed its technology transfer.

False

Iris is quite skeptical about new innovations and is likely to adopt something new after getting some pressure from her peers. However, she is not so risk averse that she will wait until all uncertainty of a new technology has been resolved; she's willing to accept a little uncertainty if her peers already use the product. Which of the following adopter categories does Iris belong to?

Late majority

A marketing research company categorized Jane as an early adopter. Which of the following is true of Jane in the context of early adopters?

She will be well integrated into her social system.

Which of the following is true of s-curves in technological improvement?

The s-curves flatten when the cost of each marginal improvement increases and when diminishing returns to effort begin to set in.

An innovation can be competence enhancing to one firm,while competence destroying for another.

True

A CEO of a certain pharmaceutical company asked his consultant if it was a good idea to implement the s-curve model to predict when a technology would reach its limits. The consultant identified a limitation with the use of the model. Which of the following is the limitation identified by the consultant?

Unexpected changes alter the shape of a technology's s-curve.

Alpha Information Inc.is a firm that manufactures desktop computers and wireless network hardware components. The company is spending heavily on R&D to experiment with new designs for wireless networks instead of trying to refine how well they make their current wireless network hardware components. The firm is going through a period of ambiguity and anxiety. Alpha Information Inc. is in the:

era of ferment.

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.

fluid

According to Anderson and Tushman, the era of incremental change:

focuses on efficiency and market penetration.

When the first personal computers were introduced, Bill started using a spreadsheet program to maintain his accounts. Bill discovered that due to this new method his work had become much slower and that if he typed in the wrong data, it led to more mistakes. This illustrates that:

initially, technological discontinuity may have lower performance than the incumbent technology.

Donald is always ready to buy recently-launched gadgets and gizmos. Since he has sufficient financial resources to invest in these products, he is unconcerned about the risks and uncertainties involved in buying new products. Based on this description, Donald belongs to the group of:

innovators.

Ron is highly skeptical about new ideas and products. He has not yet bought a satellite dish for his home because he is still unsure that it really works. Ron is also very worried about the expense of purchasing the satellite dish. According to this description, Ron:

is a laggard.

A bicycle manufacturing company adopted a new type of inventory management system.This inventory system improved the productivity of its manufacturing unit and the quality of the bicycles.This is an example of _____ innovation.

process

Once a new product design becomes a dominant design:

the product design is adopted by the majority of producers.