Internal Analysis
Which of the following best describes the core competency of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries company?
Making high-quality burgers without limiting costs
One of the most popular tools used by firms to evaluate their current situation and future prospects is the ______.
SWOT analysis
______ is a framework that allows mangers to synthesize insights obtained from internal and external analysis.
SWOT analysis
True or false: According to the resource-based model, a firm is assumed to be a unique bundle of resources, capabilities, and competencies.
True Reason: Each firm has a different combination of resources, capabilities, and competencies.
The ______ is a theoretical model that explains and predicts what resource attributes underpin competitive advantage. It identifies which types of resources are key to firm performance.
VRIO framework
A customized strategy that considers the unique resources of the company while considering the external environment creates _____
a strategic fit between them
According to the VRIO framework, to fully exploit the competitive potential of its resources, capabilities, and competencies, a firm must ______.
be organized to capture value
The value chain describes ______ of a firm.
internal activities
When strategizing about possible competitive advantages, a major advantage of the SWOT analysis is that it allows managers to simultaneously consider ______.
internal and external factors
Intellectual property protection and social complexity are examples of __________ mechanisms, which help a firm sustain a competitive advantage
isolating
According to the VRIO framework, in order for a firm to gain a temporary competitive advantage, a resource must be at least both ______.
rare and valuable
The culture of Zappos is hard to imitate because it consists of numerous, diverse interactions among its employees, processes, procedures, and norms, that create which of the following?
social complexity
True or false: The value chain concept is applicable primarily to high-tech firms in rapidly changing environments.
False
True or false: A competitive advantage is most often maintained indefinitely.
False Reason: No competitive advantage can be sustained indefinitely.
Which of the following were resources and capabilities that helped Five Guys gain a competitive advantage and develop into a successful restaurant chain?
Focusing on such details as store layout and design Carefully choosing the supplier of the potatoes for their fries
What are the characteristics of a strategic activity system as it applies to firms?
It is causally ambiguous. It is socially complex. It consists of interconnected activities.
Which of the following are situations in which a resource is considered valuable?
The resource helps the firm increase its economic value creation (V-C). The resource helps a firm exploit an external opportunity.
A firm's network of interconnected activities is referred to a strategic activity system because activities that are interconnected are very difficult for competitors to copy effectively.
True
"Time compression diseconomies" refers to the concept that ______.
attempting to get a good outcome in less time tends to be ineffective
Time compression diseconomies occur when a firm ______.
attempts to reach an outcome in a reduced amount of time
Which of the following are examples of resources for a firm?
buildings intellectual property cash
______ describes a situation where the cause and effect of a phenomenon are not readily apparent.
causal ambiguity
A(n) ______ is a unique strength, embedded deep within a firm, that is critical to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Multiple choice question.
core competency
For a firm to sustain any competitive advantage over time, the fit between its internal strengths and external environment needs to be ______.
dynamic
The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to ______.
form a strategy that is tailored to the firm's unique strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats in its environment
Resource ______ and resource ______ are the key assumptions behind the resource-based model of the firm.
heterogeneity; immobility
Strategic fit ______ the likelihood that a firm is able to gain a competitive advantage.
increases
In contrast to primary activities, support activities add value ______, but are necessary to sustain primary activities.
indirectly
______ describes a process in which the options one faces in the current situation are limited by decisions made in the past. Multiple choice question.
path dependence
______ suggests that sometimes even random events may have a large impacts on an outcome.
path dependence
Which of the following can help a firm extend its competitive advantage?
path dependence intellectual property protection better expectations of future resource value
Marketing, sales, and distribution are ______ activities in a firm's value chain.
primary
______ activities add value directly by transforming inputs into outputs as the firm moves a product or service horizontally along the internal value chain.
primary
A resource is ______ if the number of firms that possess it is less than the number of firms required to reach a state of perfect competition. Multiple choice question.
rare
______ are the firm's level of investments to maintain or build a resource.
resource flows
______ are the firm's current level of intangible resources. Multiple choice question.
resource stocks
What do the best firms in an industry seek to identify and manage on an ongoing basis as sources to respond to their external environment?
resources core competencies capabilities
Core competencies of a business are generated by the interaction of ______.
resources and capabilities
The concept of social complexity suggests that ______.
social and business systems that work for one firm may be hard to imitate because of complex interactions between these systems
The interaction of the many individual systems in the operation of a company often leads to causal ambiguity because of ______.
social complexity
______ describes a situation in which different social and business systems interact with each other.
social complexity
Primary activities include which of the following?
supply chain management operations
Accounting and finance are ______ activities in a firm's value chain.
support
Capital, land, buildings, and plants are examples of ______ resources.
tangible
The resource-based model views resources as ______.
the main driver of firm performance
A core competency can help a company achieve which of the following?
to offer products of comparable value at lower cost than rivals can to create higher value for the consumer to differentiate its products and services
Which of the following is not considered an isolating mechanism?
uncertainty about future resource value
A resource is considered ______ if it helps a firm to deal with an external threat.
valuable
In order to be successful, a firm must have a resource that is valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and the firm must ______.
be organized to capture value
Unlike capabilities, resources can be both ______.
tangible and intangible
The resource-based view classifies all resources as ______.
tangible or intangible
Which of the following identifies the resources that can lead to a competitive advantage?
VRIO framework
If the problem with a business strategy results in causal ambiguity, managers will ______.
have a difficult time developing a theory to deal with the problem
______ resources have physical attributes and are visible.
tangible
Enterprise Machinists is always improving upon its core competencies by training its machinists constantly so that they are equipped to deal with technological changes and advancements. Based on this information, this is an example of which concept?
dynamic capabilities