MGMT 328 (International Management) - Chapter 4 Leveraging Resources and Capabilities
commoditization
A process of market competition through which unique products that command high prices and high margins gradually lose their ability to do so, thus becoming commodities.
value chain
A series of activities used in the production of goods and services that make a product or service more valuable.
ambidexterity
Ability to use one's both hands equally well. In management jargon, this term has been used to describe capabilities to simultaneously deal with paradoxes (such as exploration versus exploitation).
intangible resources and capabilities
Assets that are hard to observe and difficult (if not impossible) to quantify.
Tangible resources and capabilities
Assets that are observable and easily quantified.
_____ is examining whether a firm has the resources and the capabilities to perform a particular activity in a manner superior to competitors.
Benchmarking
_____ are the tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.
Capabilities
Which of the following is a reason why imitation is difficult?
Causal ambiguity
_____ refers to the difficulty of identifying the causal determinants of successful firm performance.
Causal ambiguity
benchmarking
Examining whether a firm has the resources and capabilities to perform a particular activity in a manner superior to competitors.
In the context of the resource-based view, which of the following is least likely to be a successful strategy in global business?
Imitating or benchmarking the best in the industry relentlessly
Which of the following is a feature of a value chain analysis?
It consists of primary activities and support activities.
In the context of management literature, which of the following statements is true of ambidexterity?
It describes capabilities to simultaneously deal with paradoxes.
Which of the following statements is true of a value chain analysis?
It forces managers to think about firm resources and capabilities at an activity-based level.
Which of the following statements is true of a SWOT analysis?
It identifies a firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Which of the following statements in true of outsourcing?
It involves turning over an activity to an outside supplier that will perform it on behalf of the focal firm.
Which of the following statements is true of offshoring?
It means outsourcing to an international firm.
Which of the following implications is suggested by the resource-based view for managers' success in global business?
Managers need to build firm strengths based on the VRIO framework.
reshoring
Moving formerly offshored activities back to the home country of the focal firm.
Onshoring
Outsourcing to a domestic firm.
Offshoring
Outsourcing to an international or foreign firm.
Captive sourcing
Setting up subsidiaries abroad so that the work done is in-house but the location is foreign. Also known as foreign direct investment(FDI).
_____ refers to how firms overcome cultural differences and are organized as one corporate entity and achieve corporate goals.
Social complexity
complementary assets
The combination of numerous resources and assets that enable a firm to gain a competitive advantage.
causal ambiguity
The difficulty of identifying the actual cause of a firm's successful performance.
business process outsourcing (BPO)
The outsourcing of business processes such as loan origination, credit card processing, and call center operations.
VRIO framework
The resource-based framework that focuses on the value (V), rarity (R), imitability (I), and organizational (O) aspects of resources and capabilities.
social complexity
The socially intricate and interdependent ways that firms are typically organized.
Resources
The tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.
capabilities
The tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.
Which of the following statements is true of intangible resources?
They are hard to observe and more difficult to quantify.
Which of the following statements is true of tangible resources?
They are observable.
Which of the following statements best defines complementary assets?
They are the combination of numerous resources and assets that enable a firm to gain a competitive advantage.
Which of the following best defines resources?
They are the tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies
Which of the following statements is true of complementary assets?
They enable a firm to gain a competitive advantage.
Which of the following statements is most likely to be true of best-performing firms globally?
They often create new ways of adding value
Which of the following statements is true of valuable and rare resources and capabilities that are easy to imitate?
They will provide temporary competitive advantage.
Outsourcing
Turning over an activity to an outside supplier that will perform it on behalf of the focal firm.
Which of the following determines the success and failure of firms around the globe?
Valuable, rare, and hard-to-imitate resources
In emerging economies, _____ to manage both market forces and government forces simultaneously;as a bundle of complementary resources;is key to navigate the competitive waters.
ambidexterity
A firm's valuable but common resources and capabilities are most likely to lead to:
competitive parity.
In the context of a VRIO framework, _____ can lead to competitive advantage.
only value-adding resources
The "LEGO" view of a firm in which the firm can be assembled from modules of technology and people fails to realize that: .
social complexity can be a source of competitive advantage
If firms are unable to get rid of non-value-adding assets, they are most likely to _____.
suffer from below-average performance
Using the VRIO framework, a _____ is most likely to help managers make decisions on what capabilities to focus on in-house and what to outsource.
value chain analysis
