MGT 4150 Test 2 QUESTIONS

Examples of important cost drivers in a company's value chain do NOT include:

-customer service

The generic types of competitive strategies include:

-low-cost provider -broad differentiation -best-cost provider -focused low-cost -focused differentiation

While there are many routes to competitive advantage, the two biggest factors that distinguish one competitive strategy from another are:

1. whether a companies target market is broad or narrow 2. whether the company is pursuing a low cost or differentiation strategy

Which of the following companies is NOT the lowest-cost provider in its industry?

CNN

Which of the following companies is using cost drivers effectively to manage value chain activities cost efficiently?

Company B uses just-in-time inventories and produces made-to-order products as and when customer demand rises.

A company attempting to be successful with a broad differentiation strategy has to:

Study buyer needs and behavior carefully to learn what buyers consider important, what they think has value and what they are willing to pay for

Which of the following is NOT a factor that makes an alliance "strategic" as opposed to just a convenient business arrangement?

The alliance helps the company obtain additional financing on better credit terms.

To test whether a particular diversification move has good prospects for creating added shareholder value, corporate strategists should use:

The attractiveness test, the cost of entry test and the better-off test

A potato chip manufacturer purchases a potato farm. Which of the following regarding its strategy is true?

The manufacturer has effectively used vertical integration to increase its bargaining position and reduce transaction costs

What does the scope of the firm refer to?

The range of activities the firm performs internally and the breadth of its product offerings, the extent of its geographic market, and its mix of businesses

Which of the following is NOT a value driver or broad differentiation strategy?

Utilize just-in-time inventories and made-to-order products when customer demand rises and that buyers consider worth the cost

The target market of a best-cost provider is:

Value-conscious buyers

A boutique hotel chain provides upscale rooms and superior customer service at value prices. What strategy is the hotelier using the gain competitive advantage?

a best cost provider strategy

Backward vertical integration can produce a:

a differentiation-based competitive advantage when activities enhance the performance of the final product.

A focused low-cost strategy can lead to attractive competitive advantage when:

a firm can lower costs significantly by limiting its customer base to a well-defined buyer segment

Which of the following is NOT one of the five generic competitive strategies?

a high-cost strategy

The formation of a new corporation, jointly owned by two or more companies agreeing to share in the revenues, expenses, and control, is known as:

a joint venture

For every emerging opportunity there exists:

a market penetration curve, and this typically has an inflection point where the business model falls into place.

The difference between a merger and an acquisition is that:

a merger is the combining of two or more companies into a single corporate entity, whereas an acquisition involves one company (the acquirer) purchasing and absorbing the operations of another company (the acquired)

Which of the following generic types of competitive strategies is typically the "best" strategy for a company to employ?

a strategy that is well matched to a company's internal situation; underpinned by an appropriate set of resources, know-how, and competitive capabilities; and difficult for rivals to match

Success with a best-cost provider strategy designed to outcompete high-end differentiators requires:

achieving significantly lower costs in providing the upscale features

A company can best accomplish diversification into new industries by:

acquiring a company already operating in the target industry, creating a new business from scratch, or forming a joint venture with one or more companies to enter the target industry.

The best reason for investing company resources in vertical integration (either forward or backward) is to:

add material to a company's technological capabilities, strengthen the company's competitive position, and/or boost its profitability

Which of the following signals would NOT warn challengers that strong retaliation is likely?

announcing strong quarterly earnings potential to financial analysts

Achieving a differentiation-based competitive advantage can involve:

appealing to buyers on the basis of attributes that rivals are emphasizing.

Which of the following is not one of the four basic routes to achieving a differentiation-based competitive advantage?

appealing to buyers who are sophisticated and shop hard for the best, stand-out differentiating attributes

Best-cost provider strategies are those that:

are a hybrid of low-cost provider and differentiation strategies that aim at providing desired attributes while beating rivals on price.

The best strategic alliances:

are highly selective, focusing on particular value chain activities and on obtaining a particular competitive benefit.

The three tests for judging whether a particular diversification move can create value for shareholders are:

attractiveness test, the cost of entry test, and the better-off test

A vertical integration strategy can expand the firm's range of activities:

backward into sources of supply and/or forward toward end users

A company's competitive strategy should:

be well matched to its internal situation and predicated on leveraging its collection of competitively valuable resources and competencies.

The Achilles' heel (or biggest disadvantage/pitfall) of relying heavily on alliances and cooperative strategies is:

becoming dependent on other companies for essential expertise and capabilities.

Which of the following is NOT a principal offensive strategy option?

blocking the avenues open to challengers

Which of the following is NOT among the principal offensive strategy options that a company can employ?

blocking the avenues open to challengers

Diversification ought to be considered a success only if it:

builds shareholder value

Domino's pizza has a well-known slogan: "We'll deliver in 30 minutes or less, or it's free!" With it what has the pizza maker achieved?

built a unique customer value proposition

Broad differentiation strategy works best in situations where:

buyers needs and uses of the product or service are diverse

A low-cost leadership strategy becomes competitively powerful when:

buyers of the product or service use the product or service in the same ways

An offensive to yield good results can be short if:

buyers respond immediately (to a dramatic cost-based price cut or imaginative ad campaign)

Perceived value and signaling are often an important part of a successful differentiation strategy because:

buyers seldom will pay for value they don't perceive, no matter how real the value of the differentiating extras may be

Opportunities to differentiate a company's product offering:

can exist in activities all along an industry's value chain

Experience indicates that strategic alliances:

can suffer culture clash and integration problems due to different management styles and business practices.

Each of the following is likely to help a company's low-cost provider strategy succeed EXCEPT:

capabilities to simultaneously deliver lower cost and higher-quality/differentiated features

Which of the following is one of the pitfalls of a low-cost provider strategy?

capturing volume gains and achieving economies of scale

Which of the following is NOT an example of a defensive move to protect a company's market position and restrict a challengers options for initiating a competitive attack?

challenging struggling runner-up firms that are on the verge of going under

Focusing carries several risks, one of which is the:

chance that competitors will find effective ways to match the focused firm's capabilities in serving the target market

Which of the following is NOT one of the elements of crafting corporate strategy for a diversified company?

choosing the appropriate value chain for each business the company has entered

Strategic alliances are more likely to be long-lasting when they involve:

collaboration with suppliers or distribution allies when both parties conclude that continued collaboration is in their mutual interests.

Strategic alliances are:

collaborative formal arrangements where two or more companies join forces and agree to work cooperatively toward some strategically relevant objective

Successful broad differentiation allows a firm to:

command a premium price for its product, and/or increase unit sales, and/or gain buyer loyalty to its brand.

The marketing emphasis of a company pursuing a focused low-cost provider strategy usually is to:

communicate the attractive features of a budget-priced product offering that fits niche members' expectations

A production-based emphasis toward a low-cost provider strategy usually requires a company to strive for:

continuous cost reductions without sacrificing acceptable quality and essential features

An alliance becomes "strategic" as opposed to just a convenient business arrangement when it serves all of the following strategic purposes EXCEPT:

contracts out certain value chain activities that are normally performed in-house to outside vendors.

Vertical integration strategies do not aim at:

control integration (creating control factors across the value chain)

Entering into strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships can be competitively valuable because:

cooperative arrangements with other companies are very helpful in racing against rivals to build a strong global presence and/or racing to seize opportunities on the frontiers of advancing technology.

Approaches to enhancing differentiation through changes in the value chain system:

coordinating with employees to create a greater incentive system to encourage worker productivity

A company that gas greater success in managing its strategic alliance can credit all of the following, EXCEPT:

creating organizational learning barriers across boundaries

A good example of vertical integration is a:

crude oil refiner purchasing a firm engaged in drilling and exploring for oil

A low-cost provider strategy can defeat a differentiation strategy when:

customers are basically satisfied and don't think extra attributes are worth higher price features

The objective of a best-cost provider strategy is to:

deliver superior value to the value-conscious buyers at a comparatively lower price than rivals

Alliance management is considered an organizational capability and:

develops over time, out of effort and learning

It becomes particularly urgent for a company to consider diversification when there are:

diminishing market opportunities and stagnating sales in its principal business.

Best-cost provider strategies are appealing in those market situations where:

diverse buyer preferences make product differentiation the norm and where a large number of value-conscious buyers can be induced to purchase mid-range products

To create value for shareholders via diversification, a company must:

diversify into businesses that can perform better under a single corporate umbrella than they could perform operating as independent, stand-alone businesses.

The task of crafting a company's overall corporate strategy for a diversified company encompasses all of the following EXCEPT:

divesting well-performing businesses.

The production emphasis of a company pursuing a broad differentiation strategy usually involves:

emphasis on building differentiating features that buyers are willing to pay for and includes wide selection and many product variations

Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of outsourcing value chain activities presently performed in-house?

enables a company to gain better access to end users and better market visibility.

Companies pursue closer coordination and collaboration with channel suppliers to better address customer needs in order to:

enhance differentiation through the value chain system

Diversification into a new industry cannot be considered a success unless it results in:

enhanced shareholder value

Mergers and acquisitions are often driven by such strategic objectives as:

expanding a company's geographic coverage or extending its business into new product categories

Diversification becomes a relevant strategic option for a company EXCEPT when it:

expands into additional businesses that unlock possibilities for a comprehensive cost enhancement strategy.

Strategic offensive should, as a general rule, be based on:

exploiting a company's strongest competitive assets- its most valuable resources and capabilities

Vertical integration strategies

extend a company's competitive scope within the same industry by expanding its operations across multiple segments or stages of the industry value chain

Cost-efficient management of a company's overall value chain activities requires that management:

ferret out cost-saving opportunities in every part of the value chain

A broad differentiation strategy generally produces the best results in situations where:

few rival firms are following a similar differentiation approach

Which of the following rivals make the best targets for an offensive attack?

firms with weaknesses in areas where the challenger is strong

A good example of forward vertical integration is a:

footwear manufacturer developing own-branded retail stores

To take advantage of cross-business value chain relationships and strategic fit and turn them into competitive advantage requires that companies determine whether there are opportunities to strengthen the business, which includes such tasks as all of the following, EXCEPT:

forcing cultural independence, operating diversity, and sophisticated analytical responsibility on the businesses to ensure compatibility with the corporate overhead identity.

Mergers and acquisitions:

frequently do not produce the hoped-for outcomes.

The strategic impetus for forward vertical integration is to:

gain better access to end users and better market visibility

Which of the following ways are employed by defending companies to fend off a competitive attack?

gain product line exclusivity to force competitors to use other distributors

Which of the following is typically the strategic impetus for forward vertical integration?

gaining better access to end users and better market visibility

Companies racing against rivals for global market leadership need strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships with companies in foreign countries to:

get into critical country markets quickly, gain inside knowledge about unfamiliar markets and cultures, and access valuable skills and competencies that are concentrated in particular geographic locations.

A company's biggest vulnerability in employing a best-cost provider strategy is:

getting squeezed between the strategies of firms employing low-cost provider strategies and high-end differentiation strategies

Market conditions and factors that tend NOT to favor first movers include:

growth in demand that depends on the development of complementary products or services that are not currently available and new industry infrastructure that is needed before buyer demand can surge

Low-cost leaders who have the lowest industry costs are likely to:

have out-managed rivals in finding ways to perform value chain activities more cost-effectively

An example of how companies can revamp their value chain to reduce costs is to:

have suppliers locate their plants close to companies' own facilities.

Each of the five generic strategies positions the company differently, EXCEPT when it concerns:

having resources and capabilities that rivals have trouble duplicating

A company racing to seize opportunities on the frontiers of advancing technology often utilizes strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships to:

help master new technologies and build new expertise and competencies, establish a stronger beachhead for participating in the target industry, and open up broader opportunities in the target industry.

The big risk of employing an outsourcing strategy is:

hollowing out a firm's own capabilities and losing touch with activities and expertise that contribute

The range of product and service segments that the firm serves within its market is known as the firms:

horizontal scope

To profitably employ a best-cost provider strategy, a company must have the resources and capabilities to:

incorporate attractive or upscale attributes into its product offering at a lower cost than rivals

A route to take in developing a differentiation advantage includes:

incorporating tangible features that add functionality, increase customer satisfaction with the product specifications, functions, and styling.

Brands create customer loyalty, which in turn:

increases the perceived cost of switching to another product.

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that a non-capital-intensive company can achieve a cost advantage by revamping its value chain?

increasing production capacity and then striving hard to operate at full capacity

A competitive strategy to be the low-cost provider in an industry works well when:

industry newcomers use introductory low prices to attract buyers and build a customer base

The principal offensive strategy options include all the following EXCEPT:

initiating a market threat and counterattack simultaneously to effect a distraction

Outsourcing strategies:

involve farming out value chain activities presently performed in-house to outside specialists and strategic allies.

A blue-ocean strategy:

involves abandoning efforts to beat out competitors in existing markets and instead invent a new industry or new market segment that renders existing competitors largely irrelevant and allows a company to create and capture altogether new demand.

An outsourcing strategy:

involves farming out certain value chain activities presently performed in-house to outside vendors.

A hit-and-run or guerrilla warfare type offensive strategy:

involves unexpected attacks (usually by a small-to-medium size competitor) to grab sales and market share from complacent or distracted rivals

Which of the following is NOT true of a company that succeeds in differentiating its product offering from those of its rivals?

it attracts mainly price-conscious buyers

Which of the following is NOT one of the key benefits of employing an outsourcing strategy?

it can hollow out a firm's own capabilities and cause it to lose touch with activities and expertise.

Outsourcing the performance of value chain activities presently performed in-house to outside vendors and suppliers makes strategic sense EXCEPT when:

it restricts a company's ability to assemble diverse kinds of expertise speedily and efficiently.

The competitive advantage of a best-cost provider is:

its capability to incorporate upscale or attractive attributes into its product offering at lower costs than rivals

Why do mergers and acquisitions sometimes fail to produce anticipated results?

key employees at the acquired company can quickly become disenchanted and leave

A low-cost leader can translate its low-cost advantage over rivals into superior profit performance by:

maintaining the present price and using the lower-cost edge to earn a higher profit margin on each unit sold

Being first to initiate a particular strategic move can have a high payoff in all of the following EXCEPT when:

market uncertainties make it difficult to ascertain what will eventually suceed

Merger and acquisition strategies:

may offer considerable cost-saving opportunities and can also be beneficial in helping a company try to invent a new industry.

A low-cost leader's basis for competitive advantage is:

meaningful lower overall costs than rivals on comparable products

The competitive objective of a best-cost provider strategy is to:

meet or exceed buyer expectations on key quality/performance/features/service attributes and beat their expectations on price (given what rivals are charging for much the same attributes)

Which of the following is NOT one of the factors that affects whether a strategic alliance will be successful and realize its intended benefits?

minimizing the amount of resources that the partners commit to the alliance.

A primary reason for why mergers and acquisitions sometimes fail is due to the:

misinterpretation of the cultural differences, like employee disenchantment and low morale, differences in management styles and operating procedures, and operations integration decision mistakes

Whether a broad differentiation strategy ends up enhancing company profitability depends mainly on whether:

most buyers accept the customer value proposition as unique and the product can produce sufficient unit sales to cover the costs of achieving the differentiation.

A competitive strategy of striving to the be the low-cost provider is particularly attractive when:

most buyers use the product in the much same ways, with user requirements calling for a standardized product

Launching a preemptive strike type of offensive strategy entails:

moving first to secure advantageous competitive assets that rivals can't readily match or duplicate

For backward vertical integration into the business of suppliers to be a viable and profitable strategy, a company:

must be able to achieve the same scale economies as outside suppliers and match or beat suppliers' production efficiency with no drop-off in quality

Outsourcing strategies can offer such advantages as:

obtaining higher quality and/or cheaper components or services, improving a company's ability to innovate, and reducing its risk exposure.

The underlying criteria of a best-cost provider strategy usually is found in the ability of a company to:

offer better goods at attractive prices

The objective of differentiation is to:

offer customers something rivals can't, at least in terms of the level of satisfaction

The essence of a broad differentiation strategy is to:

offer unique product attributes in ways that are valuable and appealing and that buyers consider worth paying for.

A focused differentiation strategy aims at securing competitive advantage by:

offering a product carefully designed to appeal to the unique preferences and needs of a narrow, well-defined group of buyers

A blue-ocean type of offensive strategy:

offers growth in revenues and profits by discovering or inventing new industry segments that create altogether new demand

A differentiation-based competitive advantage:

often hinges on incorporating features that (1) raise the performance of the product or (2) lower the buyer's overall costs of using the company's product or (3) enhance buyer satisfaction in intangible or non-economic ways or delivering value to customers on by differentiating on the basis of competencies and capabilities that rivals can't match.

Which one of the following is NOT a good type of rival for an offensive-minded company to target?

other offensive-minded companies with a sizable war chest of cash and marketable securities

A drink manufacturer finds setting up a plant to make its own bottle caps expensive and technically difficult. Which of the following will be most helpful in solving the manufacturer's problem?

outsourcing

Which of the following is NOT an action that a company should take to perform value chain activities more cost-effectively?

over-differentiating so that the product features exceed the needs of most buyers

Which of the following is NOT one of the pitfalls of pursuing a differentiation strategy?

over-emphasizing efforts to strongly differentiate the company's product from those of rivals rather than being content with weak product differentiation

Once a company has decided to employ a particular generic competitive strategy, then it must make the following additional strategic choices, EXCEPT whether to:

pay special attention to buyer segments that a rival is already serving

In order to be successful with a low-cost leadership strategy, company managers have to:

perform value chain activities more cost-effectively than rivals and be proactive in revamping the firms overall value chain to eliminate or bypass "nonessential" cost producing activities

Whatever strategic approach is adopted by a company to deliver value, it nearly always:

performing value chain activities differently than rivals and building competitive valuable resources and capabilities that rivals cannot match

The major avenues for achieving a cost advantage over rivals include:

performing value chain activities more cost-effectively than rivals, or revamping the firms overall value chain to eliminate or bypass some cost-producing activities

The risks of a focused strategy based on either low-cost or differentiation include:

potential for the preferences and needs of niche members to shift over time toward product attributes desired by buyers in the mainstream portion of the market

The better-off test for evaluating whether a particular diversification move is likely to generate added value for shareholders involves assessing whether the move will:

product a synergistic outcome such that the company's different businesses perform better together than apart and the whole ends up being greater than the sum of the parts

The objective of a competitive strategy is to:

provide buyers superior value relative to the offerings of rival sellers in order to attain a competitive advantage

Being the overall low-cost provider in an industry has the attractive advantage of:

putting a firm in the best position to win the business of price-sensitive customers and earn profits by setting the floor on market price

Which of the following is NOT a potential advantage of backward vertical integration?

reduced business risk because of controlling a bigger portion of the overall industry value chain

Relying on outsiders to perform certain value chain activities offers such strategic advantages as:

reducing the company's risk exposure to changing technology and/or changing buyer preferences.

Initiating actions to boost the combined performance of the corporation's collection of businesses includes all of the following strategic options, EXCEPT:

refocusing the existing businesses on new substitute product-line opportunities outside the existing industry framework

A company that fails to manage its strategic alliance probably has:

refrained from making commitments to its partners and ensured they do the same.

Bypassing regular wholesale/retail channels in favor of direct sales and internet retailing can have appeal if it:

reinforces the brand, enhances consumer satisfaction, and results in lower prices to end users.

The principal advantages of strategic alliances over vertical integration or horizontal merger/acquisitions are:

resource pooling and risk sharing, more adaptive response capabilities, and greater speed of deployment.

For a best-cost provider strategy to be successful, a company must have:

resource strengths and competitive capabilities that allow it to incorporate upscale attributes at lower costs than rivals whose products hav similar upscale attributes

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways managers can enhance differentiation based on value drivers?

seeking out low-quality inputs

A firm pursuing a best-cost provider strategy:

seeks to deliver superior value to buyers by satisfying their expectations on key attributes and beating rivals in meeting customer expectations on price

The decision to pursue diversification requires management to resolve which industries to enter and whether to enter, and includes such decisions as the following, EXCEPT:

selecting the appropriate value chain operating practices to improve the financial outlook.

Achieving a sure cost advantage over rivals entails:

selling a mostly standard product and increasing the scale of operation

A focused low-cost strategy seeks to achieve competitive advantage by:

serving buyers in a narrow piece of the total market (target market niche) at a lower cost and lower price than rivals

What are value drivers?

set of factors (analogous to cost drivers) that are particularly effective in having a strong differentiation effect.

Which of the following is NOT one of the pitfalls of a low-cost provider strategy:

setting the industry's price ceiling to capture volume gains and achieve economies of scale

A healthy fast-casual restaurant that offers only vegetation and vegan meals insists on portraying organic ingredients in its advertisements, charges a higher price for meals, and has a rigorous quality control process to insure the cleanliness of its facilities. What strategy is the manufacturer using to deliver superior value to customers?

signaling value by targeting sophisticated buyers

Diversification into new industries deserves strong consideration when a:

single-business company encounters diminishing market opportunities and stagnating sales in its principal business.

The major difference between a low-cost provider strategy and a focused low-cost strategy is the:

size of the buyer group to which a company is appealing

The culture of a company can be a cost-efficient value chain activities because it can:

spur worker pride in productivity and continuous improvement

Which of the following is defined as a formal agreement between two or more separate companies in which they agree to work cooperatively toward some common objective:

strategic alliance

The two most compelling reasons for a company to pursue vertical integration (either forward or backward) are to:

strengthen the company's competitive position and/or boost its profitability

The keys to maintaining a broad differentiation strategy are to:

stress constant innovation to stay ahead of imitative rivals and to concentrate on a few differentiating features

A fast-food restaurant stocks bread, meat, sauces, and other main ingredients, but does not assemble and cook its burgers and sandwiches until a customer places an order. Which cost driver is the restaurant efficiently using to cut costs?

supply chain efficiencies

Which of the following is NOT among the intended outcomes of horizontal merger and acquisition strategies?

suppressing a rival's breakthroughs in management or technology

A differentiation strategy works best when:

technological change is fast-paced and competition revolves around rapidly evolving product features

Broad differentiation strategies generally work best in market situations where:

technological change is fast-paced and competition revolves around rapidly evolving the product features.

The two big drivers of outsourcing are:

that outsiders can often perform certain activities better or more cheaply, and outsourcing allows a firm to focus its entire energies on those activities that are at the center of its expertise (its core competencies).

The big danger or risk of a best-cost provider strategy is:

that rivals with low-cost provider strategies will be able to steal away some customers on the basis of a lower price, and high-end differentiators will be able to steal away customers with the appeal of better product attributes

For a backward vertical integration strategy into the business of suppliers to be viable and profitable, a company must possess:

the capability to achieve the same scale economies as outside suppliers and also match or beat suppliers' production efficiency with no drop in quality.

The difference between a merger and an acquisition relates to:

the details of ownership, management control, and the financial arrangements

A strategy of vertical integration can have substantial drawbacks, including:

the environmental costs of coordinating operations across vertical chain activities.

In terms of strategy making, what is the difference between a one-business company and a diversified company?

the first uses a business-level strategy, while the second uses a set of business strategies and a corporate strategy.

A broad differentiation strategy improves profitability when:

the higher price the product commands exceeds the added costs of achieving the differentiation

The race among rivals for industry leadership is more likely to be a marathon rather than a sprint when:

the market depends on the development of complementary products or services that are currently not available, buyers have high switching costs, and influential rivals are in position to derail the efforts of a first-mover

Focused strategies keyed either to low cost or differentiation are especially appropriate for situations where:

the market is composed of distinctly different buyer groups who have different needs or use the product in different ways

First-mover disadvantages (or late-mover advantages) rarely ever arise when:

the market response is strong and the pioneer gains a monopoly position that enables it to recover its investment

A strategy to be the industry's overall low-cost provider tends to be more appealing than a differentiation or best-cost or focus/market niche strategy when:

the offerings of rival firms are essentially identical, standardized, commodity-like products

Which of the following is NOT a typical reason that many outsourcing alliances prove unstable or break apart?

the partners may disagree over how to divide the profits gained from joint collaboration

Focusing the ability can secure a competitive edge but also carries some risks that could be detrimental to the focused firm, such as:

the potential for the preferences and needs of niche members to shift over time toward mainstream provider product attributes

Establishing investment priorities and steering corporate resources into the most attractive business units typically requires the company to decide on all of the following options, EXCEPT:

the pursuit of debt reduction opportunities that can lower the debt/equity ratio while maintaining asset levels

What sets focused (or market niche) strategies apart from low-cost leadership and broad differentiation strategies is:

their concentrated attention on serving the needs of buyers in a narrow piece of the overall market

Broad differentiating strategies are well-suited for market circumstances where:

there are many ways to differentiate the product or service that has value to buyers

Because when to make a strategic move can be just as important as what move to make, a company's best option with respect to timing is:

to carefully weigh the first-mover advantages against the first-mover disadvantages and act accordingly

What is the goal of signaling a challenger that strong retaliation is likely in the event of an attack?

to dissuade challengers from attacking or diverting them into less threatening options

Which of the following is NOT a strategically beneficial reason why a company may enter into strategic partnerships or cooperative arrangements with key suppliers, distributors, or makers of complementary products?

to enable greater opportunities for employee advancement

Which of the following is NOT a typical strategic objective or benefit that drives mergers and acquisitions?

to facilitate a company's shift from a broad differentiation strategy to a focused differentiation strategy

Which of the following is NOT a purpose of a defensive strategy?

to increase the risk of having to defend an attack

The marketing emphasis of a company pursuing a broad differentiation strategy usually is to:

tout differentiating features and charge a premium price that more than covers the extra costs of differentiating features

A pitfall to avoid in pursuing a differentiation strategy is:

trying to differentiate on the basis of attributes or features that are easily and quickly copied~

Sometimes it makes sense for a company to go on the offensive to improve its market position and business performance. The best offensives tend to incorporate the following EXCEPT:

using a strategic offensive to allow the company to leverage its weaknesses to strengthen operating vulnerabilities

What is the primary target market for a best-cost provider?

value-conscious buyer

A government oil company is having trouble with the private refineries and transporters to whom it delegates important stages of production. It decides to become more active along the entire supply chain from locating deposits to retailing the fuel to consumers. Which of the following does it intend to achieve?

vertical integration

Which of the following is NOT a strategic disadvantage of vertical integration?

vertical integration reduces the opportunity for achieving greater product differentiation

The extent to which a firm's internal activities encompass one, some, many, or all of the activities that make up an industry's entire value chain system is known as:

vertical scope

Which of the following is NOT an example of a company that uses blue-ocean market strategy?

walmarts logistics and distribution in the retail industry

Apple's $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beat Music in 2014 was an attractive strategy option for entering promising new industries in headphones in streaming music services because it:

was an effective way to hurdle entry barriers, is usually quicker than trying to launch a brand-new startup operation, and allows the acquirer to move directly to the task of building a strong position in the target industry.

Which one of the following does NOT represent market circumstances that make a focused low-cost or focused differentiation strategy attractive?

when buyers are not strongly brand loyal and a large number of other rivals are attempting to specialize in the same target market

In which of the following circumstances is a strategy to be the industry's overall low-cost provider NOT particularly well-matched to the market situation?

when buyers have widely varying needs and special requirements, and the prices of substitute products are relatively high

In which of the following instances is being a first-mover NOT particularly advantageous?

when markets are too slow to accept the innovative product offering of a first-mover, and fast followers possess sufficient resources and marketing muscle to overtake a first-mover

In which of the following cases are late-mover advantages (or first-mover disadvantages) NOT likely to arise?

when opportunities exist for a blue-ocean strategy to invent a new industry or distinctive market segment that creates altogether new demand

First-mover advantages are unlikely to be present in which one of the following instances?

when rapid market evolution (due to fast paced changes in technology or buyer preferences)

In which of the following market circumstances is a broad differentiation strategy NOT well-suited?

when the products of rivals are weakly differentiated

The biggest and most important difference among the competitive strategies or different companies boil down to:

whether a company's market target is broad or narrow, and whether the company is pursuing a competitive advantage linked to low cost, or differentiation

How valuable a low-cost leader's advantage is depends on:

whether it is easy or inexpensive for rivals to copy the low-cost leader's methods or otherwise match its low costs.

Which of the following is NOT a strategic choice that a company must make to complement and supplement its choice of one of the five generic competitive strategies?

whether to employ a market share leadership strategy