MIDTERM Strategic Management

24) _____ describes a process in which the options one faces in a current situation are limited by decisions made in the past. A) Social complexity B) Path dependence C) Cannibalization D) Causal ambiguity

B) Path dependence

10) The ________ allows the scanning, monitoring, and evaluating of changes and trends in a firm's macro environment. A) VRIO frameworkB) SWOT analysisC) BCG matrixD) PESTEL framework

D) PESTEL framework

1) Which of the following strategy plans might work best in an industry that is considered a fast-changing environment with new laws going into effect regularly? A) scenario planning B) top-down planning C) bottom-up planning D) dominant planning

A) scenario planning

27) Which of the following is NOT considered an important macro-environmental influence on businesses (that is, a potential influence beyond that of the industry alone)? A) bargaining power of suppliersB) economic factorsC) political changesD) technological factors

A) bargaining power of suppliers

22) In an industry, the threat of entry is high when A) capital requirements are low.B) expected returns are low.C) technological know-how is industry-specific.D) switching costs are high.

A) capital requirements are low

9) The best example of a firm's external stakeholder is a(n) Stakeholders are any and all entities that have invested interest in the firm A) government agency that regulates the prices of products manufactured by the firm. B) board member from a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary of the firm. C) shareholder who has invested money in the firm but is not employed by the firm. -> not all stakeholders are shareholders D) employee of the firm who is responsible for a contract project.

idk

22) Assume a firm's resources and capabilities are costly to imitate. This is because rival companies do not clearly understand the relationship between the resources and capabilities controlled by the firm. In this case, the firm's competitive advantage is protected against imitation by A) path dependence. B) dependence complexity .C) causal ambiguity. D) social complexity.

.C) causal ambiguity.

14) Which of the following statements is true of the social responsibilities of a business? A) A firm's ethical responsibilities go beyond its legal responsibilities. B) Shareholders mandatorily require a firm to perform its ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. C) Ethical responsibilities are the foundational building block of a firm's social responsibility. D) Legal responsibilities are often subsumed under the idea of corporate citizenship, reflecting the notion of voluntarily giving back to society.

A) A firm's ethical responsibilities go beyond its legal responsibilities.

13) Which of the following statements is true of corporate strategy? A) The objective of corporate-level strategy is to ensure that the sum of the values of individual business units is greater than the overall corporate value. B) A corporate strategy must be able to create synergies across business units that are quite different. C) Formulating a corporate strategy involves general managers answering questions relating to how to compete in order to achieve superior performance. D) Deciding whether to adopt a differentiation or a cost-leadership strategy is part of formulating the corporate strategy.

B) A corporate strategy must be able to create synergies across business units that are quite different.

24) The ________ is a model that links strategy analysis, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation, which together helps managers plan and implement a strategy that can improve performance and result in competitive advantage. A) Ansoff's growth strategy matrix B) AFI strategy framework C) Sarbanes-Oxley Act D) stakeholder impact analysis

B) AFI strategy framework

17) ________ is best described as a set of goal-directed actions a firm takes to gain and sustain superior performance relative to competitors. A) Behavior modification B) Strategy C) Credo D) Competency management

B) Strategy

5) Which of the following summarizes the difference between a firm's vision and mission? A) A vision states what a firm wants to accomplish; a mission states how a firm plans to accomplish this vision.B) A vision states the ethical values of a firm; a mission states the monetary goals of a firm.C) A vision states how much a firm wants to earn; a mission states how these earnings will be accomplished.D) A vision states the management values of a firm; a mission states the values of the other workers.

A) A vision states what a firm wants to accomplish; a mission states how a firm plans to accomplish this vision.

6) Which of the following is not captured when examining a competitive industry structure? A) the ability to engage in forward vertical integrationB) the number and size of an industries competitorsC) the firm's degree of pricing powerD) the type of product or service (commodity or differentiated product)

A) the ability to engage in forward vertical integration

11) Which of the following external forces is a part of a firm's task environment? A) the composition of the strategic group to which the firm belongsB) the interest rates prevalent in the economy in which the firm operatesC) the inflation level in the economy in which the firm operatesD) the recent innovations in process technology, including lean manufacturing

A) the composition of the strategic group to which the firm belongs

While implementing strategic group mapping for the U.S. domestic airline industry, two strategic groups become apparent: low-cost, point-to-point airlines (Virgin Atlantic, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines) versus differentiated airlines using a hub-and-spoke system (American, Delta, and United). Which of the following statements is true about these two strategic groups? A) Competitive rivalry between Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue is likely to be higher than that between American and Southwest Airlines. B) American, United, and Delta Airlines will be affected differently by Porter's five competitive forces. C) Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines will be affected by the external environment in very similar ways. D) Competitive rivalry between Virgin Atlantic and Delta Airlines is likely to be higher than that between American, Delta, and United.

A) Competitive rivalry between Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue is likely to be higher than that between American and Southwest Airlines.

3) Do vision statements help firms gain and sustain competitive advantage? A) It depends, because the effectiveness of vision statements differ by type. B) Yes, but only if the vision statements are short, concise and are well written. C) No, vision statements do not, but mission statements do. D) Only if the vision statement follows the strategic management process.

A) It depends, because the effectiveness of vision statements differ by type

13) How is a firm's task environment different from its general environment? A) Managers have some influence over external factors in the task environment; they have little direct effect over external forces in the general environment.B) Managers have no direct effect over external factors in the task environment; they have some influence over external forces in the general environment.C) Managers have no direct effect over external factors in the task environment; they have influence over all external forces in the general environment.D) Managers have influence over all external factors in the task environment; they have no direct effect over external forces in the general environment.

A) Managers have some influence over external factors in the task environment

3) In nearly every case, which of the Five Forces is the most important in determining the relative power structure in an industry? A) No single force is dominant in most every case.B) current competitorsC) potential entrantsD) past participants

A) No single force is dominant in most every case

8) Which of the following statements about product-oriented visions is true? A) They tend to force managers to take a myopic view of the competitive landscape.B) They allow companies to effectively adapt to changing environments.C) They define a business in terms of providing solutions to customers.D) They allow firms to set goals that focus primarily on filling the organization's needs.

A) They tend to force managers to take a myopic view of the competitive landscape

6) Which of the following tasks in the AFI strategy framework involves evaluating the internal and external environments in which a firm operates? A) analysis B) formulation C) implementation D) competitive advantage

A) analysis

14) To help a firm achieve a competitive advantage, each distinct activity performed in the value chain needs to A) contribute to the firm's strategic position as either low-cost leader or differentiator. B) reduce the immobility and the heterogeneity of the firm's resources. C) create a static fit between the company's internal resources and the external environment. D) reduce the causal ambiguity and the social complexity of the firm's source of success

A) contribute to the firm's strategic position as either low-cost leader or differentiator.

4) Most consumers and investors today want the firms they do business with to look beyond just the profit motive. In fact, they want firms that behave legally and ethically while also giving back to their communities via philanthropic activities. The framework that attempts to reconcile these wants is known as A) corporate social responsibility. B) stakeholder impact analysis. C) business model analysis. D) value chain driven decision making.

A) corporate social responsibility.

7) The goal of a good strategy is focused primarily on A) creating superior value while containing costs. B) making as much money as possible. C) employing lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. D) encouraging investors to buy more shares of the firm.

A) creating superior value while containing costs.

4) The first step to gain and sustain a competitive advantage is to A) define a firm's vision, mission, and values. B) understand the strategies of the competitors. C) put the guiding policies of a firm into practice. D) develop functional and business-level strategies.

A) define a firm's vision, mission, and values.

14) Which of the following functions do the general managers in strategic business units primarily perform? A) design generic business strategies based on guidelines received from corporate headquartersB) set overarching strategic objectives to unify the entire conglomerate under one missionC) take responsibility for decisions and actions within a single functional areaD) allocate scarce resources among different business divisions

A) design generic business strategies based on guidelines received from corporate headquarters

26) Tesla is addressing environmental concerns regarding the carbon emissions of gasoline-powered cars by building zero-emission battery-powered vehicles. This best represents which of the following PESTEL categories? A) ecologicalB) economicC) politicalD) technological

A) ecological

13) In the pyramid of corporate social responsibility, ________ responsibilities are the foundational building block. A) economic B) ethical C) philanthropic D) legal

A) economic

26) In the AFI strategy framework, strategy analysis primarily involves A) evaluating the effects of internal resources and core competencies on a firm's potential to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. B) designing a business, corporate, and global strategy to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. C) organizing a firm in order to effectively put the formulated strategy into practice. D) deciding the type of corporate governance that would be most effective in the implementation of a strategy.

A) evaluating the effects of internal resources and core competencies on a firm's potential to gain and sustain a competitive advantage.

24) A strategic group will typically include A) firms within the same industry.B) customers belonging to a particular socioeconomic class.C) firms employing similar number of employees, irrespective of their industries.D) employees within a firm earning the same amount in salary.

A) firms within the same industry

12) A firm will fail to create a sustained competitive advantage when the A) fit between its internal strengths and the external environment is static. B) source of its competitive advantage is causally ambiguous. C) source of its competitive advantage is socially complex. D) resource bundles exhibit heterogeneity and immobility.

A) fit between its internal strengths and the external environment is static.

4) According to the resource-based view, a firm's competitive advantage often stems from its A) intangible resources. B) tangible resources. C) dynamic strengths. D) external environment.

A) intangible resources.

Core Competencies are derived from the combination of A) key strategic resources and a firm's capabilities. B) export barriers, trade barriers, and credit barriers faced recently by the company. C) tax policy changes driven by federal programs and R&D grants at the state level. D) knowledge brought in by new graduates and the mentoring they receive from existing employees.

A) key strategic resources and a firm's capabilities.

9) Firms that compete within the same strategic group generally experience A) more competitive rivalry than firms outside their strategic group.B) less competitive rivalry than firms outside their strategic group.C) the same competitive rivalry than firms outside their strategic group.D) no competitive rivalry because they are substitutes.

A) more competitive rivalry than firms outside their strategic group.

8) Firms that are classified as operating in an oligopoly tend to have some pricing power if they are able to differentiate their product or service offerings from those of their competitors, so the recommended mode of competition is A) non-price-based competition.B) price-based competition.C) hypercompetition.D) service-based competition.

A) non-price-based competition.

2) According to Porter's Five Forces approach, the overall goal of applying the Five Forces analysis to an industry is to make a judgment about its A) overall attractiveness.B) revenue streams.C) future volatility.D) market share.

A) overall attractiveness.

5) Value chain analysis consists of systematically analyzing a firm's key activities that for analysis purposes are categorized into two groups: A) primary activities and support activities. B) products and service activities. C) customers and suppliers. D) profits and losses.

A) primary activities and support activities.

1) In order to better achieve a competitive advantage, firms must now adopt a holistic approach towards satisfying multiple stakeholders opposed to focusing on the needs of their stockholders. This integrative approach is referred to as A) stakeholder strategy. B) internal shareholder strategy. C) integration strategy. D) exchange relationship strategy.

A) stakeholder strategy

15) A ________ is best described as any activity a firm pursues to explore and develop new products and processes, new markets, or new ventures. A) strategic initiativeB) value chainC) supply chainD) corrective action

A) strategic initiative

1) A firm's ________ relates to its ability to create value for customers (V) while containing the cost to do so (C). A) strategic positionB) growth strategyC) industry analysisD) co-operative strategy

A) strategic position

16) A firm's ________ relates to its ability to create value for customers (V) while containing the cost to do so (C). A) strategic positionB) industry effectsC) advantage of the marketplaceD) industry analysis

A) strategic position

18) Which of the following stages of the strategic management process involves an evaluation of a firm's external and internal environments? A) strategy analysis B) strategy implementation C) strategy formulation D) strategy control

A) strategy analysis

5) If you examine various barriers to entry facing firms that might wish to enter the airline industry, this would be most helpful in assessing which of the five forces in that industry? A) threat of new entrantsB) power of supplierC) competitive rivalryD) threat of substitute products

A) threat of new entrants

25) _____ are barriers to imitation that prevent rivals from competing away the advantage a firm may enjoy. A) Embargoes B) Cartel arrangements C) Isolating mechanisms D) Market niches

C) Isolating mechanisms

10) Which of the following statements is true of customer-oriented visions? A) Customer-oriented visions identify how a customer need will be met. B) Customer-oriented vision statements are not the same as listening to your customer. C) Customer-oriented visions reduce a company's ability to adapt to a changing environment. D) Customer-oriented visions define a business in terms of goods or services provided.

B) Customer-oriented vision statements are not the same as listening to your customer.

2) Organizational values help people make choices that are ethical and company-goal-oriented. These values answer which strategic management question? A) What do we want to accomplish as a company?B) How do we accomplish our goals in the organization?C) What are we about as a firm compared to our competitors?D) What is the best way to compete in the industry?

B) How do we accomplish our goals in the organization?

15) Which of the following is the best characterization of sociocultural forces? A) a firm's culture, norms, and valuesB) a society's culture, norms, and valuesC) a competitor's culture, norms, and valuesD) a focus group's culture, norms, and values

B) a society's culture, norms, and values

12) In a firm's external environment, ________ trends primarily capture population characteristics related to age, gender, family size, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic class. A) politicalB) demographicC) ecologicalD) economic

B) demographic

30) Companies in the same strategic group are ________ to each other. A) strategic alliesB) direct competitorsC) merger partnersD) stakeholders or shareholders

B) direct competitors

17) To support the rise of emergent strategies, an organization should A) centralize decision making and all other activities.B) empower lower-level employees to take up autonomous actions.C) limit serendipity that is in the form of random events and accidental happenstances.D) rely solely on hard data to formulate strategies.

B) empower lower-level employees to take up autonomous actions.

A successful strategy details a set of goal-directed actions that managers make to gain and sustain a competitive advantage; in order to create this strategy, managers must focus on three pillars. Which of the following below isnot one of these pillars? A) formulation B) execution C) implementation D) analysis

B) execution

11) In the context of the resource-based model of competitive advantage, if a successful firm exhibits resource immobility it means that the A) rival firms have better accessibility to quality resources, which they will be able to acquire and deploy to their benefit. B) firm will have a sustained competitive advantage because of its unique resources that are difficult for others to replicate. C) competitors can easily replicate or copy the firm's resource bundles and capabilities. D) resources of the firm cannot be effectively deployed within its own organization.

B) firm will have a sustained competitive advantage because of its unique resources that are difficult for others to replicate.

5) Which of the following terms describes the guiding policy to address the competitive challenge, and uses corporate- and business-level strategy? A) analysis B) formulation C) implementation D) competitive advantage

B) formulation

After a firm has identified its key stakeholders in stakeholder impact analysis, the immediate next step is to A) recognize the opportunities and threats the stakeholders present. B) identify stakeholders' interests and claims. C) formulate a stakeholder strategy. D) address the stakeholders' concerns.

B) identify stakeholders' interests and claims.

12) Which of the following is typically an economic responsibility of a firm? A) sourcing raw materials from highly developed countries B) paying adequate returns to the firm's stockholders on the capital invested by them C) donating resources, in terms of money and time, toward community development D) helping a nation increase its import of goods and services

B) paying adequate returns to the firm's stockholders on the capital invested by them

3) Which of the following three important stakeholder attributes should managers pay special close attention to in order to better understand stakeholder impact analysis? A) competitive advantage, economic value, and time B) power, legitimacy, and urgency C) grace under pressure, financial control, and reward power D) shareholder rights plan, board representation and CEO influence

B) power, legitimacy, and urgency

22) A firm is said to gain a competitive advantage when it can A) exceed its own previous performances. B) provide products similar to its competitors, but at lower prices. C) perform at the same level as that of its competitors. D) minimize the difference between value creation and cost.

B) provide products similar to its competitors, but at lower prices.

25) According to AFI strategy framework, in which of the following tasks of strategic management is a firm's vision, mission, and values identified? A) strategy control B) strategy analysis C) strategy formulation D) strategy implementation

B) strategy analysi

20) Through ________, a firm puts its guiding policy into practice by employing a set of coherent actions. A) strategy control B) strategy implementation C) strategy formulation D) strategy analysis

B) strategy implementation

28) Which of the following tasks in the AFI strategy framework involves putting the formulated strategy into practice through organizational structure, culture, and controls? A) strategy formulation B) strategy implementation C) strategy analysis D) strategy evaluation

B) strategy implementation

17) The primary objective of Porter's five forces model is to A) understand valuable, rare, and hard-to-imitate resources.B) understand the profit potential of industries.C) reduce the gap between the value of a firm's product and its cost of production.D) break down a firm's value chain activities into primary and support.

B) understand the profit potential of industries

29) Which of the following factors most contributes to the U.S. automotive industry being characterized by high entry barriers? A) New auto companies create electric cars powered by simpler motors and gearboxes.B) New entrants in the automotive industry expect that incumbents will not or cannot retaliate.C) Car manufacturers require large-scale production in order to be cost-competitive.D) Few industrial products are as easy to build as cars powered by internal combustion engines.

C) Car manufacturers require large-scale production in order to be cost-competitive.

7) Why is it better for firms to keep their vision statements customer-oriented rather than product-oriented? A) Customer-oriented visions tend to have a more short-range view of changing environments.B) Customer-oriented visions tend to have a more myopic view of changing environments.C) Customer-oriented visions tend to be more flexible when adapting to changing environments.D) Customer-oriented visions tend to be more stable when dealing with changing environments.

C) Customer-oriented visions tend to be more flexible when adapting to changing environments

4) Which of the following statements is true about strategic groups? A) It is not possible to have two different strategic groups within the same industry.B) Rivalry within the same strategic group tends to be lower than rivalry between different strategic groups.C) Profitability varies between different strategic groups.D) Companies within the same strategic group are complementors to each other.

C) Profitability varies between different strategic groups.

21) Which of the following statements accurately describes a firm's resource stock? A) Resource stocks are a firm's level of resources that are common to competitors. B) Resource stocks are a firm's future estimate of both tangible and intangible resources. C) Resource stocks are a firm's current level of intangible resources. D) Resource stocks are a firm's level of investments to maintain or build a resource.

C) Resource stocks are a firm's current level of intangible resources.

16) ________ is best described as an integrative management field that combines analysis, formulation, and implementation in the quest for competitive advantage. A) Supply chain management B) Integrated technology management C) Strategic management D) Inventory management

C) Strategic management

16) A company uses the planned emergence approach in the development of its strategies. Which of the following is an implication of this? A) The employees will be isolated from the process of setting the company's vision and mission.B) The lower-level employees will be restricted to the tasks involved in strategic implementation.C) The company's organizational structure and systems will be designed to support bottom-up strategic initiatives.D) The top management will create a strategy that is based on hard data alone, rather than an inspiring vision.

C) The company's organizational structure and systems will be designed to support bottom-up strategic initiatives.

21) Which of the following is an element of good strategy? A) a summary of the firm's history within its industry B) a guiding policy to address employee satisfaction C) a set of coherent actions to implement the firm's guiding policy D) an approach that underestimates the competition

C) a set of coherent actions to implement the firm's guiding policy

23) A firm always has a competitive disadvantage when its return on invested capital is A) below the industry average. B) 2 percent or lower in a declining industry. C) about the same as its closest competitor. D) declining steadily over two or more years.

C) about the same as its closest competitor.

18) In the five forces model developed by Michael Porter, ________ is not defined narrowly as a firm's closest competitors but rather more broadly to include other factors in an industry like buyers, suppliers, potential new entry of other firms, and the threat of substitutes. A) a stakeholderB) regulationC) competitionD) a barrier to entry

C) competition

12) As a part of strategy formulation, a firm's functional strategy primarily concerns questions relating to A) where to compete.B) when to compete.C) how to implement business strategy.D) how to enter target markets.

C) how to implement business strategy

14) Which of the following is a macroeconomic factor that can affect a firm's strategy? A) power of buyersB) power of suppliersC) levels of employmentD) threat of substitute

C) levels of employment

19) A traditional top-down strategic planning process typically begins with A) employees at the operational level identifying problems within an organization.B) functional managers formulating functional strategies for their respective departments.C) strategic leaders adjusting a company's vision and mission based on environmental analysis.D) employees who have close contact with customers taking autonomous actions.

C) strategic leaders adjusting a company's vision and mission based on environmental analysis

20) The process that describes the method by which managers conceive of and implement a strategy that can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage is called A) strategic process.B) strategic technology.C) strategic management.D) strategic planning.

C) strategic management.

9) Which of the following is a customer-oriented vision? A) to be the most progressive insurance companyB) to be the best automobile company in the worldC) to enable businesses to improve their employee communicationsD) to manufacture innovative products through continuous learning

C) to enable businesses to improve their employee communications

7) A "perfectly competitive" industry is one that A) has commodity product offerings.B) usually exhibits low profitability.C) have difficulty achieving even a temporary competitive advantage.D) All of the answers are correct.

D) All of the answers are correct.

11) Which of the following summarizes the difference between corporate strategy and business strategy? A) Corporate strategy deals with how to compete; business strategy deals with where to compete.B) Corporate strategy deals with when to compete; business strategy deals with how to compete.C) Corporate strategy deals with how to compete; business strategy deals with when to compete.D) Corporate strategy deals with where to compete; business strategy deals with how to compete.

D) Corporate strategy deals with where to compete; business strategy deals with how to compete.

23) Which of the following statements accurately brings out the difference between monopolistic competition and an oligopoly? A) Sellers in an oligopoly provide highly differentiated products; in monopolistic competition, the products sold are undifferentiated or standardized.B) In an oligopoly, the number of buyers is large; in monopolistic competition, the number of buyers is limited to three or four.C) Firms in an oligopoly have no pricing power; firms in a monopolistically competitive industry have the ability to raise prices.D) In monopolistic competition, many firms compete against each other; in an oligopoly, there are few large firms competing against each other.

D) In monopolistic competition, many firms compete against each other; in an oligopoly, there are few large firms competing against each other.

19) Which of the following is a primary feature of the five forces model? A) It is concerned exclusively about the intensity of rivalry among direct competitors.B) It takes into account a firm's internal resources, capabilities, and core competencies.C) It helps managers determine the changing speed of an industry or the rate of innovation.D) It views competition within an industry broadly to include forces such as buyers, suppliers, and the threat of substitutes.

D) It views competition within an industry broadly to include forces such as buyers, suppliers, and the threat of substitutes.

21) In which of the following situations is the power of suppliers high in an industry? A) Suppliers offer products that are undifferentiated.B) Suppliers can credibly threaten to backward integrate into the industry.C) Suppliers depend heavily on the industry for their revenues.D) Suppliers' industry is more concentrated than the industry it sells to.

D) Suppliers' industry is more concentrated than the industry it sells to.

All of the following are external stakeholders except which of the following? A) customers B) creditors C) alliance partners D) competitors

D) comeptitors

15) In the final step of the stakeholder impact analysis, a firm A) identifies its stakeholders' interests and claims. B) differentiates its internal stakeholders from its external stakeholders. C) recognizes the opportunities and threats stakeholders present. D) decides a course of action to address the stakeholders' concerns.

D) decides a course of action to address the stakeholders' concerns.

18) A(n) ________ is best described as the strategic option that top managers decide most closely matches the current reality and which is then executed. A) bottom-up emergent strategyB) executive summaryC) realized strategyD) dominant strategic plan

D) dominant strategic plan

10) The first step in stakeholder impact analysis involves A) formulating a stakeholder strategy to balance the different needs of various stakeholders. B) identifying the opportunities and threats the stakeholders present. C) describing the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities of the firm toward society. D) identifying the stakeholders that currently have, or potentially can have, a material effect on a company.

D) identifying the stakeholders that currently have, or potentially can have, a material effect on a company.

6) A customer-oriented vision statement focuses employees to think about how best to A) make a product easier to use.B) increase their efficiency to benefit consumers.C) improve a popular product.D) solve a problem for a consumer.

D) solve a problem for a consumer.

27) Which of the following stages in the AFI strategy framework involves designing a business, corporate, and global strategy? A) strategy control B) strategy implementation C) strategy analysis D) strategy formulation

D) strategy formulation

20) A firm's strategic position is likely to be strong when A) the entry barriers within the industry it operates in are low and the exit barriers are high.B) its suppliers and vendors can easily forward-integrate and buyers can backward-integrate.C) all the five forces in Porter's model are strong.D) the gap between the value the firm's product generates and the cost to produce it is large.

D) the gap between the value the firm's product generates and the cost to produce it is large.

28) Which of the following features about a buyer indicates that the buyer has high bargaining power? A) when the buyer cannot credibly threaten to backwardly integrate into the industry B) when the buyer cannot purchase specific products from other sellers C) when the buyer faces high switching costs D) when the buyer purchases inputs that are standardized or undifferentiated commodities

D) when the buyer purchases inputs that are standardized or undifferentiated commodities