Question 1
Question
The ________ consists of broad trends in the context in which a firm operates that can have an impact on a firm's strategic choices.
Answer
micro-environment
general environment
task environment
internal environment
Question 2
Question
All of the following are elements of the general environment except
Answer
technological trends.
demographic trends.
industrial trends.
cultural trends.
Question 3
Question
________ is/are the distribution of individuals in a society in terms of age, sex, marital status, income, ethnicity, and other personal attributes that may determine buying patterns.
Answer
Demographics
Economics
Technological trends
-
Culture
Question 4
Question
The values, beliefs and norms that guide behavior in a society are known as
Answer
climate.
demographics.
economics
culture.
Question 5
Question
When activity in an economy is relatively low for a short period of time, the economy is said to be in a
Answer
recession.
-
depression
prosperous cycle.
boom
Question 6
Question
Civil wars, political coups, terrorism, wars between countries, famines, and country or regional economic recessions are all examples of which element of the general environment?
Answer
demographics
specific international events
economics
culture
Question 7
Question
In the S-C-P model, ________ refers to the strategies that firms in an industry implement
Answer
structure
strategy
conduct
performance
Question 8
Question
In a perfectly competitive industry
Answer
there are relatively few firms operating in the industry
the products and services sold by firms in the industry are very different from each other
it is very costly for firms to enter the industry
it is not very costly for firms to enter or exit the industry
Question 9
Question
Within the five forces framework, the five most common threats facing firms from their competitive environment include each of the following except
Answer
substitutes
complementors
suppliers.
buyers
Question 10
Question
Firms in industries characterized by ________ can expect to earn only competitive parity
Answer
perfect competition
monopolistic competition
oligopoly
monopoly
Question 11
Question
Which type of competition is characterized by a large number of firms, heterogeneous products and low cost of entry and exit?
Answer
perfect competition
monopolistic competition
oligopoly
monopoly
Question 12
Question
Which type of competition is characterized by a small number of firms, homogeneous products and costly entry and exit?
Answer
perfect competition
monopolistic competition
oligopoly
monopoly
Question 13
Question
A(n) ________ is any individual, group, or organization outside a firm that seeks to reduce the level of that firm's performance
Answer
environmental threat
environmental opportunity
environmental equalizer
competitive advantage
Question 14
Question
Firms that have either recently begun operations in an industry or that threaten to begin operations in an industry soon are considered to be ________ in the five forces framework
Answer
barriers to entry
new competitors
suppliers
buyers
Question 15
Question
________ exist when a firm's costs rise as a function of its volume of production
Answer
Economies of scale
Economies of scope
Diseconomies of scale
Learning curve effects
Question 16
Question
All other things being equal, which of the following would lead to lower barriers to entry in an industry
Answer
The existence of economies of scale in the industry
Products are highly differentiated in the industry
Industry incumbents have learning-curve cost advantages
Raw materials are widely and readily available at a competitive price
Question 17
Question
Frequent price cutting by firms in an industry, frequent introduction of new products by firms in an industry and intense advertising campaigns are indications of
Answer
high power of buyers.
high threat of new entrants
high levels of direct competition
high threat of substitutes.
Question 18
Question
The threat of direct competition tends to be high when
Answer
there are few firms in an industry and these firms tend to be unequal in size
the industry growth rate is higher
firms are unable to differentiate their products.
production capacity can be added in small increments
Question 19
Question
The products or services provided by a firm's direct competitors meet ________ customer needs in ________ ways as the product provided by the firm itself.
Answer
different; the same
approximately the same; the same
different; different
approximately the same; different
Question 20
Question
Which of the following statements regarding substitutes is accurate
Answer
In the extreme, substitutes can ultimately replace an industry's products or services
Substitutes place a floor on the prices firms in an industry can charge and on the profits firms in an industry can earn.
Substitutes rarely impact the profitability that firms in an industry can earn
The importance of substitutes in reducing the profit potential in a wide variety of industries is decreasing
Question 21
Question
________ make a wide variety of raw materials, labor and other critical assets available to firms
Answer
buyers
Rivals
Suppliers
Substitutes
Question 22
Question
Which of the following attributes makes suppliers a stronger threat?
Answer
The supplier's industry is dominated by a small number of firms
The product or service provided by suppliers is not highly differentiated
Suppliers are threatened by substitutes.
Suppliers are not able to engage in forward vertical integration
Question 23
Question
Which of the following is the best example of forward vertical integration
Answer
a car dealership opening up its own automobile manufacturing plant
a car company opening its own dealerships to sell its products directly to customers
a car company opening its own chain of video rental stores
a car company opening a plant to product motorcycles
Question 24
Question
Buyers tend to have less power when
Answer
a firm has only one buyer, or a small number of buyers
the products or services being sold to buyers are standard and not differentiated
the supplies they purchase are an insignificant portion of the costs of their final products
they are not earning significant economic profits
Question 25
Question
Overall, the average level of performance in an industry is likely to be highest when
Answer
the threat level of all five forces is high
the threat level of rivalry and substitutes is low, but the threat level of suppliers, buyers and new entrants is high.
the threat level of rivalry, substitutes and new entrants is high, but the threat level of buyers and supplies is low
the threat level of all five forces is low.
Question 26
Question
If your customers value your products more when they have your product and another firm's product rather than when they have your product alone, the other firm is considered to be a
Answer
competitor
complementor.
rival.
substitute.
Question 27
Question
An industry in which a large number of small or medium-sized firms operate and no small set of firms has dominant market share or creates dominant technologies is known as a(n) ________ industry
Answer
fragmented
consolidated
mature
emerging
Question 28
Question
The major opportunity facing firms in fragmented industries is
Answer
refining their current products and emphasizing an increase in service quality
developing new products and technologies
creating a first-mover advantage through technological leadership
the implementation of strategies that began to consolidate the industry into a smaller number of firms.
Question 29
Question
The advantages that come to firms that make important strategic and technological decisions early in the development of an industry are known as ________ advantages
Answer
first-mover
competitive
comparative
emerging
Question 30
Question
In general, first-mover advantages can arise from any of these sources except
Answer
technological leadership
preemption of strategically valuable assets.
the creation of customer switching costs
using an imitative strategy to introduce improved versions of competitors' new products
Question 31
Question
Mature industries are characterized by
Answer
an increase in total industry demand
faster increases in production capacity
a slowdown in the introduction of new products or services.
a decrease in the amount of international competition.
Question 32
Question
The most promising opportunity for a firm in a declining industry is to
Answer
establish itself as a first mover in the post-shakeout industry
become a market leader in the pre-shakeout industry
become a fast follower in the pre-shakeout industry
merge with another firm.
Question 33
Question
Firms in a declining industry that engage in a long, systematic phased withdrawal from the industry, extracting as much value as possible during the withdrawal period, are following a(n) ________ strategy
Answer
niche
expansion
divestment
harvest
Question 34
Question
Industries in which a large number of small or medium-sized firms operate and no small set of firms has dominant market share or creates dominant technologies are called ________ industries
Answer
fragmented
mature
emerging
declining
Question 35
Question
________ are advantages that come to firms that make important strategic and technological decisions early in the development of an industry
Answer
Visionary advantages
First-mover advantages
Comparative advantages
Missionary advantages
Question 36
Question
A consolidation strategy is a good option in what type of industry
Answer
mature
emerging
fragmented
declining
Question 37
Question
________ are resources required to successfully compete in an industry.
Answer
Strategically valuable assets
Technological leader strategies
Process innovations
Product innovations
Question 38
Question
________ costs exist when customers make investments in order to use a firm's particular products or services
Answer
First-mover-switching
Technological leadership-switching
Customer-switching
Process-switching
Question 39
Question
Based on the above description, the hardwood furniture industry can best be described as a(n) ________ industry.
Answer
emerging
fragmented
consolidated
declining
Question 40
Question
The level of direct competition in the hardwood furniture industry can best be described
Answer
low because of the numerous firms in the industry and the slowing growth rate
low because of the slowing growth rate and the competition from composite wood furniture
high because of the numerous firms in the industry and the slowing growth rate
moderate because the slowing growth rate offsets the numerous firms in the industry
Question 41
Question
The threat of suppliers in the hardwood furniture can best be described as
Answer
low because there are a large number of suppliers selling an undifferentiated product.
high because there are a large number of suppliers selling an undifferentiated product
moderate because the large number of suppliers is offset by the undifferentiated products they are selling
moderate because of the slowing growth rate in the industry and the commodity nature of the products produced by suppliers
Question 42
Question
If Hickory Divine were to open its own chain of furniture stores, this would be an example of
Answer
complementors.
backward vertical integration
consolidation.
forward vertical integration
Question 43
Question
In this example, composite wood furniture would be an example of a(n)
Answer
substitute
rival.
new entrant
complementor.
Question 44
Question
The threat of buyers in this industry is best described as
Answer
high because there are many suppliers, none of which represents a significant portion of the hardwood furniture industry's sales.
low because of the slow industry growth and the commodity nature of the suppliers.
low because there are many suppliers, none of which represents a significant portion of the hardwood furniture industry's sales
high because of the slow industry growth and the commodity nature of the suppliers
Question 45
Question
Which of the following best describes the competition in the U.S. online auction industry
Answer
perfect competition
monopolistic competition
oligopoly
monopoly
Question 46
Question
For BidBuy, services such as those offered by DollarDog that make BidBuy's services more valuable for customers who use the services of both companies are best described as
Answer
complementors.
substitutes
rivals
suppliers
Question 47
Question
Factors such as BidBuy's feedback rating system that are valuable to the company's customers but which are not useful on other online auction sites are examples of
Answer
first-mover advantages.
complementors.
substitutes
customer-switching costs
Question 48
Question
BidBuy has a ________ advantage
Answer
visionary
global
first-mover
comparative
Question 49
Question
The products or services provided by a firm's substitutes meet ________ customer needs in ________ ways as the product provided by the firm itself.
Answer
different; the same
approximately the same; the same
different; different
approximately the same; different