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strategic management competitive advantage
Questions and Answers of
Strategic Management Competitive Advantage
Identify three industries or markets where it is unlikely that firms will be able to simultaneously implement cost leadership and product differentiation. Which firms in this industry are
Which of the following management controls and compensation policies is consistent with implementing cost leadership? With product differentiation? With both cost leadership and product
Suppose you obtained the following regression results, where the starred (*) coefficients are statistically significant. What could you say about the bases of product differentiation in this market?
In what ways do the following products pursue a strategy of differentiation?(a) Louis Vuitton bags(b) Samsung smartphones(c) BBC television series(d) Marlboro cigarettes(e) Tencent(f) Apple iPod
Think of two examples of a company that pursued a differentiation strategy and whose sustainability was threatened by substitutes (not imitators). How should the companies respond? What are the
Some researchers believe that a firm pursuing differentiation can sustain its advantage, despite the threat of imitation, by constant upgrades to product/service features.With the help of examples,
Should a firm pursue differentiation strategy in an industry where customers are very price sensitive? As low prices are often supported by low costs, in such a market, what can a differentiation
The learning curve depicted in Figure 4.2 can be represented algebraically by the following equation:Average time to produce x units = ax-b where x is the total number of units produced by a firm in
You have been assigned to estimate the present value of a potential construction project for your company. How would you use the VRIO framework to construct the cashflow analysis that is a part of
Your former college roommate calls you and asks to borrow $10,000 so that he can open a pizza restaurant in his hometown. He acknowledges that there is a high degree of direct competition in this
Explain which of the following approaches to strategy formulation is more likely to generate economic profits: (a) evaluating external opportunities and threats and then developing resources and
Discuss how the decision of whether to imitate a firm with a competitive advantage affects the competitive dynamics in an industry
Describe how a firm uses its structure, formal and informal control processes, and compensation policy to exploit its resources.
Describe the kinds of resources and capabilities that are likely to be costly to imitate.
Apply value chain analysis to identify a firm’s valuable resources and capabilities.
Apply the VRIO framework to identify the competitive implications of a firm’s resources and capabilities.
Describe four types of resources and capabilities.
Describe the critical assumptions of the resource-based view.
Identify two rivals and two complementors for each of the following companies.Rivals could include incumbent competitors, substitutes or potential new entrants.(a) Toyota(b) Microsoft(c) Lenovo(d)
Perform an analysis of the profit potential on the following two industries:The Pharmaceutical Industry The pharmaceutical industry consists of firms that develop, patent, and distribute
Describe the impact of tariffs, quotas, and other nontariff barriers to entry on the cost of entry into new geographic markets.
Describe how rivals and substitutes differ.
Describe the five environmental threats and indicators of when each of these forces will improve or reduce the attractiveness of an industry.
1. Is Visa being overly cautious? Why or Why not? Why is this level of controls necessary?2. Which controls would be more important to Visa: feed-forward, concurrent or feedback? Explain.3. What
1. Discuss the types of growth strategies that Starbucks has used. Be specific. What competitive advantages do you think Starbucks has? What will it have to do to maintain those advantages?2. What
1. Do you think it’s a good idea to have a president for the Canadian division and for the other international divisions? What are the advantages of such an arrangement? Disadvantages?2.
1. As Starbucks continues to expand globally, what factors might affect partner responses on a partner view survey? What are the implications for managers?2. Look at the description of the types of
1. What companies might be good benchmarks for Starbucks? Why? What companies might want to benchmark Starbucks? Why?2. What control criteria might be useful to a retail store manager? To a barista
Internet file sharing programs are popular among college and university students. These programs work by allowing anyone to access any local network where desired files are located. Because these
In strategic alliances, organizations have several options beyond that of an equity alliance, such as joint ventures and a spectrum of non-equity alliance choices. Then why would a company want to
In the 21st century, many organizations feel compelled to partner for expansion, particularly in an international situation. Options include exporting or licensing one’s intellectual property in a
Consider the joint venture between General Motors and Toyota.GM has been interested in learning how to profitably manufacture highquality small cars from its alliance with Toyota. Toyota has been
An exclusive distributorship agreement entered into by a manufacturer(the principal) with an organization can constitute a strategic alliance. On the other hand, some companies appoint a huge number
Partnerships can range from simple principal-reseller relationships to equity joint ventures. In the latter makeup, partners have real and often long-term financial interests in the project.There are
Some researchers have argued that alliances can be used to help firms evaluate the economic potential of entering into a new industry or market.Why couldn’t such a firm simply hire some smart
Some researchers have argued that alliances can be used to help firms evaluate the economic potential of entering into a new industry or market. What, if anything, about an alliance makes this a
Which of the following firms faces the greater threat of “cheating” in the alliances described, and why?(a) Firm I and Firm II form a strategic alliance. As part of the alliance, Firm I agrees to
Are all strategic alliances used for entry into a market? Explain with examples.
Examine the Web sites of the following strategic alliances and determine which of the sources of value presented in Table 9.1 are present:(a) Dow-Corning (an alliance between Dow Chemical and
Describe different types of mergers and acquisitions.
Estimate the return to the stockholders of bidding and target firms when there is no strategic relatedness between firms.
Describe different sources of relatedness between bidding and target firms.
Estimate the return to stockholders of bidding and target firms when there is strategic relatedness between firms.
Describe five reasons why bidding firms might still engage in acquisitions, even if, on average, they do not create value for a bidding firm’s stockholders.
Describe three ways that bidding firms might be able to generate high returns for their equity holders through implementing mergers or acquisitions.
Describe the major challenges that firms integrating acquisitions are likely to face.
The terms merger and acquisition are often used interchangeably to describe the combination of two corporate entities. Whilst there are no specific definitions as to what makes a process more of one
A merger between companies of equal standing is often fraught with peril. This is especially so in the case of large entities, for example, the merger between HP and Compaq, and that of Citicorp and
For each of the following scenarios, estimate how much value an acquisition will create, how much of that value will be appropriated by each of the bidding firms, and how much of that value will be
Define international strategy.
Describe the relationship between international strategy and other corporate strategies, including vertical integration and diversification.
Describe five ways that international strategies can create economic value.
Discuss the trade-off between local responsiveness and international integration and transnational strategies as a way to manage this trade-off.
Discuss the political risks associated with international strategies and how they can be measured.
Discuss the rarity and imitability of international strategies.
Describe four different ways to organize to implement international strategies.
Are international strategies always just a special case of diversification strategies that a firm might pursue?
In international expansion, companies are more exposed to currency risks than domestic organizations. Describe the basic mechanics of this exposure and how firms can guard against it.
Investing abroad is always risky for companies; external macro-environmental factors are elements that a firm has little or no control over. When participating in foreign direct investment(FDI)
How are the organizational options for implementing an international strategy related to the M-form structure described in Chapter 8?
Countries participate in cross border trade to exchange goods otherwise not available in their own countries, at a price, quality or variety level as demanded by customers. Unless countries are
Match the actions of these firms with their sources of potential value.(a) Tata Motors (India) acquires Jaguar (United Kingdom).(b) Microsoft (United States) opens four research and development
How can we measure the political risks associated with international strategies?
How does internationalization affect product life cycles?
Define a strategic alliance and give three specific examples of strategic alliances.
Describe nine different ways that alliances can create value for firms and how these nine sources of value can be grouped into three large categories.
Describe how adverse selection, moral hazard, and holdup can threaten the ability of alliances to generate value.
Describe the conditions under which a strategic alliance can be rare and costly to duplicate.
Describe the conditions under which “going it alone”and acquisitions are not likely to be substitutes for alliances.
Describe how contracts, equity investments, firm reputations, joint ventures, and trust can all reduce the threat of cheating in strategic alliances.
Define cost leadership.
Identify six reasons firms can differ in their costs.
Identify four reasons economies of scale can exist and four reasons diseconomies of scale can exist.
Explain the relationship between cost advantages due to learning-curve economies and a firm’s market share, as well as the limitations of this logic.
Identify how cost leadership helps neutralize each of the major threats in an industry.
Identify the bases of cost leadership that are more likely to be rare and costly to imitate.
Explain how firms use a functional organizational structure to implement business-level strategies, such as cost leadership.
Describe the formal and informal management controls and compensation policies firms use to implement cost leadership strategies.
When economies of scale exist, firms with large volumes of production will have lower costs than those with smaller volumes of production.The realization of these economies of scale, however, is far
A firm may choose a strategy of cost leadership in an industry where customers are very price insensitive, e.g., in luxury goods. Given that most competitors will focus on differentiating their
One way of thinking about organizing to implement cost leadership strategies is that firms pursuing this strategy should be highly centralized, have high levels of direct supervision, and keep
Economies of scale and differential low-cost access to productive inputs are two drivers of cost leadership. Are these two factors related?
Often, the first step in determining if cost leadership is a feasible strategy for a company is to analyze the costs of key activities (e.g., using the value chain tool) relative to
The economies of scale curve in Figure 4.1 can be represented algebraically in the following equation:Average costs = a + bQ + cQ2 where Q is the quantity produced by a firm anda, b, and c are
The learning curve depicted in Figure 4.2 can be represented algebraically by the following equation:Average time to produce x units = ax-b where x is the total number of units produced by a firm in
Describe 11 bases of product differentiation and how they can be grouped into three categories.
Describe how product differentiation is ultimately limited only by managerial creativity.
Describe how product differentiation can be used to neutralize environmental threats and exploit environmental opportunities.
Describe those bases of product differentiation that are not likely to be costly to duplicate, those that may be costly to duplicate, and those that will often be costly to duplicate.
Describe the main substitutes for product differentiation strategies.
Describe how organizational structure, control processes, and compensation policies can be used to implement product differentiation strategies.
Discuss whether it is possible for a firm to implement cost leadership and product differentiation strategies simultaneously.
Define vertical integration, forward vertical integration, and backward vertical integration.
Discuss how vertical integration can create value by reducing the threat of opportunism.
Discuss how vertical integration can create value by enabling a firm to exploit its valuable, rare, and costlyto-imitate resources and capabilities.
Discuss how vertical integration can create value by enabling a firm to retain its flexibility.
Describe conditions under which vertical integration may be rare and costly to imitate.
Describe how the functional organization structure, management controls, and compensation policies are used to implement vertical integration.
Can you think of examples when firms vertically integrate to reduce high uncertainty? Explain lack of consistency with the flexibility logic.
In each of the pairs given below, which firm is more vertically integrated? Visit the company Web sites to gather supporting information.(a) Vodafone and Airtel(b) Adolph Coors Brewing and
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