$9.$ Good competitive intelligence

a$.$ enables more accurate predictions about how long it will take a rival to copy most of what the strategy leader is doing.

b$.$ points to those things that every firm in the industry needs to attend to in order to retain customers and weather the competition.

c$.$ helps in determining whether a rival is gaining or losing market share.

d$.$ helps managers construct up$-$to$-$date strategic profiles of rivals.

e$.$ entails drawing the conclusion that companies seem destined to struggle because of their position.

$10.$ When a strong competitor concludes an industry is becoming less attractive, it may

a$.$ improve its long$-$term competitive position in the business.

b$.$ see its best option as finding a buyer, perhaps a rival, to acquire its business.

c$.$ invest aggressively to capture the opportunities it sees.

d$.$ look into acquiring weaker rivals.

e$.$ elect to simply protect its present position, investing cautiously if at all and looking for opportunities in other industries.

$11.$ You are considering starting a business to provide high$-$quality bookkeeping services targeted to restaurants and other food service providers in your region. Which factors would you evaluate to determine whether the food service industry offers good prospects for attractive profits?

a$.$ whether there are more than five key success factors, more than five barriers to entry, and more than five industry drivers

b$.$ the industry's growth potential, whether competition appears destined to become stronger or weaker, how the industry's driving forces might affect overall industry profitability, the company's competitive position relative to rivals, and the company's proficiency in performing industry key success factors

c$.$ whether the market leaders enjoy competitive advantages and how difficult it is to promote innovation to develop a strongly differentiated product or service for which a price premium may be charged

d$.$ an assessment of which firms in the industry have the best and worst competitive strategies, whether the number of strategic groups in the industry is increasing or decreasing, and whether economies of scale and experience curve effects are a key success factor

e$.$ constructing a strategic group map and assessing the attractiveness of the competitive position of each strategic group