Read the article below and answer ALL the questions that follow.

The New Barriers to Entry: Why Strategy Assumptions Need to Change in the Era of Ecosystems

by Rita Gunther McGrath

A cherished idea in traditional strategy is that a company that has found a repeatable, reliable business model then needs

to erect barriers to entry$-$some kind of obstacle that prevents others from simply copying or matching their offerings.

Barriers can take many forms, including regulatory hurdles, high investment in assets, patents and strong brand names.

What we are witnessing today is a weakening of many traditional barriers and simultaneously the emergence of very

powerful new barriers that institutions are struggling to figure out.

The emergence of new barriers to entry has revealed a number of twists on the conventional understanding of strategy. In

light of the distinctly new barriers to entry emerging from the unfolding era of ecosystems, strategy assumptions need to

change $($McGrath$,2019).$

Consider the barrier represented by high costs of entry. Once upon a time, a startup would have needed to raise funds to

buy computer servers, hire people, get office space, perhaps invest in plant and equipment and otherwise set up a

functioning company. Today, in the access$-$to$-$assets rather than ownership$-$of$-$assets that is part of the transient advantage

economy, none of that is necessary. Computing power can be purchased on demand, as needed. Freelancers are readily

available. Office space may not even be needed, and if it is$,$ can be accessed on demand through firms such as WeWork or

IWG $($formerly Regus$).$ Digitally intermediated marketplaces match supply and demand with great efficiency, reducing the

need for investment dramatically.

A twist on the conventional wisdom is that today, strategic advantage is often determined by complementary relationships

rather than by product or service benefits. A music player with no music, a computer without an operating system or a

streaming service with no content has no value to anyone. And yet, complements don't figure very much in conventional

strategy frameworks. Moreover, establishing an ecosystem of complementary relationships means that today, ecosystems

compete with ecosystems rather than firms competing with one another independently.