Exam 3: Resources and Capabilities

The VRIO framework does not include capabilities and resources that are: a. Valuable. b. Rare. c. Imitable. d. Organizationally embedded. e. All of the above.

Valuable, rare, but imitable resources/capabilities may provide temporary competitive advantage.

Resource-based theorists readily admit that "the source of sustainable competitive advantage is likely to be found in different places at different points in time in different industries."

Having valuable, but common resources/capabilities leads to: a. Competitive parity. b. Competitive advantage. c. Competitive disparity. d. Competitive disadvantage. e. Lack of competition.

How a firm performs different value-adding activities relative to rivals determines the scope of a firm.

Taking advantage of strengths embodied in resources/capabilities and overcoming weaknesses deals with which fundamental question? a. Why do firms differ? b. What determines the scope of the firm? c. How do firms behave? d. What determines the international success and failure of firms? e. All of the above.

The Closing Case describes the admiration on the part of firms in developed nations for companies from emerging economies who copy products and processes from companies in developed nations.

Ways to imitate include: a. Direct duplication. b. Substitution. c. A and B above. d. Innovation. e. None of the above.

Recent aspects of outsourcing include all of the following except: a. "Business process outsourcing" (BPO). b. High-end services to countries led by India. c. Digitization and commoditization of service work. d. As stated by the text, the outsourcing of services is definitely a long-term benefit. e. Increases due to the Internet and the reduction of international communication costs.

Critics of outsourcing agree that MNEs and their outsourcing can be praised for which of the following? a. Not exploiting cheap labor. b. Not treating people as "tradable commodities" that can be jettisoned. c. Not destroying jobs destroying jobs at home. d. Protecting customer privacy. e. None of the above.

Imitation is not likely to be a successful strategy.

In the Opening case, which of the following attributes describe IBM? a. Innovative culture b. Commitment to customer relationships c. Willingness to change d. Strong leadership team e. All of the above.

Most goods and services are produced through a chain of vertical activities which add value.

How is it possible for a strength to become a weakness? How does IBM illustrate that possibility?

All of the following are arguments used by proponents of offshoring except: a. It creates enormous value for firms and economies. b. Western firms are able to tap into low-cost and high-quality labor. c. Firms can focus on their core capabilities. d. For every dollar spent by US firms on India, the U.S. obtains $1.13. e. It is not true that some US employees may lose their jobs.

Academic research has found support for ______________effects on firm performance. a. Resource-based b. Industry-based c. Complementary specific collective d. All of the above e. None of the above

IBM is an example of how capabilities may cease to add value and instead become core rigidities.

Causal ambiguity refers to the difficulty of identifying the outcomes of causal determinants.

International outsourcing involves: a. Offshoring. b. Inshoring. c. A and B above. d. Captive sourcing. e. None of the above.

According to the text, which of the following are intangible resources and capabilities? a. Trade secrets. b. Organizational. c. Formal structures. d. All of the above. e. None of the above.