Exam 11: Competitive Dynamics

Assume that your organization has chosen to pursue a market leader strategy of the flank defense. Describe what such a strategy might be.

________ is the art of learning from companies that perform certain tasks better than other companies.

Firms that occupy second, third, and lower ranks in an industry can adopt two postures in responding to competition. First, they can attack the leader and other competitors in an aggressive bid for further market share. Second, they can

When a firm looks for new users in groups that might use the product but do not, the firm is using the ________ strategy.

Your marketing manager has chosen the bypass attack as means of responding to an industry leader. Describe the ideas contained in the bypass attack.

A niche firm that specializes in customizing its products for individual customers is known as a ________.

A market segment's attractiveness varies with the height of its entry and exit barriers. Which of the following forces as described by Michael Porter would most likely be examined by a marketing manager in the case of the rise of retail giants such as Walmart?

Position defense involves occupying the most desirable market space in the minds of consumers, making the brand almost impregnable.

A(n) ________ is a group of firms that offer a product or class of products that are close substitutes for one another.

A segment is unattractive if it already contains numerous, strong, or aggressive competitors.

INSEAD professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne believe that too many firms engage in "red-ocean thinking"-seeking bloody, head-to-head battles with competitors based largely on incremental improvements in cost, quality, or both. They advocate engaging instead in "blue-ocean thinking." Explain the concept of blue-ocean strategy and provide some examples of marketers that exhibit this unconventional thinking.

The market nicher is a specialist. Characterize five niche specialist roles that can be assumed by the market nicher, and provide a specific marketer to represent each role.

How did Bert Claeys, a Belgian movie-theatre operator, use blue-ocean thinking to thrive despite an industry slump?

Buyers' bargain power grows when they become more concentrated or organized.

Benz & Frendz Corp., a manufacturer of high end consumer durables, experienced a sluggish sales growth in most of its product categories during three consecutive quarters of 2009. However, market analysis revealed that its competitors' sales had also slackened during this period. Analysts pointed out that when all firms are losing sales, it is extremely important to adopt strategies that are aimed at retaining customers. This led the firm to reduce operation costs while maintaining product quality. They also revamped their marketing strategy to focus on the values created by their products. Which of the following can be inferred from the strategies adopted by the firm?

When the total market expands, the ________ usually gains the most.

Which of the following market follower strategies involves selling on the black market or through disreputable dealers?

A marketing manager has decided to "leapfrog" competition by moving into cutting-edge technologies. This indirect approach to attacking competition can be characterized as ________.

According to Peter Golder and Gerald Tellis, a(n) ________ is the first to develop a working model of the product.

If a company successfully enters a strategic group, the members of that group become its key allies.