Exam 2: Strategy and Technology: Concepts and Frameworks for Understanding What Separates Winners From Losers

Rivals such as ________________ and ________________ once made their own chips, but sold off manufacturing when their smaller market shares couldn't justify the Intel-sized multi-billion dollar table stakes needed to stay in the game.

Time and technology can be enablers for competitive advantage. Explain this statement.

If a new entrant hopes to attract customers from an established incumbent, the new entrant must ensure that the value they offer exceeds the incumbents' value in addition to any perceived _____.

A decision situation where one party has more or better information than its counterparty is called a(n) _____.

The category of enterprise software known as ________________ is implemented in modules, offering the potential of automating an organization's entire value chain.

A firm's financial performance that consistently outperforms its industry's peers is known as operational effectiveness.

One of the key questions posed by 21st century managers is "How can we possibly compete when everyone can copy our technology and the competition is a click away?" One path to take involves creating a resource or set of resources for sustainable competitive advantage. List the four characteristics that such resources must have for the possibility of sustainable competitive advantage to exist. Why is it important to have all four simultaneously?

What are Porter's views in relation to operational effectiveness and strategic positioning? Contrast the two concepts.

Many telecom firms began digging up the ground and laying webs of fiberglass to meet the growing demand for Internet connectivity. However, rivals and startups began to imitate these firms and soon these new assets were not so rare and each day they seemed to be less valuable. It can be inferred from this example that:

Many firms choose not to implement operational components of ERP software and instead elect to create their own propriety solutions in part because they see their uniqueness in certain operations areas as key to creating difficult-to-imitate competitive advantages.

The paths through which products or services get to customers are known as _____.

Which of the following represents one of the primary components of the value chain?

Commodities are products or services that vary across multiple vendors.

Dell, previously the world's number one PC manufacturer, has seen its market share shrink because of rivals copying its value chain and reducing the price advantage it enjoyed over rivals. Dell's present struggles:

Consumers buying commodities are highly _____ since they have so many similar choices.

Firms that build an imitation-resistant value chain develop a way of doing business that others struggle to replicate.

The patent system is often considered to be unfairly stacked against start-ups because:

According to Michael Porter, the reason many firms suffer margin-eroding competition is because they have defined themselves according to strategic positioning rather than operational effectiveness.

Startup firms can struggle to gain lower prices from rivals, but FreshDirect seems to have found several ways to gain lower supplier prices. FreshDirect buys direct from suppliers, eliminating any markup from a middleman. In addition to this, the firm employs other methods to get lower prices from suppliers. Which of the following is not a way FreshDirect helps suppliers in exchange for supplier agreement to offer it better pricing terms?

A firm's financial performance that consistently outperforms its industry's peers is known as _____.