Exam 3: Leveraging Resources and Capabilities

Imitation is not likely to be a successful strategy.

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.

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.

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.

Tightly bundled resources/capabilities may be a disadvantage in high velocity environments.

The chapter indicates that Toyota is an example of causal ambiguity.

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

A sustained competitive advantage can last since not all advantages eventually erode.

Traditional resource-based view: a. Overemphasizes leveraging existing resources/capabilities. b. Underemphasizes developing new resources/capabilities. c. Both of the above. d. Underemphasizes leveraging existing resources/capabilities. e. Overemphasizes developing new resources/capabilities.

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

How has offshoring contributed to complex supply-chain management? What are some examples?

The logic of the resource-based view is relatively static.

Which of the following are not involved in hypercompetition? a. A shortened window during which a firm may command competitive advantage. b. Dynamic maneuvering. c. Unleashing a series of small, unpredictable, but powerful actions. d. Slowing the pace of change. e. Attempts to erode rivals' competitive advantage.

Critics of offshoring make all of the following arguments except: a. If even core functions like engineering, R&D, manufacturing, and marketing can-and often should-be moved outside the country, what is left of the firm? b. Critics argue such offshoring nurtures rivals. c. Offshoring increasingly results in job losses in high-end areas such as design, R&D, and IT/BPO. d. Many large US firms claim that they are "global companies" but they seem to be bound by "American values." e. In some cases, it undermines national security.

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

Tacit knowledge is probably the most _________ resource. a. Valuable b. Unique c. Hard-to-imitate d. Organizationally complex resource e. All of the above

What do you think about the use of offshoring by MNEs? Is it a threat to jobs in the U.S.? Has it benefited MNEs and other countries more than the U.S.?

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.

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

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