Deck 4: Leveraging Resources and Capabilities

Question 1

Outsourcing is the process of turning over an organizational activity to an outside supplier, located in a foreign country, which will perform it on behalf of the local firm.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The difficulty of identifying the causal determinants of successful firm performance is best described in two words: causal ambiguity.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The value chain is a chain of horizontal activities used in the production of goods and services that may or may not add value.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Overall, valuable, rare, but imitable resources and capabilities may give firms some temporary competitive advantage.

Question 5

In global business, the institution-based view deals with internal strengths and weaknesses

Question 6

Tangible resources and capabilities are assets easily observable and quantified.

Question 7

Commoditization is the point at which an industry specific activity becomes common across industries, after which the need to keep it proprietary no longer exists.

Question 8

Benchmarking is an assessment as to whether a firm has resources and capabilities to perform a particular activity in a manner superior to competitors.

Question 9

Financial, physical, and technological resources and capabilities are all tangible assets.

Question 10

A firm s resources and capabilities are tangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.

Question 11

Human resources, innovation, and reputational resources and capabilities are all intangible assets.

Question 12

The combination of resources and assets that enable a firm to gain a competitive advantage is also called combination assets.

Question 13

According to a McKinsey study, US firms save 58 cents on every dollar invested in offshoring to India.

Question 14

Offshoring means outsourcing to an international or foreign firm.

Question 15

The resource-based view focuses on the value, return on investment, imitability, and operations.

Question 16

Intangible resources and capabilities are hard to observe and difficult to quantify.

Question 17

Onshoring is the opposite to offshoring, meaning outsourcing to a domestic company.

Question 18

The insight that competitors do not share certain resources and capabilities specific to one s firm is also known as the resource-based view.

Question 19

Setting up subsidiaries abroad so the work can be performed in-house but in the foreign location is also called captive sourcing.

Question 20

Social complexity refers to the socially complex ways of organizing typical of many firms.

Question 21

Identify the three categories of tangible resources, and provide an example for each category.

Question 22

The view in global business which deals with external opportunity threats is also called:

A) Global-business external view
B) Resource-based view
C) Institution-based view
D) Global-business internal view

Question 23

A global business perspective that deals with internal strengths and weaknesses is also called:

A) Global-business external view
B) Resource-based view
C) Institution-based view
D) Global-business internal view

Question 24

An examination as to whether a firm has the resources and capabilities to perform a particular activity in a manner superior to competitors is:

A) Resources and capabilities test
B) Performance test
C) Asset appraisal
D) Benchmarking

Question 25

The difficulty of identifying the causal determinants of successful firm performance is also called:

A) Causal identification
B) Ambiguity
C) Performance indicator
D) Causal ambiguity

Question 26

When US firms offshore to India, how much do they save on each dollar invested?

A) 58%
B) 10%
C) 80%
D) 45%

Question 27

The combination of resources and assets that enables a firm to gain a competitive advantage is also called:

A) Core assets
B) Competitive assets
C) Resource assets
D) Complementary assets

Question 28

The point at which an industry-specific activity becomes common across industries and the need to keep it proprietary no longer exists is also called:

A) Commoditization
B) Specification
C) Break even point
D) Pinnacle

Question 29

A chain of activities used in the production of goods and services that add value is a(n):

A) Value chain
B) Vertical chain
C) Activity chain
D) None of these answers

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT an intangible asset?

A) Human resources and capabilities
B) Reputational resources and capabilities
C) Innovation resources and capabilities
D) All of these are intangible assets

Question 31

The socially intricate and interdependent ways that firms are typically organized may be called:

A) Social typicality
B) Social complexity
C) Organized typicality
D) Complex organization

Question 32

Setting up subsidiaries abroad when the work is done in-house only at the foreign location is also called:

A) Captive sourcing
B) Inshoring
C) Offshoring
D) Outsourcing

Question 33

Which of the following are the four focal points of the resource-based view?

A) Value, return on investment, imitability, organizational aspects of resources and capabilities
B) Validity, return on investment, imitability, organizational aspects of resources and capabilities
C) Value, rarity, imitability, operation
D) Value, rarity, imitability, organizational aspects of resources and capabilities

Question 34

Turning over an organizational activity to a domestic firm is also called:

A) Captive sourcing
B) Inshoring
C) Offshoring
D) Outsourcing

Question 35

Which of the following is the implication for action based on the information in this chapter?

A) Managers need to build firm strengths based on the VRIO framework
B) Relentless imitation or benchmarking, while important, is not likely to be a successful strategy
C) Managers need to build up resources and capabilities for future competition
D) All of these answers

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT a tangible asset?

A) Financial resources and capabilities
B) Physical resources and capabilities
C) Human resources and capabilities
D) Technological resources and capabilities

Question 37

Assets hard to observe and difficult to quantify are:

A) Resources and capabilities
B) Core competences
C) Tangible assets
D) Intangible assets

Question 38

Observable and easily quantified assets are:

A) Resources and capabilities
B) Core competencies
C) Tangible assets
D) Intangible assets

Question 39

Turning over an organizational activity to an outside supplier that will perform it on behalf of the local firm is also called:

A) Captive sourcing
B) Inshoring
C) Offshoring
D) Outsourcing

Question 40

Turning over an organizational activity to an international firm is also called:

A) Captive sourcing
B) Inshoring
C) Offshoring
D) Outsourcing

Question 41

How does the resource-based view answer the big question in global business: What determines the success and failure of firms around the globe?

Question 42

Identify the three categories of intangible assets, and provide an example for each category.

Question 43

Do a firm s resources and capabilities add value? Explain with an example.

Question 44

If a firm is a bundle of resources and capabilities, how do they come together to add value?

Question 45

What is the definition of outsourcing? Provide an example.