Question 1

If one person can be identified with certainty as the resource behind the success of a company and he or she is hired away by another company, the VRIST framework dimension of ________ is being illustrated.

Accepted Answer

A)  imitation 
B)  substitution 
C)  rareness 
D)  tradability

Question 2

Resource substitution means that a firm can easily switch between two or more different resources that will provide the same competitive advantage - it offers the firm greater flexibility.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

In a resource-based analysis, identifying ________ resources often presents the greatest challenge for managers.

Accepted Answer

A)  financial 
B)  human 
C)  physical 
D)  intangible

Question 4

Leveraging extraordinary resource positions may be accomplished by

Accepted Answer

A)  offshoring labor-intensive operations. 
B)  extending the current business model into additional products or customer segments. 
C)  adopting capabilities based on extraordinary resources that are used by competitors. 
D)  increasing the amount of debt used in the capital structure of the organization.

Question 5

There are four steps required by a resource-based analysis. Which of the following is not one of those steps?

Accepted Answer

A)  Develop a list of all the firm's resources and capabilities. 
B)  Divide resources and capabilities into those that are ordinary and those that are extraordinary. 
C)  Decide whether ordinary activities should be outsourced or not. 
D)  Analyze the apparent extraordinary resources to see if they meet the VRIST criteria.

Question 6

Physical assets such as equipment, buildings, land, furniture, money and patents are ________ resources.

Accepted Answer

A)  credible 
B)  capital 
C)  tangible 
D)  tacit

Question 7

Sets of tightly integrated activities, organizational skills, and internally developed routines that rely on extraordinary resources are called

Accepted Answer

A)  business processes. 
B)  capabilities. 
C)  structural phenomena. 
D)  latent behaviors.

Question 8

The three basic types of resources that managers today rely on in their development of strategy are physical capital, financial capital, and human capital.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

More often than not those resources that cannot be imitated involve unobservable routines or processes that are "behind the scenes."

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

The durability of a competitive advantage from extraordinary resources may come from historical conditions, causal ambiguity, or social complexity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

A company might leverage an extraordinary resource position by replicating the resource or capability elsewhere in the organization.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

An extraordinary resource should be analyzed to see if it is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, without a substitute, and unable to be traded for.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

A successful new product development team works in a state-of-the-art lab and is aided by a crack team of market researchers. This is likely to be a source of durable competitive advantage for the company because of

Accepted Answer

A)  historical conditions. 
B)  smart investments. 
C)  social complexity. 
D)  efficient operations.

Question 14

Which of the following is the best example of an intangible resource?

Accepted Answer

A)  a high-traffic retail location 
B)  a large cash reserve 
C)  a good merchandise mix 
D)  a company's brand

Question 15

Extraordinary resources may not be a source of superior performance unless they are combined with other resources, either ordinary or extraordinary.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Ordinary resources must be developed at least as well as the standard for the industry.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Patents, copyrights, and trademarks reveal information about a resource that makes it easier for a rival to imitate that resource.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The must-have resources a firm needs just to be a credible contender in the industry are called ________ resources.

Accepted Answer

A)  skeletal 
B)  ordinary 
C)  stable 
D)  passive

Question 19

Rare, non-tradable, and non-substitutable resources can be appropriated by competitors with deep pockets.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Which of the following is not a contributor to the durability of a resource-based competitive advantage?

Accepted Answer

A)  historical conditions 
B)  intense competition 
C)  causal ambiguity 
D)  social complexity

Exam 6: Resource-Based Competitive Advantage

If one person can be identified with certainty as the resource behind the success of a company and he or she is hired away by another company, the VRIST framework dimension of ________ is being illustrated.

Resource substitution means that a firm can easily switch between two or more different resources that will provide the same competitive advantage - it offers the firm greater flexibility.

In a resource-based analysis, identifying ________ resources often presents the greatest challenge for managers.

Leveraging extraordinary resource positions may be accomplished by

There are four steps required by a resource-based analysis. Which of the following is not one of those steps?

Physical assets such as equipment, buildings, land, furniture, money and patents are ________ resources.

Sets of tightly integrated activities, organizational skills, and internally developed routines that rely on extraordinary resources are called

The three basic types of resources that managers today rely on in their development of strategy are physical capital, financial capital, and human capital.

More often than not those resources that cannot be imitated involve unobservable routines or processes that are "behind the scenes."

The durability of a competitive advantage from extraordinary resources may come from historical conditions, causal ambiguity, or social complexity.

A company might leverage an extraordinary resource position by replicating the resource or capability elsewhere in the organization.

An extraordinary resource should be analyzed to see if it is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, without a substitute, and unable to be traded for.

A successful new product development team works in a state-of-the-art lab and is aided by a crack team of market researchers. This is likely to be a source of durable competitive advantage for the company because of

Which of the following is the best example of an intangible resource?

Extraordinary resources may not be a source of superior performance unless they are combined with other resources, either ordinary or extraordinary.

Ordinary resources must be developed at least as well as the standard for the industry.

Patents, copyrights, and trademarks reveal information about a resource that makes it easier for a rival to imitate that resource.

The must-have resources a firm needs just to be a credible contender in the industry are called ________ resources.

Rare, non-tradable, and non-substitutable resources can be appropriated by competitors with deep pockets.

Which of the following is not a contributor to the durability of a resource-based competitive advantage?