Exam 5: Business-level Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantages

Global logistics firms such as DHL Supply Chain and Global Forwarding or C.H.Robinson Worldwide compete using an overall cost leadership strategy in primary activities such as

Atlas Door relies on technologies that are rather well known and non-proprietary.This opens it up to the potential of

Which of these statements regarding the industry life cycle is true?

A low-cost position permits buyers to exert power to drive ________ prices only to the level of the next most efficient producer.

The Yoox algorithm permits it to predict which products will sell at which times and where,thus allowing effective stocking to meet customer needs.This a result of

With experience,unit costs of production decline as ________ increases in most industries.

Few turnarounds require firms to analyze both the external and internal environments relevant to their firm.

Combination strategies,such as integrating overall low cost and differentiation,makes it easier for rivals to duplicate or imitate because it is harder for the primary firm to provide value.

An overall low-cost position protects a firm against rivalry from competitors because ________ allow a firm to earn returns even if its competitors eroded their profits through intense rivalry.

Marlin Steel Wire Products is a manufacturer of commodity wire products out of Baltimore,MD.Marlin has many rivals based in China and other emerging markets.The company cannot compete on labor costs so it used a ________ strategy to automate its production and now specializes in high-end products.

The primary aim of strategic management at the business level is

In a given market,key technology no longer has patent protection,experience is not an advantage,and there is a growing need to compete on price.What stage of its life cycle is the market in?

Once established,competitive advantages last forever whether the firm is in a high technology environment or not.

The size of pricing and differentiation advantages between competitors decreases in which stage of the market life cycle?

Early pioneer in online education,University of Phoenix,has faced increasing challenges from traditional university online programs who are able to offer their programs at the same cost.This is an example of which generic strategy gone wrong:

A firm can differentiate itself in a support activity by purchasing high-quality components to enhance product image such as Apple does with its laptop computers.

Which of the following is most often true of mature markets?

A risk for a firm that tries to attain both cost and differentiation advantages is that it can be stuck in the middle.An example of this is supermarkets because their ________ structure is ________ than discount retailers,and customers do not value their products and services as being high-end such as those offered by Whole Foods.

Mass customization permits companies to manufacture unique products in relatively ________ quantities at ________ costs.

Rivals would find it difficult to challenge Atlas Door in the short run because of