Deck 5: The Internal Environment: a Resource-Based View of Strategy

Question 1

The resource-based view of the firm has which of the following points of view?

A) That competitive advantage derives from being in the right industry with the right generic strategy
B) The outside-in
C) That competitive advantage derives from within the organization
D) That structure determines performance

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The industry view of firm performance is illustrated by which of the following?

A) Structure-conduct-performance
B) Inside-out approach
C) Conduct-performance-structure
D) Resource-based view

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements describes 'tacit' knowledge? Please select all that apply.

A) It is used in driving a car expertly.
B) The driving test theory manual would be an example of it.
C) It is used in the formation of team routines.
D) The theory of team roles would be an example of it.

Answer 3

A, C

Question 4

A methodological problem inherent in trying to add weight to the resource-based view of the firm is that many resources are tacit and intangible and therefore cannot be easily ______________.

Question 5

Organizational culture can be described as an intangible resource.

Question 6

A competence confers competitive advantage.

Question 7

Prahalad and Hamel (1990) pointed out that some corporations treat their corporation as a portfolio of discrete businesses. They referred to this as 'the tyranny of the SBU'.

Question 8

The term ______________can be used in place of the term "core competences".

Question 9

For a distinctive capability to be ________________ it must persist over time.

Question 10

For a distinctive capability to be ____________ it needs to primarily benefit the organization which holds the capability, rather than its employees, its customers, or its competitors.

Question 11

An organization's architecture comprises of:

A) Relational contracts that exist within and outside the organization.
B) The physical assets of the organization.
C) The organizational structure of the organization.
D) The ownership structure of the organization.

Question 12

Kay (1993:69) stated '________________ does not create extraordinary organizations by collecting extraordinary people. It does so by enabling very ordinary people to perform in extraordinary ways'.

Question 13

Reputation could be a source of distinctive capability in markets:

A) Where consumers can only ascertain the quality of a product from their long-term experience.
B) Where the reputation is built up through reliable relationships, which take time to nurture and develop.
C) Where innovation is the main drive for sustainability.
D) Where repeat purchases are more likely to happen.

Question 14

An organization's ability to innovate successfully is also a source of distinctive capability for sustainability

Question 15

What three conditions allow distinctive capability to be unreproducible: please select all that apply.

A) A market structure that limits entry.
B) The physical assets of the organization.
C) The organizational history which by definition will require time to replicate.
D) Tacitness in relationships.

Question 16

Firm A has a machine that machine knits jumpers very cheaply. Firm B employs labour in China that can hand knit jumpers for the same price. Firm B has a _____________________ resource.

Question 17

For a resource to be considered 'strategic', it must meet four criteria. These are value, difficult to imitate, rare and…

A) Difficult to copy
B) Difficult to find
C) Difficult to substitute
D) Difficult to patent

Question 18

An organization's competitive advantage can be sustained when:

A) Valuable and rare capabilities are imitable.
B) The organization is first-mover.
C) Competing organizations cannot copy these capabilities.
D) Valuable and rare capabilities are non-tradable.

Question 19

Dyson has sustained its competitive advantage mainly due to:

A) Its technology.
B) Its design capability.
C) Combined VRIO resources and capabilities.
D) The ownership structure of the organization.

Question 20

If it is difficult to establish cause and effect, i.e. why something happened, this is known as _________________.

Question 21

If it is known why an organization is successful at a particular activity, it is easy for a competitor to imitate that activity.

Question 22

British Airways outsources its in-flight catering. This is a reasonable thing to do because BA does not have a core competence in catering.

Question 23

The resource-based view of the firm has received some criticism. Which of the following statements are criticisms? Please select all that apply.

A) There is not enough detail on how to implement the approach.
B) It says little on how strategies develop over time.
C) There is little recognition of emergent strategies.
D) It is just another name for knowledge management.

Question 24

Which of the following activities does knowledge management include? Please select all that apply.

A) Knowledge acquisition
B) Knowledge transfer
C) Exploitation of knowledge
D) Knowledge codification

Question 25

If a company has 'leveraged' its knowledge, it means it has:

A) Written it down
B) Protected it
C) Made best use of it
D) Sold it to another company

Question 26

The most difficult type of knowledge to transfer is:

A) Codified knowledge
B) Explicit knowledge
C) Tacit knowledge
D) Technical knowledge

Question 27

In a turbulent environment, firms have to survive and grow by:

A) Developing dynamic capabilities.
B) Adapting to changes.
C) Grasping opportunities.
D) Integrating internal and external competencies.

Question 28

Dynamic capabilities are:

A) Different from organizational routines.
B) Different from operational capabilities.
C) Concerned with change and enable a firm to extend or modify how it currently makes a living.
D) To allow an organization to undertake acquisitions and strategic alliances.

Question 29

Sidney Winter argues that the value of dynamic capabilities is endorsed by all strategy scholars.

Question 30

Distinction between dynamic and operational capabilities is actually difficult to define for reasons such as: please select all that apply.

A) There are different definitions.
B) Change is always occurring to some extent.
C) Radical versus non-radical change.
D) Some capabilities can be used for only dynamic purposes.

Question 31

One reason for the plethora of confusion that still resides within the dynamic capabilities framework is that key participants remain divided on crucial conceptual issues.