Question 1

MedCath Hospitals develops and establishes heart hospitals across the country. This approach is an example of a niche strategy.

Accepted Answer

A niche strategy focuses on serving a specific segment of the market, and MedCath Hospitals' focus on heart hospitals exemplifies targeting a specialized area within the healthcare industry.

Question 2

Multidimensional scaling provides a perceptual map of the actual competitive position of brands relative to each other in terms of consumer ratings that are stable over time.

Accepted Answer

Multidimensional scaling provides a perceptual map based on consumer ratings, but these ratings can change over time due to shifts in consumer preferences, market trends, and competitive actions.

Question 3

Brand architecture refers to the strategy a company uses in developing its brand equity.

Accepted Answer

Brand architecture refers to the organizational structure of a company's brands, sub-brands, and products, not specifically the strategy for developing brand equity.

Question 4

The name under which a company does business is referred to as its trademark.

Accepted Answer

A trademark is a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product, while the name under which a company does business is referred to as its "trade name" or "doing business as" (DBA) name.

Question 5

The value a brand gives a company through associations made by a consumer is referred to as its brand equity.

Accepted Answer

Brand equity refers to the value a brand adds to a company through consumer perceptions, associations, and loyalty, which can affect their purchasing decisions.

Question 6

A strong brand has been found to create a barrier to entry, but it has no relationship to customer satisfaction.

Accepted Answer

A strong brand can enhance customer satisfaction by creating trust and loyalty, which are important components of customer satisfaction.

Question 7

The principal/agent relationship suggests that the patient trusts the doctor to do "right" for them.

Accepted Answer

The principal/agent relationship involves one party (the principal) trusting another party (the agent) to act in their best interest, which in the context of healthcare, means the patient trusts the doctor to make decisions that are beneficial for the patient's health.

Question 8

A hospital owns clinics, a freestanding laboratory, a surgical center, and an ambulance company. All of these are under one name of the health system. This hospital follows a multiproduct branding strategy.

Accepted Answer

A multiproduct branding strategy involves using one name for all products in a product class, which is what the hospital is doing by using one name for its clinics, laboratory, surgical center, and ambulance company.

Question 9

A health system buys physician practices in many different regions and several smaller hospitals. It lets each entity retain its own name. This organization is following a reseller strategy.

Accepted Answer

A reseller strategy involves buying products to sell them under a different brand, whereas the health system is acquiring entities but allowing them to retain their own names, indicating a different strategic approach, such as a holding or network strategy.

Question 10

A large health system decides to provide pathology services for some small rural hospitals. Some of these hospitals have actually wanted it known that there is a relationship. The larger institution has their physicians wear lab coats that identify both organizations' names. This approach is an example of a reseller branding strategy.

Accepted Answer

This approach is an example of co-branding, where both organizations' names are used to leverage the reputation and recognition of each brand.

Question 11

A medical group and a hospital have decided to partner in a health promotion program in the community. They market this program with both organizations' names prominently mentioned in all materials. This is an example of co-branding.

Accepted Answer

Co-branding involves two or more organizations partnering to market a product or service, using both of their brand names to leverage their combined reputation and reach.

Question 12

The time when a person adopts a new product or technology is the concept behind the diffusion of innovation.

Accepted Answer

The diffusion of innovation theory explains how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread, focusing on the adoption process by individuals and groups.

Question 13

Early adopters are those who are willing to endure technical difficulties in order to gain a competitive advantage in terms of the diffusion of innovation curve.

Accepted Answer

Early adopters are individuals who embrace new technologies or innovations soon after they are introduced, often before they are fully refined, to gain a competitive edge or to be at the forefront of new trends.

Question 14

The adoption of robotic surgery has been slow because it is not compatible with healthcare values.

Accepted Answer

The adoption of robotic surgery has been influenced by factors such as cost, training requirements, and technological limitations, rather than incompatibility with healthcare values.

Question 15

Two components of risk affect adoption: financial risk and organizational risk.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Two components of risk affect adoption: financial...

Question 16

Innovation spreads more quickly as a function the homophilous nature of groups.

Accepted Answer

Homophily, the tendency of individuals to associate with similar others, can facilitate the spread of innovation within groups as similar individuals are more likely to adopt and share new ideas.

Question 17

Individuals who are more socially connected are more likely to adopt innovations.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that individuals with more social connections are exposed to diverse ideas and information, increasing their likelihood of adopting new innovations.

Quiz 9: Product Strategy