Deck 1: Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations

Question 1

A customer considers purchasing a digital camera,but experiences ambiguity over terms like megapixels; the customer wonders whether the camera will be compatible with her home computer system,and in general,feels a certain amount of fear,uncertainty,and doubt as to whether or not digital will really meet her needs.This scenario best describes:

A)technological uncertainty
B)market uncertainty
C)competitive volatility
D)competitive viability
E)technology life cycles

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Tech markets?

A)They restrict customer options,enhancing the odds that a firm will gain sales.
B)Standards reduce customer fear,uncertainty,and doubt,and thus,can help to grow the market,which is particularly important for products with network externalities.
C)The availability of complementary products is large determined by the number of competitors in an industry.
D)Because intellectual property rights are difficult to enforce.
E)All of the above.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A dominant design is more likely to emerge in all of the following conditions EXCEPT:

A)In the presence of strong network externalities.
B)When the company engages in an open business model,sharing know-how.
C)When new products are based on incremental rather than radical changes.
D)Competing companies invest heavily in R&D,creating pressure to select a dominant design.
E)All of the above are likely conditions for dominant designs to emerge.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The "installed base" relates to direct network externalities in what way?

A)The base technology employed determines how broad the market will be.
B)The installed base and direct network externalities increase in direct relationship.
C)The installed base and direct network externalities increase in an inverse relationship.
D)The installed base refers to how many additional products will spin off,adding value to the direct network base.
E)No relationship exists between installed base and direct network externalities.

Question 5

Tech markets?

A)Firms may give products away for free in order to seed the adoption of its product by a large number of customers.
B)Firms may partner with competitors in order to establish an industry standard,so that competing products will work with each other.
C)Firms may decide to keep the basis of its technology proprietary,so that competitors and complementors cannot undermine the basis of its competitive advantage.
D)Firms will want to license its technology to competitors and sell its components to OEMs in order to enlarge the size of the installed base.
E)All of the above are consistent with the notion of network externalities.

Question 6

New innovations in agricultural products are as likely to come today from chemical and biotechnology companies as traditional food/seed firms.This is an example of:

A)market uncertainty.
B)incremental innovation.
C)preannouncing new products.
D)competitive volatility.
E)network externalities.

Question 7

Tech marketing is characterized by:

A)The divide between the visionaries and the pragmatists.
B)The difficulty in estimating the size of the market.
C)The downward pressure in prices arising from Moore's Law.
D)Knowledge spillovers
E)New technologies being commercialized by new competitors

Question 8

Technology" are often based on:

A)newness of the product in a category.
B)scientific process of discovery.
C)percentage of R&D spending or number of technical workers employed in an industry.
D)capacity of informational services.
E)early adopter opinion.

Question 9

Which if the following is not one of the dimensions of technological uncertainty?

A)Will there be side effects of the product and service?
B)Will the new technology make ours obsolete?
C)Will the delivery timetable be met?
D)How fast will the innovation spread?
E)Will the new product function as promised?

Question 10

Based definitions?

A)Input-based definitions are based on expert's input/opinion while output-based definitions are based on the type of product sold.
B)Input-based definitions are post-hoc and output-based definitions omit some important new industries.
C)Both input-based and output-based definitions provide solid ranking of high-technology industries.
D)Input-based definitions are based on criteria such as the number of technical employees while output-based definitions are based on whether the product embodies leading-eduge technologies.
E)Input-based definitions tend to be preferred to output based definition.

Question 11

Nokia may be surprised to realize that Apple has become its competitor because of their introduction of the iPhone.This is an example of:

A)market uncertainty.
B)competitive volatility.
C)technological uncertainty.
D)unit one cost.
E)network externalities.

Question 12

A "moment of truth" refers to:

A)the rigorous test of the viability of a new technology
B)customer reactions to a new technology
C)the point where engineers and marketers share a common perspective
D)the investment of sunk dollars into marketing a new product
E)each interaction with a customer that either strengthens or undermines the relationship

Question 13

Tech companies analyze technology life cycles?

A)To help stay abreast of new generations of technology that may prove to be a sources of competition in the future.
B)To understand that when a new technology appears,it may underperform the existing generation legacy)technology.
C)To manage the tension between investing in incremental innovations along an existing S-shaped curve)and investing in breakthrough innovations jump to a new S-shaped curve)
D)To understand the notion of creative destruction.
E)To help industries drive network externalities.

Question 14

Which of the following examples best illustrates indirect network externalities?

A)A successful mail-based video company increases the volume of mail for FedEx.
B)A ring-tone and "wallpaper" company generates work for graphic designers and musicians.
C)A cell phone company's platform is so successful that developers of cell phone accessories and innovative software build on that platform.
D)A software company upgrades programs every few years and offers the upgrades to past customers for a fee.
E)All of the above are examples of indirect network externalities.

Question 15

Ray are all examples of:

A)marketing strategy
B)economics "winners and losers" theory
C)the battle for industry standards
D)competitive design positioning
E)high-tech divide

Question 16

A company making tactical marketing decisions would identify:

A)which segments of the market to target.
B)how to position against competitors.
C)which trade shows to attend.
D)how to coordinate the marketing department with the R&D department.
E)how to measure the success of marketing efforts.

Question 17

Which of the following best captures the type of decisions that are made at the strategic marketing level?

A)Identify six strong market segments and pursue all equally.
B)Develop a position statement that clearly illustrates the value proposition for the product and identify target markets accordingly.
C)Quickly secure advertising spots in the journals with the highest readership.
D)Decide to price the product using the cost-pricing method.
E)Collect market research to identify key trade shows.

Question 18

Which of the following examples best illustrates marketing myopia?

A)A text messaging company founded in a small town determines it has no competition because there are no other text messaging companies near-by.
B)An established software company that believes start-ups pose no threat.
C)A company that sells music devices such as the iPod or MP3 players believes cell phones will not affect their sales.
D)None of the above are examples of market myopia.
E)All of the above are examples of market myopia.

Question 19

What are the three levels at which marketing activities occur in an organization?

A)Radical,disruptive,and incremental
B)Corporate,departmental,and individual
C)Competitive,customer,and corporate
D)Strategic,functional,and tactical
E)Product,price,promotion,distribution

Question 20

Tech industries?

A)Some industries classified as R&D intensive do not exhibit revolutionary new products
B)Because the government's approach is not objective or quantifiable,there is a high margin of error.
C)Some industries that probably should be characterized as high-tech may be excluded
D)Some industries classified as R&D intensive produce standardized output in mass quantities
E)All of the above are considered to be limitations in the government's approach to classifying high-tech industries.

Question 21

Pyramid strategy will most likely succeed if they:

A)Develop a "base-of-the-pyramid" brand to market their products to this segment of the population.
B)Target the economic segment just above the "base" and assume trickle down theory will take care of the rest.
C)Developing new technologies to affordably solve the problems people living in extreme poverty face.
D)Bring base-of-the-pyramid representatives into the company in order to determine how to best serve this population.
E)Offer overstock products at cheap prices to base-of-the-pyramid populations as a sign of the company's generosity to the poor.

Question 22

The supply chain perspective on technology suggests that:

A)network externalities are more likely to exist at the retail level than at the end-user level.
B)creative destruction is more likely to apply among categories of adopters at the end-use level than elsewhere in the supply chain.
C)supply and demand ultimately determine prices,just as in more conventional markets.
D)incremental innovations are more likely to occur at the supplier level of the supply chain,while more radical innovations are likely to occur at the end-user level.
E)although actual end-user behavior may not have changed significantly,major innovations at higher levels in the supply chain i.e.,at the level of suppliers)can be characterized as revolutionary.

Question 23

Technology marketing?

A)Because customers can clearly articulate their ideas and needs,standard marketing research tools are effectively used for more incremental innovations.
B)Because technological prowess is key in supply-driven markets,R&D tends to take a leadership role for more radical innovations.
C)Because customers have a clearer understanding of the various products in the market,advertising to build selective demand is appropriate for more incremental innovations.
D)When a breakthrough innovation revolutionizes the way customers do things,it is critical to stimulate primary demand for the new product class.
E)Due to the prevalence of unit-one costs in high-tech markets,low pricing is appropriate for most radical innovations.

Question 24

With respect to radical and incremental innovation,which of the following is true?

A)Incremental innovations deal specifically with high-tech products.
B)Radical innovations are extensions of existing products.
C)Radical innovations are characterized as demand-driven markets.
D)Each type of innovation requires a different type of marketing strategy to be successful in the marketplace.
E)Process innovations are radical in nature,while product innovations are incremental in nature.

Question 25

Unit cost concept:

A)A laptop
B)A hybrid energy car
C)A cell phone
D)A website that sells downloadable music
E)An external hard drive

Question 26

All of the following are characteristics of incremental innovation,except:

A)R&D invention in the lab.
B)extension of existing product or process.
C)firms use standard marketing research tools.
D)product characteristics are well defined.
E)customer pull.

Question 27

Tech transactions,it can be difficult to determine how much to charge for licensing rights to intellectual property.This situation is best described as one of:

A)unit-one costs.
B)creative destruction.
C)supply and demand.
D)tradeability problems.
E)knowledge spillovers.

Question 28

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a radical/breakthrough innovation?

A)superior functional performance over "old" technology
B)"supply side" market
C)development led by marketing
D)specific market opportunity or need of only secondary concern
E)technology push

Question 29

"Technology push" refers to those situations in which

A)the product is released early to innovators.
B)technological uncertainty prevents the product's release.
C)the target market is a well defined group of "techies."
D)the product is vulnerable to obsolescence.
E)R&D is the prime mover behind innovation and marketing efforts and thoughts about a specific market segment are only secondary.

Question 30

In terms of a radical innovation,firms sometimes develop a product for which consumers weren't even aware they had a need.Which of the following is another characteristic of radical innovation?

A)low cost production
B)consumer involvement
C)customers clearly defined
D)"supply-side" market
E)wide customer base; speedy adoption

Question 31

Which of the following about disruptive innovations is FALSE?

A)Disruptive innovations typically appeal to customers at the lower end of the market.
B)Disruptive innovations help a company to target demanding,high-end customers.
C)Many established companies often underestimate the competitive threat disruptive innovations pose.
D)Disruptive innovations can be found in product,process,and business strategy innovations.
E)a and d are both FALSE

Question 32

Tech markets,companies often aren't able to agree on which company's technology should be the industry standard.Which of the following reasons)best describe why companies can't agree?

A)Each company believes that its concept is superior.
B)One company believes that its strong brand name will deliver it to the top.
C)Competing companies are unwilling to share intellectual property with each other.
D)Once willing to share trade secrets,companies cannot agree on how much that information is worth.
E)All of the above exemplify the difficulty in arriving at industry standards.

Question 33

Tech markets?

A)unit-one costs
B)creative destruction
C)supply and demand
D)tradeability problems
E)knowledge spillovers

Question 34

Technology marketing specifically states that:

A)matching the appropriate marketing tool to the specific type of innovation will enhance the odds of success in the market.
B)network externalities are contingent upon the presence of unit one costs.
C)breakthrough innovations are contingent upon customer understanding of how to use the new innovation.
D)supply chains are critical for both incremental and breakthrough innovations.
E)established firms are less likely to be innovative than newer firms.