Question 1

Vital Health Products found out that they had to reduce the length of the tread in their treadmills sold in China owing to the shorter legs of the average Chinese person. By doing this, Vital has achieved _____.
A) product homologation
B) global product standardization
C) product dilution
D) product obsolescence
E) product disapprobation

Accepted Answer

By reducing the length of the tread in their treadmills manufactured for Chinese consumers, Vital Health Products has achieved product homologation. A product may have to change in a number of ways to meet the physical or mandatory requirements of a new market, ranging from simple package changes to total redesign of the physical core product, and this is known as product homologation.

Question 2

In the context of global marketing, a product's country of origin cannot affect its brand's image significantly.

Accepted Answer

The country of origin can affect a product or brand's image significantly. A finding in a recent study suggests that more knowledgeable consumers are more sensitive to a product's COE than those less knowledgeable are.

Question 3

Which of the following is true about the impact of global competition on the business activities in the marketplace?
A) It has shifted the focus in the marketplace from a consumer's market to a seller's market.
B) It has increased product life cycles.
C) It has put more power in the hands of the customer.
D) It has reduced the competitive spirit of most businesses in a marketplace.
E) It has limited the choices of the consumers.

Accepted Answer

The power in the marketplace is shifting from a sellers' to a customers' market, and the latter have more choices because more companies are competing for their attention. More competition and more choices put more power in the hands of the customer, and that of course drives the need for quality.

Question 4

Effective advertising and proper positioning of products can help brands to ameliorate a less-than-positive country stereotype.

Accepted Answer

Brands effectively advertised and products properly positioned can help ameliorate a less-than-positive country stereotype.

Question 5

In countries with low-literacy rates, the pictures and symbols on products are literally taken as instructions and information.

Accepted Answer

It is easy to forget that in low-literacy countries, pictures and symbols are taken literally as instructions and information. Care must be taken to ensure that corporate trademarks and other parts of the packaging component do not have unacceptable symbolic meanings.

Question 6

Services such as insurance and dry cleaning are classified as tangible.

Accepted Answer

Products are often classified as tangible, whereas services are intangible. Automobiles, computers, and furniture are examples of products that have a physical presence; insurance, dry cleaning, hotel accommodations, and airline passenger or freight service, in contrast, are intangible.

Question 7

The support services component of the product component model contains such items as repair and maintenance and availability of spare parts.

Accepted Answer

The support services component includes repair and maintenance, instructions, installation, warranties, deliveries, and the availability of spare parts.

Question 8

Which of the following is the most important criterion for global market consumers while purchasing products?
A) Appearance
B) Size
C) Technology
D) Quality
E) Service

Accepted Answer

In most global markets, the cost and quality of a product are among the most important criteria by which purchases are made. For consumer and industrial products alike, the reason often given for preferring one brand over another is better quality at a competitive price.

Question 9

GreatW, a wine company, had to market its products with a different name in a foreign market as it was mandatory to translate the name into the local language. Which of the following factors has most likely influenced the compulsory change of GreatW's product name in the foreign market in this scenario?
A) Legal requirement
B) Climatic requirement
C) Technological requirement
D) Monetary requirement
E) Economic requirement

Accepted Answer

The mandatory laws of the foreign market led GreatW to change its name there. Legal, economic, political, technological, and climatic requirements of the local marketplace often dictate product adaptation. Laws that vary among countries usually set specific package sizes and safety and quality standards.

Question 10

A majority of services enter foreign markets by licensing, franchising, or direct investment.

Accepted Answer

The vast majority of services (some 85 percent) enter foreign markets by licensing, franchising, or direct investment.

Question 11

_____ is the term used to describe the changes mandated by local product and service standards.
A) Product localization
B) Product protectionism
C) Product disapprobation
D) Product dilution
E) Product homologation

Accepted Answer

A product may have to change in a number of ways to meet the physical or mandatory requirements of a new market, ranging from simple package changes to total redesign of the physical core product. The term used to describe the changes mandated by local product and service standards is product homologation.

Question 12

Nuan, a television manufacturer in Korea, had to simplify its televisions before introducing it to the Zimbabwean markets, as the country lacked the skills to repair the product in case of a malfunction. The local salesforce too did not have the sufficient knowledge about the installation of the product. The factor that is influencing product adaptation in this scenario is ________.
A) legal requirements
B) climatic requirements
C) political requirements
D) cultural requirements
E) technological requirements

Accepted Answer

By simplifying its television sets, Nuan has adapted its product to match the technological standards of the Zimbabwean market. Legal, economic, political, technological, and climatic requirements of the local marketplace often dictate product adaptation.

Question 13

Cultural barriers play a bigger role in services than in merchandise trade.

Accepted Answer

Because trade in services frequently involves people-to-people contact, culture plays a much bigger role in services than in merchandise trade.

Question 14

Adore cosmetics had to increase the SPF value of their sunscreen lotions marketed in the Middle East to provide more protection against UV radiation. Which of the following factors dictated product adaptation in this scenario?
A) Legal requirements
B) Cultural requirements
C) Economic requirements
D) Climatic requirements
E) Political requirements

Accepted Answer

The climatic requirements of the Middle East nations dictated that Adore Cosmetics increase the SPF value of its lotions to provide more protection against UV radiation to ensure product adaptation. Legal, economic, political, technological, and climatic requirements of the local marketplace often dictate product adaptation. Changes may also have to be made to accommodate climatic differences.

Question 15

Services are distinguished from products on the basis of their tangibility, durability, homogeneity, and separability.

Accepted Answer

Services are distinguished by four unique characteristics-intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability- and thus require special consideration. The intangibility of services results in characteristics unique to a service: It is inseparable in that its creation cannot be separated from its consumption; it is heterogeneous in that it is individually produced and is thus unique; and it is perishable in that once created it cannot be stored but must be consumed simultaneously with its creation.

Question 16

Grengens, a European chocolate manufacturer, received several complaints from customers about the quality of its product when it began selling them in a tropical country. The firm had to repackage its chocolate bars in an extra plastic wrapper to protect it from the heat and dust. Which of the following factors in the local market is most likely to have dictated Grengens' product adaptation in this scenario?
A) Legal requirements
B) Economic requirements
C) Political requirements
D) Climatic requirements
E) Technological requirements

Accepted Answer

By adapting the packaging of its products to protect them from extreme heat and dust, Grengens has been influenced by the climatic requirements of the tropical country. Legal, economic, political, technological, and climatic requirements of the local marketplace often dictate product adaptation.

Question 17

What are the two dimensions that help in defining the quality of a product of quality?
A) Consumer choice quality and process quality
B) Market-perceived quality and performance quality
C) Product quality and market quality
D) Actual quality and assumed quality
E) Absolute quality and relative quality

Accepted Answer

Quality can be defined on two dimensions: market-perceived quality and performance quality.

Question 18

Brand image is at the very core of business identity and strategy.

Accepted Answer

Brand image is at the very core of business identity and strategy.

Question 19

Booster Bar, a popular brand of energy bars in Canada, sold its bars singly or in packs of two in the South Asian markets, instead of their regular multiple-item packaging containing 10 or 20 bars to make it more affordable for the consumers. Which of the following requirements of the local market has most likely influenced Booster Bar's product adaptation in the form of reduction of bar units per package in this scenario?
A) Legal requirements
B) Political requirements
C) Economic requirements
D) Technological requirements
E) Cultural requirements

Accepted Answer

By reducing the number of units per package, Booster Bar has adapted its product based on the economic requirements of its South Asian market. The less economically developed a market is, the greater degree of change a product may need for acceptance. To make a purchase more affordable in low-income countries, the number of units per package may have to be reduced from the typical quantities offered in high-income countries.

Question 20

Products from developing countries have the highest quality image.

Accepted Answer

Countries are also often stereotyped on the basis of whether they are industrialized, in the process of industrializing, or developing. Industrialized countries have the highest quality image, and products from developing countries generally encounter bias.

Quiz 13: Products and Services for Consumers

Vital Health Products found out that they had to reduce the length of the tread in their treadmills sold in China owing to the shorter legs of the average Chinese person. By doing this, Vital has achieved _____.

In the context of global marketing, a product's country of origin cannot affect its brand's image significantly.

Which of the following is true about the impact of global competition on the business activities in the marketplace?

Effective advertising and proper positioning of products can help brands to ameliorate a less-than-positive country stereotype.

In countries with low-literacy rates, the pictures and symbols on products are literally taken as instructions and information.

Services such as insurance and dry cleaning are classified as tangible.

The support services component of the product component model contains such items as repair and maintenance and availability of spare parts.

Which of the following is the most important criterion for global market consumers while purchasing products?

A majority of services enter foreign markets by licensing, franchising, or direct investment.

_____ is the term used to describe the changes mandated by local product and service standards.

Cultural barriers play a bigger role in services than in merchandise trade.

Adore cosmetics had to increase the SPF value of their sunscreen lotions marketed in the Middle East to provide more protection against UV radiation. Which of the following factors dictated product adaptation in this scenario?

Services are distinguished from products on the basis of their tangibility, durability, homogeneity, and separability.

What are the two dimensions that help in defining the quality of a product of quality?

Brand image is at the very core of business identity and strategy.

Products from developing countries have the highest quality image.