QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔technological trends - ✔✔changes related to creating new knowledge and
translating that knowledge into new products, processes, and materials
✔✔global trends - ✔✔changes in relevant emerging and developed country global
markets, important international political events, and critical changes in cultural and
institutional characteristics of global markets
✔✔physical environment trends - ✔✔changes in the physical environment and in the
business practices that are intended to sustain it
✔✔industry - ✔✔a group of firms producing similar products
✔✔economies of scale - ✔✔the improvements in efficiency from incremental increases
in the size of a firms operations
✔✔switching costs - ✔✔the one time costs customers incur when they decide to buy a
product from a different supplier
✔✔substitute products - ✔✔goods or services that perform functions similar to an
existing product
, ✔✔competitive rivalry - ✔✔the set of actions and reactions between competitors as they
compete for an advantageous market position
✔✔strategic intent - ✔✔the firms motivation to leverage its resources and capabilities to
reach its vision
✔✔complementors - ✔✔the network of companies that sell goods or services that are
complimentary to another firms goods or services
✔✔weaknesses - ✔✔resource and capability deficiencies that make it difficult for the
firm to complete important tasks
✔✔tangible resources - ✔✔valuable assets that can be seen or quantified, such as
manufacturing equipment and financial capital
✔✔intangible resources - ✔✔assets that contribute to creating value for customers but
are not physically identifiable
✔✔value - ✔✔the satisfaction a product creates for customers is measured by the price
customers are willing to pay to buy that product
✔✔value chain - ✔✔the structure of activities the firm uses to implement its business
level strategy
✔✔benchmarking - ✔✔the process of identifying the best practices of competitors and
other high performing firms, analyzing them, and comparing them with the organizations
own practices
✔✔primary activities - ✔✔inbound logistics, operations, sales and distribution of
products and after sales service
✔✔support activities - ✔✔provide support to the primary activities so that they can be
completed effectively
✔✔outsourcing - ✔✔acquiring a capability from an external supplier that contributes to
the focal firms ability to create value for customers
✔✔business level strategy - ✔✔an action plan the firm develops to describe how it will
compete in its chosen industry or market segment
✔✔cost leadership strategy - ✔✔an action plan the firm develops to produce goods or
services at the lowest cost