Strategic Positioning and Strategic Renewal: Quiz :Business Strategy (Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization) Answers 2025
Question 1
What are the main “generic strategies” that companies can use to strategically position their business units?
✅ Cost leadership and differentiation advantage
❌ Cost advantage and product leadership
❌ Differentiation leadership and price advantage
❌ Price leadership and product advantage
Explanation:
According to Porter, firms achieve competitive advantage through cost leadership or differentiation (with either broad or narrow scope).
Question 2
What is a dual (or integrated) strategy?
✅ A strategy that combines the benefits of cost leadership and differentiation advantage
❌ A strategy that creates value through narrow and broad scope simultaneously
❌ A strategy that uses broad scope and cost leadership
❌ A strategy that uses narrow scope and differentiation advantage
Explanation:
A dual (integrated) strategy seeks to deliver differentiated value while maintaining relatively low costs.
Question 3
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a firm that is adopting differentiation advantage to gain competitive advantage?
❌ The firm produces products or services that are unique and different from competitors.
❌ The firm commands a price premium for its products or services.
❌ The firm emphasizes value creation for customers and produces higher EVA and profits in that way.
✅ The firm places its emphasis on controlling costs in order to produce higher EVA and profits.
Explanation:
Cost control is the primary focus of cost leadership, not differentiation.
Question 4
What are dynamic capabilities?
✅ Capabilities that enable companies to change their resource or capability base
❌ Capabilities that are flexible to multiple uses
❌ Capabilities that use dynamic processes
❌ Capabilities that face dynamic forces over time
Explanation:
Dynamic capabilities allow firms to sense, seize, and transform resources in changing environments.
Question 5
Better capacity utilization is a driver of differentiation advantage for firms.
❌ False
✅ True
Explanation:
Better capacity utilization is mainly a cost advantage driver, not a differentiation driver.
Question 6
Cost leadership strategy requires firms to have broad scope.
❌ True
✅ False
Explanation:
Cost leadership can be broad or narrow (e.g., cost focus). Broad scope is not mandatory.
Question 7
A significant challenge created by a company’s strategic misalignment is that it creates feedback effects that lead to internal decline, which further weakens the company’s strategic position.
❌ False
✅ True
Explanation:
Strategic misalignment leads to negative feedback loops, eroding performance and competitiveness.
🧾 Summary Table
| Question | Correct Answer |
|---|---|
| Q1 | Cost leadership and differentiation advantage |
| Q2 | Combination of cost leadership and differentiation |
| Q3 | Emphasis on controlling costs |
| Q4 | Ability to change resource/capability base |
| Q5 | False |
| Q6 | False |
| Q7 | True |