Both Acme Inc. and Farma & Farma Corp. have discovered similar vaccines to prevent cancer. While Farma & Farma Corp.’s vaccine sells at $100 per unit, Acme sells its vaccine at $90 per unit. This price differentiation has mainly been attributed to the companies’ capital decisions. While Acme used its retained earnings to develop the vaccine, Farma & Farma Corp. borrowed funds from banks to develop the vaccine. Thus, Farma & Farma Corp. pays a higher interest on its capital, which makes it necessary to price its vaccine higher. Thus, the key driver for Acme’s competitive advantage is

Digital Prosper, a web services firm, has experienced a 7 percent decline in revenues in consecutive quarters. In an effort to reduce operating costs, managers reduced the customer service staff from 12 employees to 6. Management also enlisted the remaining employees to help produce a new company vision: to give customers of all budgets a customizable, stress-free web hosting experience. What is wrong with this scenario?

From an investor’s or shareholder’s perspective, the measure of competitive advantage that matters most is the

________________ allow(s) a firm to differentiate its products and services from those of its rivals, creating higher value for the customer or offering products and services of comparable value at lower cost.

Value drivers contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage only if

The “Natural Nourishment” granola bars manufactured by Global Good Foods have been the top-selling granola bars in the market. Though the market for granola bars is flooded with competitors, Global Good has been able to maintain its market position for a long time. This is mainly attributed to the pleasant texture of its granola, which comes from a proprietary processing technique used by the company. This competency of Global Good Foods will be considered as a(n) _____ resource in the VRIO framework.

Value drivers contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage only if

If you examine various barriers to entry facing firms that might wish to enter the airline industry, this would be most helpful in assessing which of the five forces in that industry?

A wearable technology company has priced one of its wristwatches at $210. Most of its competitors sell similar watches at $180. Selling anything less than $150 would result in a loss for the company. However, the absolute maximum a customer is willing to pay for it is $170. In this scenario, what is the reservation price of the wristwatch?

Tablette Corp. is a consumer electronics company known for its affordable mobile devices that follows a cost-leadership strategy. In this scenario, Tablette Corp. should ideally compare its strategic position with