At a technology firm, human capital would be critical to forming and using the firm’s capabilities in customer relationships, scientific and research skills, and technical skills in hardware, software, and services

When analysts develop feasible projections of future events and how quickly they will occur based on observed changes and trends, they are engaged in:

The trust that a firm has built between itself and its suppliers is an example of a costly-to-imitate capability that other firms cannot easily develop

One criterion for a resource or capability to be a source of competitive advantage is that it must allow the firm to perform a value-creating activity that competitors cannot perform

A competitive advantage:

Valuable capabilities allow the firm to exploit strengths or neutralize weaknesses in the internal environment

Firms should never outsource a primary activity because of the danger of the activity being imitated by rivals

In analyzing the demographic segment of the general environment, one typically examines all of the following factors EXCEPT:

Capabilities are usually developed separately from specific functional areas such as manufacturing, R&D, and marketing

Value is measured by the variable and fixed costs associated with the production and marketing of a particular product compared with the revenue and profits the product generates