Both Medical Manufacturing and R&D Health Inc. have developed advanced hearing aid technologies. R&D’s hearing aids sell at $4,000 per pair, whereas Medical Manufacturing sells its hearing aids at $3,500 per pair. This price differentiation has mainly been attributed to the companies’ capital decisions. While Medical Manufacturing used its retained earnings to develop its technology, R&D Health borrowed funds from banks to develop its hearing aids. Thus, R&D pays a higher interest on its capital, which makes it necessary to price its product higher. Therefore, the key driver for Medical Manufacturing’s competitive advantage is

Strategic leadership refers to the use of power and influence by________ to direct the activities of others when pursuing an organization’s goals.

Mejor Maíz tortilla chips, manufactured by Tampico Alimentos, have been the top-selling tortilla chips in the market. Though the market for chips is flooded with competitors, Tampico Alimentos has been able to maintain its market position for a long time. This is mainly attributed to the fact that its chips have all the flavor of competing brands but only half the fat, the result of a proprietary cooking method used by the company. This competency of Tampico Alimentos will be considered as a(n)________ resource in the VRIO framework.

Makita, DuPont, Builder’s Square, and Nut’s & Bolts are all hardware stores that compete against each other through everyday low pricing and discounts on bulk purchases. All four stores cater to the needs of highly price-sensitive customers. Thus, together these stores form a________ group.

The PESTEL framework allows the scanning, monitoring, and evaluating of________ in a firm’s macro environment.

Five Star Inc. is a knife manufacturer known for its high-quality steel chef’s knives, and it follows a differentiation strategy. In this scenario, Five Star Inc. should ideally compare its strategic position with a

Matteo is a management consultant. The leaders of Office Outfitters asks him to evaluate their company, and he finds that the difference between the cost of producing the firm’s products and the value of those products is extremely narrow. What should Matteo suggest that Office Outfitters management do?

One of the reasons that Circuit City filed for bankruptcy was due to its inability to reinvest, hone, and upgrade its once-impressive resource base. Ultimately, Circuit City’s core competences became

Ari is a firm believer in Milton Friedman’s view of a firm’s social obligations. With which of the following statements is Ari most likely to agree?

PolyCon Inc. is a public stock company that provides natural gas for businesses. Although this company generates a large profit, management’s focus on reducing costs caused the maintenance budget to be trimmed. Its pipelines have at times leaked, which created significant environmental problems. As a result, the company’s value creation has suffered. This scenario supports strategy scholars’ warning that public companies