Self‐Study Questions

1. Consider the changes that have occurred in a comparatively new

industry (e.g., wireless telecommunications, smartphones, video game
consoles, online brokerage services, and fitness clubs). To what extent
has the evolution of the industry followed the pattern predicted by the
industry life‐cycle model? What are the features of the industry that
have influenced its pattern of evolution? At what stage of development
is the industry today? How is the industry likely to evolve in the future?
2. Select a product that has become a dominant design for its industry
(e.g., the IBM PC in personal computers, McDonald's in fast food,
Harvard Business School in MBA education, and Southwest in budget
airlines). What factors caused one firm's product architecture to
become dominant? Why did other firms imitate this dominant design?
How did the emergence of the dominant design influence the evolution
of the industry?
3. The resource partitioning model argues that, as industries become
dominated by a few major companies with similar strategies and
products, so opportunities open for new entrants to build specialist
niches. Identify an opportunity for establishing a specialist new
business in an industry currently dominated by mass‐market giants.
4. Choose an industry that faces significant change over the next 10 years.
Identify the main drivers of change and construct two scenarios of how
these changes might play out. In relation to one of the leading firms in
the industry, what are the implications of the two scenarios, and what
strategy options should the firm consider?
5. Identify two sports teams: one that is rich in resources (such as
talented players) but whose capabilities (as indicated by performance)
have been poor; one that is resource‐poor but has displayed strong
team capabilities. What clues can you offer as to the determinants of
capabilities among sports teams?
6. The market leaders in video games for mobile devices during 2012–17
were start‐up companies such as DeNA, GungHo Online, Supercell,
King, and Rovio. Why have start‐ups outperformed established video
game giants such as Electronic Arts, Rock Star Games, and Activision
Blizzard in this market?
7. The dean of your business school wishes to upgrade the school's
educational capabilities in order to better equip its graduates for
success in their careers and in their lives. Advise your dean on what
tools and systems of knowledge management might be deployed in
order to support these goals.