Fresh Competitive Strategy Interview Questions & Answers:

1. Market follower often gains many advantages without excessive expense, by following the market leader. Which type of market follower strategy is one whereby the market follower copies some things from the market leader but maintains some differentiation with its packaging, advertising, pricing and other factors?

1. Nicher
2. Adapter
3. Cloner
4. Imitator

Answer: Imitator

2. Market challengers use a range of offensive strategies to attack the market leaders and other competitors. Which of the following is a market challenger strategy that uses a diversification approach, often into new technological and geographical areas and unrelated areas to overcome the opposition?

1. Flanking attack
2. Encirclement attack
3. Guerilla attack
4. Bypass attack
5. Frontal attack

Answer: Bypass attack

3. Defense strategies are utilized by market leaders against their attackers. When competitors attack the market leaders weaknesses, such as Japanese care manufacturers entering the USA market with smaller and cheaper cars, this is referred to as what type of defense strategy?

1. Flanking defence
2. Contraction defence
3. Position defence
4. Pre-emptive defence
5. Counter-offensive defence
6. Mobile defence

Answer: Flanking defence

4. Improving productivity means squeezing more profits out of the same volume of sales. Which of the following are not specifically productivity enhancing tactics?

1. Win customer loyalty by implementing customer-relationship management programs.
2. Reduce fixed costs, especially wages, through outsourcing.
3. Reduce variable costs through lean production mechanisms of Total Quality Management (TQM).
4. Reduce capital cost by implementing JIT and improving stock-holding and work in progress inventory levels.

Answer: Win customer loyalty by implementing customer-relationship management programs

5. Which of the following strategies could a market leader implement to maintain its commanding leadership position?

1. Merger and acquisition of other organizations, especially if they are the opposition
2. The organization expands its activities to enlarge the market.
3. Reduce costs within the organization.
4. Expand total demand for the product.
5. All of the above

Answer: All of the above

6. A runner up in an industry that is fighting hard to increase its market share is referred to as.

1. Market challenger
2. Market leader
3. Market follower
4. Market nicher
5. None of the above

Answer: Market challenger

7. Based upon rationality and mutual respect competitors can often exist harmoniously, however various predatory or retaliatory acts can disrupt this harmony. Which of the following are market disruptive strategies?

1. The use of product dumping tactics
2. The seeking of subsidies
3. Investment in over-capacity
4. Buying market share rather than earning it
5. All of the above

Answer: All of the above

8. A group of firms following the same or similar strategy is referred to as what-

1. A collusive group
2. A strategic group
3. A competitive group
4. An associative group

Answer: A strategic group

9. The launch of store own brands such as Tescos Butter me up has had what effect on the competitive environment-

1. Increased price competitiveness
2. Increased pressure on market leading brands as it has eroded their market dominance.
3. Given the consumer an increased choice of products
4. Put additional pressure on the large manufacturers to provide further discount their original products to gain shelf space, instead of Tesco just stocking their own brand.
5. All of the above

Answer: All of the above

10. An industry is defined as which of the following-

1. Group of firms developing similar products
2. A group of firms that operate in a specific field of expertise
3. Group of firms that offer products that are close substitutes for each other
4. All of the above
5. None of the above

Answer: Group of firms that offer products that are close substitutes for each other