BUSI 4940 Exam 2 Questions and Answers Latest Update 2025-2026
VRIS Framework - What does the acronym stand for? - Answers Valuable
Rare
Imitability
Substitute
How is "value" defined in the VRIS framework? - Answers Investors' expected return is met or
exceeded
Who wrote the VRIS model? - Answers Jay Barney, father of resource-based theory
What happens if your product isn't rare? - Answers It leads to competitive parity
What happens if it isn't difficult to imitate your product? - Answers It leads to a short-term
competitive advantage
What happens if there is no substitute for your product? - Answers You have a sustainable
competitive advantage
Resources -> Capabilities -> Competencies - Answers Resource based model
resources - Answers physical, human, and organizational capital (tangible and intangible)
capabilities - Answers an integrated set of resources; transformation of resources into useable
skills
competencies - Answers a potential source of competitive advantage
Tangible Resources - Answers assets that can be observed and quantified
intangible resources - Answers assets that are rooted deeply in the firm's history, accumulate
over time, usually tied to its people, and are relatively difficult for competitors to analyze and
imitate
Which is harder to imitate: intangible or tangible resources? - Answers Intangible
competency - Answers the ability to combine resources, tangible/intangible, to create
something that is valuable to the organization
(doesn't mean you're great at it yet tho, aka competent)
4 Main Types of Competencies - Answers Incompetencies
, Deficiencies
Core competencies
Distinctive competencies
Incompetent performance outcomes - Answers rapid failure
deficient performance outcomes - Answers competitive disadvantage
distinctive competency performance outcomes - Answers competitive advantage
core competency performance outcomes - Answers competitive parity
5 Generic Business Level Strategies - Answers 1. cost leadership
2. differentiation
3. focused cost leadership
4. focused differentiation
5. integrated cost/differentiation
Cost Leadership - Answers the positioning strategy of producing a product or service of
acceptable quality at consistently lower production costs than competitors can
EX: Walmart, has monopsony power
Differentiation - Answers making a product different from other similar products; selling the
perception of quality of goods and customer service
EX: Nordstrom
Focused cost-leadership strategy - Answers same as the cost-leadership strategy except with a
narrow focus on a niche market
focused differentiation strategy - Answers high end with great customer service; serving only
one segment of the overall market and trying to be the most differentiated organization serving
that segment
EX: Louis Vitton
VRIS Framework - What does the acronym stand for? - Answers Valuable
Rare
Imitability
Substitute
How is "value" defined in the VRIS framework? - Answers Investors' expected return is met or
exceeded
Who wrote the VRIS model? - Answers Jay Barney, father of resource-based theory
What happens if your product isn't rare? - Answers It leads to competitive parity
What happens if it isn't difficult to imitate your product? - Answers It leads to a short-term
competitive advantage
What happens if there is no substitute for your product? - Answers You have a sustainable
competitive advantage
Resources -> Capabilities -> Competencies - Answers Resource based model
resources - Answers physical, human, and organizational capital (tangible and intangible)
capabilities - Answers an integrated set of resources; transformation of resources into useable
skills
competencies - Answers a potential source of competitive advantage
Tangible Resources - Answers assets that can be observed and quantified
intangible resources - Answers assets that are rooted deeply in the firm's history, accumulate
over time, usually tied to its people, and are relatively difficult for competitors to analyze and
imitate
Which is harder to imitate: intangible or tangible resources? - Answers Intangible
competency - Answers the ability to combine resources, tangible/intangible, to create
something that is valuable to the organization
(doesn't mean you're great at it yet tho, aka competent)
4 Main Types of Competencies - Answers Incompetencies
, Deficiencies
Core competencies
Distinctive competencies
Incompetent performance outcomes - Answers rapid failure
deficient performance outcomes - Answers competitive disadvantage
distinctive competency performance outcomes - Answers competitive advantage
core competency performance outcomes - Answers competitive parity
5 Generic Business Level Strategies - Answers 1. cost leadership
2. differentiation
3. focused cost leadership
4. focused differentiation
5. integrated cost/differentiation
Cost Leadership - Answers the positioning strategy of producing a product or service of
acceptable quality at consistently lower production costs than competitors can
EX: Walmart, has monopsony power
Differentiation - Answers making a product different from other similar products; selling the
perception of quality of goods and customer service
EX: Nordstrom
Focused cost-leadership strategy - Answers same as the cost-leadership strategy except with a
narrow focus on a niche market
focused differentiation strategy - Answers high end with great customer service; serving only
one segment of the overall market and trying to be the most differentiated organization serving
that segment
EX: Louis Vitton
