CHP. 4 WPC 480 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026
Barriers to imitation that prevent rivals from competing away the advantage a firm may enjoy -
Answers Isolating mechanisms
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
Firms can acquire resources at a low cost, which can lay the foundation for a competitive advantage
later - Answers Better expectations of future resource value
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A situation in which the options one faces in the current situation are limited by decisions made in the
past - Answers Path dependence
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A situation in which the cause and effect of a phenomenon are not readily apparent-- Managers need
to have some kind of understanding about what causes superior or inferior performance - Answers
Causal ambiguity
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A situation in which different social and business systems interact with one another - Answers Social
complexity
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A critical intangible resource that can provide a strong isolating mechanism, and thus help to sustain a
competitive advantage - Answers Intellectual property (IP)
A former core competency that turned into a liability because the firm failed to hone, refine, and
upgrade the competency as the environment changed - Answers Core rigidity
A firm's ability to create, deploy, modify, reconfigure, upgrade, or leverage its resources in its quest
for competitive advantage.
This is essential to move beyond a short-lived advantage and create a sustained competitive
advantage - Answers Dynamic capabilities
Competitive advantage is the outflow of a firm's capacity to modify and leverage its resource base in a
way that enables it to gain and sustain competitive advantage in a constantly changing environment -
Answers Dynamic capabilities perspective
The firm's current level of intangible resources - Answers Resource stocks
The firm's level of investments to maintain or build a resource - Answers Resource flows
The internal activities a firm engages in when transforming inputs into outputs; each activity adds
incremental value - Answers Value chain
Firm activities that add value directly by transforming inputs into outputs as the firm moves a product
or service horizontally along the internal value chain - Answers Value chain
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
SCM - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Operations - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Distribution - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Marketing and sales - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
After-sales service - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Barriers to imitation that prevent rivals from competing away the advantage a firm may enjoy -
Answers Isolating mechanisms
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
Firms can acquire resources at a low cost, which can lay the foundation for a competitive advantage
later - Answers Better expectations of future resource value
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A situation in which the options one faces in the current situation are limited by decisions made in the
past - Answers Path dependence
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A situation in which the cause and effect of a phenomenon are not readily apparent-- Managers need
to have some kind of understanding about what causes superior or inferior performance - Answers
Causal ambiguity
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A situation in which different social and business systems interact with one another - Answers Social
complexity
Out of the different isolating mechanisms (barriers to imitation), which one does this describe?
A critical intangible resource that can provide a strong isolating mechanism, and thus help to sustain a
competitive advantage - Answers Intellectual property (IP)
A former core competency that turned into a liability because the firm failed to hone, refine, and
upgrade the competency as the environment changed - Answers Core rigidity
A firm's ability to create, deploy, modify, reconfigure, upgrade, or leverage its resources in its quest
for competitive advantage.
This is essential to move beyond a short-lived advantage and create a sustained competitive
advantage - Answers Dynamic capabilities
Competitive advantage is the outflow of a firm's capacity to modify and leverage its resource base in a
way that enables it to gain and sustain competitive advantage in a constantly changing environment -
Answers Dynamic capabilities perspective
The firm's current level of intangible resources - Answers Resource stocks
The firm's level of investments to maintain or build a resource - Answers Resource flows
The internal activities a firm engages in when transforming inputs into outputs; each activity adds
incremental value - Answers Value chain
Firm activities that add value directly by transforming inputs into outputs as the firm moves a product
or service horizontally along the internal value chain - Answers Value chain
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
SCM - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Operations - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Distribution - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
Marketing and sales - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
After-sales service - Answers Primary
Is this activity a primary or support activity in the value chain?
