Time allowed: 30 minutes
STRATEGY
1. What is the expected profitability of a (technology-based) disruptive innovation in the short term?
a) More profitable than a mainstream/sustaining innovation
b) Less profitable than a mainstream/sustaining innovation
c) As profitable as a mainstream sustaining innovation
2. Why do successful companies often fail or strongly downsize after their period of success?
a) Successful companies attempt to achieve too ambitious objectives and this leads to failure
b) Successful companies attempt to enter unknown business areas and this leads to failure
c) Successful companies tend to replicate their business model and this leads to failure
3. Spinning off a business unit is a way to:
a) Create an organisation with independence and autonomy
b) Put a unit on the market to be sold
c) Pursue an harvesting strategy
4. Once a Blue Ocean is discovered and entered by a given company:
a) Incumbents in previously existing markets have no choice but copying the company, in order to be able to address the new customers
b) The company has to find ways to create boundaries around the Blue Ocean in order to protect it from the entry of other companies and keep it as a permanent source of profit
c) The company has to prepare itself for the turning of the Ocean from Blue to Red
5. In a strongly co-related business portfolio, the risk is increased by:
a) The change of supply conditions, e.g. a reduction in the cost of raw materials, affecting the overall portfolio
b) The change of demand conditions, e.g. a drop in the customers’ relevance of a certain need, affecting the overall portfolio
c) Both of the above
6. Which of the following statements regarding corporate goals is WRONG:
a) Shareholder wealth maximization should never be a primary goal of a company
b) Shareholder wealth maximization sometimes entails negative consequences for other stakeholders
c) Stakeholders’ interests should be considered in conjunction with profit maximization objectives
7. In Porter’s 5 forces framework, the buyers’ bargaining power depends on:
a) The geographical location of the main buyers
b) The buyers’ importance in defining key features of the final product/service
c) Both of the above
8. Why is ambidexterity needed to manage innovation?
a) Because mixing in the same organization existing and emerging businesses leads to neglect the emerging ones
b) Because the best resources have to be dedicated to emerging businesses
c) Because the existing businesses should absorb the most expensive resources of the company
9. The Profit Pool Mapping refers DOES NOT include:
a) The analysis of the distribution of revenues across the various layers of an industry’s value chain
b) The analysis of profits distribution along the supply chain of an industry
c) The analysis of emerging technologies and related competitive threats coming from different layers of an industry’s value chain
10. In Porter’s 5 forces model, complementors are:
a) A group of strategic buyers who enhance the value of the company’s products and services
b) A group of non-competing companies which have a positive impact on the company’s competitive advantage
c) A group of competing companies who imitate the company’s strategy but offer a lower price
MARKETING
1. In the choice of target segments, which variables a company needs to consider?
a) Possible creation of entry barriers and duration of the segment
b) Attractiveness and compatibility of the segments with the company strategy and resources
c) Duration of the segment and ability to self-finance
d) Possible creation of entry barriers and compatibility of the segments with the company strategy and resources.
2. Which of the following is a NOT a benefit of e-commerce strategy?
a) Savings by reducing the intermediaries’ role
b) Possibility to create market for niche products
c) Possibility to reach new customers
d) Increased margins due to online promotions
3. Which, among the following, is a characteristic of dynamic pricing?
a) Every transaction could have a different price
b) It exploits quantity discount by grouping buyers
c) The price is defined through the process of competitive and open bidding
d) It maximize revenues from a fixes and time-limited resource
4. What is a persona in a customer journey?
a) The representation of a company’s target segment
b) A prospect
c) A new customer the company would like to address
d) The buyer in B2B market
5. If you are going to use the perception map for positioning assessment:
a) You need to identify attributes which are relevant for the target market
b) You need to identify product-related attributes only
c) You need to identify attributes which your competitors do not have
d) You need to identify emotional attributes only
STARTUPS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY
1. Cash Burn Rate:
a) Describes the annual financial needs of startups
b) Describes the monthly financial needs of startups
c) Corresponds to the number of months covered by existing funds to sustain startup activities
d) None of the options above are correct
2. Which of the following statements about startups’ valuation is CORRECT?
a) Post-money valuation refers to the approximate market value given to a startup after a round of financing
b) Post-money valuation refers to the approximate market value given to a startup after founders’ exit the company
c) Pre-money valuation refers to the approximate market value given to a startup after a round of financing
d) None of the options above
3. Which of the following is not a common business plan fallacy?
a) Business plans can perfectly predict the future
b) Business plans shall be based on rigorous multidisciplinary methodologies
c) Business plans should not change when applied to incumbents or startup
d) Business plans are reliable irrespectively of the data they are based on
4. Which of the following approaches is suggested to estimate from scratch the financial need for a new venture?
a) Calculate the initial investment and add a contingency of 10%.
b) Calculate the initial investment and add a contingency of 20%.
c) Calculate the Cumulated Cash Burn Rate; the (negative) peak of the Cumulated Cash Burn Rate is the basis to assess the financial need of the venture.
d) The algebric sum of EBIT and initial investment represents the financial need of the new venture.
5. Which one of the following categories usually does NOT invest in the initial stage of a startup?
a. FFF (Family, Friends, Fools)
b. Business Angels
c. Private Equity Funds
d. None of the above
Answer
- B
- C
- A
- C
- C
- A
- B
- A
- C
- B
- B
- D
- A
- A
- A
- B
- A
- B
- C
- C
