Deck 3: Types and Patterns of Innovation

Question 1

In the context of s-curves in technological improvement,as a technology begins to reach its inherent limits,the cost of each marginal improvement decreases.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

According to Anderson and Tushman,in the era of incremental change,most competition revolves around improving components rather than altering the architecture.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

According to the Utterback and Abernathy model,firms in the fluid phase avoid experimenting with different form factors or product features.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Among the various adopter categories,innovators have the greatest potential for opinion leadership.

Question 5

Product innovations are more visible than process innovations.

Question 6

The path a technology follows through time is termed its technology transfer.

Question 7

S-curves of technology diffusion are in part a function of the s-curves in technology improvement.

Question 8

Technologies always get the opportunity to reach their performance limits before being replaced by a new technology.

Question 9

In the context of s-curves in technological improvement,performance improvement in the early stages of a technology is rapid.

Question 10

It is possible for a firm that follows an s-curve model too closely to end up switching technologies later than it should.

Question 11

An innovation can be competence enhancing to one firm,while competence destroying for another.

Question 12

For a firm to adopt a component innovation,it typically requires that the firm have architectural knowledge about the way components link and integrate to form a whole system.

Question 13

A modular innovation significantly affects the overall configuration of a system.

Question 14

The last 16 percent of the individuals in a social system to adopt an innovation are termed as late majority.

Question 15

When a technology's performance is plotted against the amount of effort and money invested in the technology,it typically shows slow initial improvement,then accelerated improvement,then diminishing improvement.

Question 16

Technology diffusion curve is s-shaped because adoption is initially fast when a new technology is introduced to the market.

Question 17

S-curves in technology performance and s-curves in technology diffusion are fundamentally different processes.

Question 18

Firms cannot influence the shape of the s-curve through their development activities.

Question 19

According to Anderson and Tushman,in the era of ferment,firms focus on efficiency and market penetration.

Question 20

Technology diffusion and information diffusion take the same amount of time.

Question 21

Digital cameras replaced film cameras.This is an example of _____.

A) modular innovation
B) incremental technology
C) component innovation
D) discontinuous technology

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true regarding different types of innovations?

A) Process innovations are more visible than product innovations.
B) A radical innovation may over time become an incremental innovation.
C) Component innovations significantly affect the overall configuration of systems.
D) Architectural innovation is also called modular innovation.

Question 23

S-curves in technology diffusion are obtained by plotting the:

A) capacity of a technology against time.
B) cumulative number of adopters of a technology against time.
C) performance speed of a technology against effort.
D) performance power of a technology against effort.

Question 24

As firms' routines and capabilities become more and more oriented around the dominant architecture,the firms become less able to identify and respond to a major architectural innovation.

Question 25

The path a technology follows through time is termed its:

A) technology map.
B) technology trajectory.
C) technology cluster.
D) technology transfer.

Question 26

In the context of s-curve in technological improvement,plotting performance against time will result in the same characteristic curve as plotting performance against effort,only if:

A) speed, a function of performance, is relatively constant over time.
B) effort is relatively constant over time.
C) power, a function of performance, is relatively inconsistent over time.
D) effort varies over time.

Question 27

A marketing research company categorized Jane as an early adopter.Which of the following is true of Jane in the context of early adopters?

A) She will wait until uncertainty about a new product is resolved before buying it.
B) She will be well integrated into her social system.
C) She will have a skeptical attitude toward new ideas.
D) She will have a low potential for opinion leadership.

Question 28

A CEO of a certain pharmaceutical company asked his consultant if it was a good idea to implement the s-curve model to predict when a technology would reach its limits.The consultant identified a limitation with the use of the model.Which of the following is the limitation identified by the consultant?

A) Using the s-curve would be too expensive.
B) Unexpected changes alter the shape of a technology's s-curve.
C) S-curve model cannot be applied in the pharmaceutical industry.
D) The s-curve model is outdated and unrealistic.

Question 29

When the first personal computers were introduced,Bill started using a spreadsheet program to maintain his accounts.Bill discovered that due to this new method his work had become much slower and that if he typed in the wrong data,it led to more mistakes.This illustrates that:

A) effort invested in an existing technology will reap higher returns than effort invested in a new technology.
B) effort invested in the incumbent technology is much higher than effort invested in the new technology.
C) initially, technological discontinuity may have lower performance than the incumbent technology.
D) component innovations are more effective than architectural innovations.

Question 30

The CEO of an automobile manufacturing firm directed the R&D department to come up with a radical innovation.Which of the following best fits the bill?

A) A door that unlocks by recognizing the owner's fingerprints.
B) Seats that vibrate to massage the backs of passengers.
C) A gear system that automatically shifts based on the driver's speed.
D) A car that runs on water and solar power.

Question 31

Which of the following is true of technology diffusion?

A) S-curves in technology diffusion are obtained by plotting performance against time.
B) Information diffusion is slower than technology diffusion.
C) A drop in the prices of a new technology can accelerate technology diffusion.
D) Adoption is initially fast when a new technology is introduced to the market.

Question 32

Which of the following is true of component and architectural innovation?

A) Component innovation does not significantly affect the overall configuration of a system.
B) Architectural innovation is also called as modular innovation.
C) For a firm to initiate component innovation, knowledge about the whole system is necessary.
D) Component innovations have more far-reaching and complex influences on industry competitors and technology users than architectural innovations.

Question 33

Which of the following is considered a radical innovation?

A) Introducing a range of cell phones with different colors and patterns on the cover.
B) Reducing the size and weight of a cell phone, to make it more compact and easier to carry.
C) Developing a cell phone that allows customers to scan the prices of the products in stores and make payments for their purchases.
D) Increasing the clarity of a cell phone's camera by replacing the three megapixel camera with a five megapixel camera.

Question 34

Which of the following is true of s-curves in technological improvement?

A) They are obtained by plotting the cumulative number of adopters of the technology against time.
B) They typically show that technology goes through initial accelerated improvement, then slow improvement, then diminishing improvement.
C) S-curves in technology diffusion and s-curves in technology performance are fundamentally the same processes.
D) The s-curves flatten when the cost of each marginal improvement increases and when diminishing returns to effort begin to set in.

Question 35

When gutter shields were developed,they replaced gutter cleaning services hired by homeowners wishing to keep leaves and debris out of their gutters.In other words,the same need was met by an entirely new technology.This is an example of a(n) _____ technology.

A) complementary
B) component
C) discontinuous
D) incremental

Question 36

A bicycle manufacturing company adopted a new type of inventory management system.This inventory system improved the productivity of its manufacturing unit and the quality of the bicycles.This is an example of _____ innovation.

A) product
B) radical
C) architectural
D) process

Question 37

Dalton discovered that using garlic salt on a regular hamburger made the hamburger taste more like steak.He could then use a less expensive meat for the "smoked steak" sandwich that he sold.This is an example of a(n) _____ innovation.

A) radical
B) discontinuous
C) architectural
D) component

Question 38

The replacement of eyeglasses by contact lenses is an example of a(n):

A) incremental technology.
B) component innovation.
C) discontinuous technology.
D) modular innovation.

Question 39

Which of the following is most clearly an example of process innovation?

A) A donut chain develops a method that enables donuts to be baked in 15 minutes rather than the standard 30 minutes.
B) A company that manufactures canned soups introduces a line of canned soups with new flavors and seasonings.
C) A major motion picture studio releases a new 3D movie.
D) A tire manufacturer develops a tire that re-inflates itself instantly when punctured.

Question 40

Ron is highly skeptical about new ideas and products.He has not yet bought a satellite dish for his home because he is still unsure that it really works.Ron is also very worried about the expense of purchasing the satellite dish.According to this description,Ron:

A) is an innovator.
B) belongs to the early majority.
C) is a laggard.
D) is an early adopter.

Question 41

Once a new product design becomes a dominant design:

A) the product is no longer profitable.
B) it becomes difficult for competitors to imitate.
C) the architecture on which the industry can focus its efforts is destabilized.
D) the product design is adopted by the majority of producers.

Question 42

When computers were first commercialized,Todd found it to be very confusing.He heard conflicting claims about which hardware to buy and about the various software systems available.He finally purchased something expensive,but found it to be unreliable.Very soon,Todd realized that companies had changed the models for the hardware and software they sold.This illustrates _____ phase of the technology evolution model described by Utterback and Abernathy.

A) fluid
B) dominant design
C) specific
D) incremental

Question 43

If a company learns of the cost and efficiency advantages of a new technology to replace one it is currently using,will it then adopt the new technology as quickly as it can? Explain the reason for your answer.

Question 44

Explain what Schumpeter meant by the term creative destruction.

Question 45

Donald is always ready to buy recently-launched gadgets and gizmos.Since he has sufficient financial resources to invest in these products,he is unconcerned about the risks and uncertainties involved in buying new products.Based on this description,Donald belongs to the group of:

A) early majority.
B) early adopters.
C) innovators.
D) laggards.

Question 46

Briefly explain the different types of innovation.

Question 47

According to Anderson and Tushman,the era of incremental change:

A) is a period of turbulence and uncertainty.
B) is characterized by most firms investing in learning about alternative design architectures.
C) focuses on efficiency and market penetration.
D) focuses on altering the architecture rather than improving components.

Question 48

Briefly define Roger's five adopter categories and explain how a marketer might use this knowledge.

Question 49

Iris is quite skeptical about new innovations and is likely to adopt something new after getting some pressure from her peers.However,she is not so risk averse that she will wait until all uncertainty of a new technology has been resolved; she's willing to accept a little uncertainty if her peers already use the product.Which of the following adopter categories does Iris belong to?

A) Early adopters
B) Innovators
C) Late majority
D) Laggards

Question 50

Alpha Information Inc.is a firm that manufactures desktop computers and wireless network hardware components.The company is spending heavily on R&D to experiment with new designs for wireless networks instead of trying to refine how well they make their current wireless network hardware components.The firm is going through a period of ambiguity and anxiety.Alpha Information Inc.is in the:

A) dominant design phase.
B) era of incremental change.
C) era of ferment.
D) specific phase.

Question 51

How can the s-curves be used as a prescriptive tool? What would be the limitations of this approach?