Deck 3: Types and Patterns of Innovation

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

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,and the s-curve flattens.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

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

Question 5

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

Question 6

The path a technology follows through time is termed as technology trajectory.

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

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

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true of component innovation?

A) Component innovation does not significantly affect the overall configuration of a system.
B) Component innovation is also called architectural 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 11

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 in the "smoked steak" sandwiches that he sold.This is an example of a(n)_____ innovation.

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

Question 12

In the context of s-curves in technological improvement,performance improvement in the early stages of a technology is rapid if the fundamentals of the technology are poorly understood.

Question 13

Product innovations are more important than process innovations to organizations because they are less visible than process innovations.

Question 14

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

Question 15

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

A) Process innovations are more visible than product innovations.
B) An innovation that was once considered radical may eventually be considered incremental as the knowledge base underlying the innovation becomes more common.
C) An innovation is considered a component innovation if it significantly affects the overall configuration of the system of which it is a component.
D) Architectural innovation is also called modular innovation.

Question 16

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

Question 17

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 its bicycles.This is an example of _____ innovation.

A) virtual
B) regressive
C) archaic
D) process

Question 18

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

Question 19

The path a technology follows through time is termed as _____.

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

Question 20

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

Question 21

What are the factors that determine whether switching to a new technology will benefit a firm?

Question 22

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

A) attempt to achieve lower market segmentation by offering different models and price points.
B) undergo a period of turbulence and uncertainty.
C) focus on efficiency and market penetration.
D) focus on altering the architecture rather than improving components.

Question 23

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 most likely belongs to the group of:

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

Question 24

Briefly explain the different types of innovation.

Question 25

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 26

Explain what Schumpeter meant by the term creative destruction.

Question 27

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

Question 28

A marketing research company categorized Jane as an early adopter.Which of the following would be true of Jane in this context?

A) She does not adopt an innovation until she feels pressure from her peers.
B) She is well integrated into her social system.
C) She has a skeptical attitude toward new ideas.
D) She has a low potential for opinion leadership.

Question 29

The CEO of a 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 in the use of the model.Which of the following is most likely the limitation identified by the consultant?

A) Firms cannot influence the shape of the s-curve through their developmental activities.
B) Unexpected changes in the market can alter the shape of a technology's s-curve.
C) S-curve models cannot be applied in the pharmaceutical industry.
D) S-curve models are outdated and unrealistic.

Question 30

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 31

When gutter shields were developed,they replaced gutter cleaning services hired by homeowners 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 32

Which of the following statements is true of technology diffusion?

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

Question 33

Digital cameras replaced film cameras.Therefore,digital cameras are an example of _____.

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

Question 34

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 35

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

Question 36

Which of the following statements 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 diminishing improvement, then slow improvement.
C) S-curves in technology diffusion and s-curves in technology performance are fundamentally the same process.
D) The s-curves flatten when the cost of each marginal improvement increases and diminishing returns to effort begin to set in.

Question 37

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 38

Iris is quite skeptical about new innovations and is most likely to adopt something new only after experiencing peer pressure to adopt the new innovation.However,she is not so risk averse that she will wait until all uncertainty of a new technology has been resolved; she is 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 39

Ron is highly skeptical about new ideas and products.He has not yet bought a satellite television subscription for his home because he is still unsure of its benefits.Ron is also concerned about the expense of getting such a connection.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 40

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

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