Nayomi Ekanayake

Innovation ETA 1 MCQ

Innovation Middlesex London

2013 onwards

Which of the following statements is true regarding flexible manufacturing technologies? A) They have increased the importance of production economies of scale. B) They help companies differentiate their products and services from those of their competitors. C) They make the process of developing product variations expensive and timeconsuming. D) They are unable to adjust production schedules to real-time information on demand. _____ refers to the time between a product's introduction and its withdrawal from the market or replacement by a next-generation product. A) Product evolution B) Product adaptation C) Product management D) Product life cycle Technological innovation has contributed to A) longer product life cycles. B) increased costs. C) rapid product obsolescence. D) reduced competition in the marketplace. Which of the following statements is true with regard to the concept of the innovation funnel? A) A single successful new product results in several thousand ideas. B) Technically feasible ideas are usually commercially successful. C) Many potential new product ideas are conceived, but very few make it through the development process. D) Success and innovation go hand-in-hand.

Which of the following is not essential for a firm to develop a technically and commercially feasible product? A) A well-crafted innovation strategy B) An in-depth understanding of the dynamics of innovation C) Well-designed processes for implementing the innovation strategy D) A stronghold on the marketplace

_____ is the underlying process for innovation. A) Creativity B) Knowledge C) Development D) Agglomeration

Which of the following is not a function of creativity? A) Environment B) Knowledge C) Intellectual ability D) Attention to detail Which of the following is not a characteristic of an inventor? A) They are curious and more interested in problems than solutions. B) They question the assumptions made in previous work in the field. C) They often have the sense that all knowledge is unified. D) They are specialists by nature. Which of the following is the correct sequence of steps for the demand-pull approach to research and development? A) Customers express an unmet need, R&D develops the product to meet that need, the product is produced, and marketing promotes the product. B) Scientific discovery leads to an invention, engineering designs the product, it is manufactured and then marketing promotes it. C) R&D comes up with the product concept which is refined by engineering, manufacturing produces it, and marketing sells it. D) Manufacturing sees a way to improve a product, R&D takes the suggestions and expands on it, engineering redesigns it, manufacturing implements the change, and marketing promotes it. Which of the following is an example of the cultural context of technology? A) The degree to which technology can be protected by patents or copyright B) The availability of supplier and distributor markets C) The population density of labor or customers D) The degree of market concentration

The Acme Mattress Company discovered that it could more cheaply use polyurethane foam for its mattress than traditional stuffing materials. This is an example of a(n) _____ innovation. A) architectural B) radical C) component D) competence destroying

When handheld calculators replaced slide rules A) the specific phase had been reached. B) a technological discontinuity had occurred C) technological continuity existed. D) an incremental change had occurred.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the use of the S-curve as a prescriptive tool? A) The performance limits of a technology can be predetermined. B) The shape of a technology's s-curve is absolute. C) Firms cannot control the shape of the s-curve. D) Unexpected market changes can shorten or extend the life cycle of a technology.

Donald is extremely adventurous when it comes to buying new gadgets and gizmos. He has sufficient financial resources and is at ease in complex and uncertain situations. According to this description, Donald is most likely a(n) A) early adopter. B) innovator. C) member of the early majority. D) member of the late majority.

During the era of incremental change A) firms attempt to simplify product design. B) firms invest in learning about alternative design architecture. C) firms are more capable of identifying and responding to major architectural innovation. D) firms focus on achieve breakthrough capabilities.

The standard form of the learning curve is formulated as y = ax-b, where a is the A) number of direct labor hours required to produce the xth unit. B) number of direct labor hours required to produce the first unit. C) cumulative number of units produced. D) learning rate.

The availability of complementary goods and the size of the installed base are A) negatively correlated. B) positively correlated. C) inversely proportional. D) unrelated.

Increasing returns is A) when gross returns from a product or process increases with the size of its installed base. B) when the rate of return from a product or process increases with the size of its installed base. C) when the rate return from a product or process increases as the cost per unit decreases. D) when gross returns from a product or process increases as the cost per unit decreases.

Products that are not available in the market and that may not even exist but are advertised anyway are known as A) technological figments. B) works in progress. C) anticipatory innovations. D) vaporware.

Network externality benefits A) refer to the value customers reap as a larger portion of the market adopts the same good. B) refer to the costs users bear as a larger portion of the market adopts the same good. C) refer to the value organizations generate as their product becomes the dominant design. D) refer to the value firms generate by advancing their technological platforms.

StarTech Enterprise was the first company to introduce a GPS-enabled shoe which was targeted at tourists, trekkers, and runners. The shoe was a best seller and, with no other competitors expected to the market, StarTech was able to increase the price of the shoe without losing much of its customer base. This is an example of A) monopoly rents. B) product domination. C) enabling technologies D) switching costs.

Julie currently drives an automatic car. Her husband Max, however, insists she change to a manual transmission (stick shift) car as it will help them reduce their fuel expenses. Julie is against the idea as it will take her a considerable amount of time to learn how to drive a manual car. This is an example of A) high switching costs. B) incumbent inertia. C) high monopoly costs. D) decreasing returns to adoption.

Sony Corporation has long been considered as the pioneer of portable music devices with the release of its highly successful Sony Walkman. However, when consumer preferences switched to MP3 players, Sony was slow to respond to this need resulting in loss of revenues and market share and ultimately culminating in the domination of Apple's iPod. This is an example of A) monopoly costs. B) incumbent inertia. C) high switching costs. D) enabling technologies.

If you enter the market too late, the risk is that A) the demand for the technology may exceed the supply. B) competitors control the market and make success practically impossible. C) you will face legal challenges of violating patent laws. D) no one will understand your technology.

The development cycle time for a new product can be shortened by using A) combined qualitative techniques. B) parallel development processes. C) smaller development teams. D) a mechanistic organizational structure.