QUESTIONS AND ISSUES IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE INTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT
-What is the overall purpose, value and importance of the internal environment analysis?
-What are the uncertainties in the internal environment analysis?
-What are some typical tangible resources?
-How do tangible resources relate to building competitive advantage?
-What are some intangible resources?
-How do intangible resources relate to building competitive advantage?
-Why are intangible resources key to building a sustainable competitive advantage?
-What is meant by capabilities in strategic management?
-How do you create capabilities from tangible and intangible resources. Think examples.
-Which criteria is used to determine strategic capabilities?
-How does a firm attempt to develop core competencies?
-Which factors make a capability hard to imitate?
-What may make a capability less substitutable?
-What is the multiplicative model of core competencies?
-What is the general purpose of the value chain analysis for strategic management?
-What are considered as primary activities and secondary activities in strategic
management?
-Which questions are typically asked in examining the value creation potential of primary
and secondary activities?
-How does the result of the value chain activities feed into developing core
competencies?
-What are the core competencies of Costco Companies (a warehouse retailer)?
-What is meant by maintaining the firms’ core competencies? Why is this critical for
strategic management?
-How may value chain activities lead to outsourcing decisions?
-How may the core competencies turn into core rigidities? What is the strategic risk here?