Discussion Question Chapter 8 (1&3), Chapter 9 (1&4), and Chapter 10 (2&4)

Discussion Question Chapter 8 (1&3), Chapter 9 (1&4), and Chapter 10 (2&4)

Chapter 8

When Walmart decided to incorporate grocery stores into some locations and created “supercenters,”was this a business-level strategy of differentiation or a corporate strategy of diversification? Why? Explain your answer.

3. Franchising is widely used in the casual dining and fast food industry, yet Starbucks is quite

successful with a large number of company-owned stores. In 2014 Starbucks had over 7,000 company owned stores in the United States. How do you explain this difference? Is Starbucks bucking the trend of other food-service stores, or is something else going on?

Chapter 9

1. The chapter identifies three governing mecha nisms for strategic alliances: non-equity, equity,

and joint venture. List the benefits and downsides

for each of these mechanisms.

An alliance’s purpose can affect which governance structure is optimal. Compare a pharmaceutical R&D alliance with a prescription-drug marketing agreement, and recommend a governing mechanism for each. Provide reasons for your selections.

Chapter 10

Professor Pankaj Ghemawat delivered a TED talk titled “Actually, the World Isn’t Flat.” Do

you agree with his assessment that the world is at most semi-globalized, and that we need to be

careful not to fall victim to “globalony”? View the talk at: www.ted.com/talks/pankaj_ghemawat_actually_the_world_isn_t_flat?language=en.

4. “Licensing patented technology to a foreign com petitor is likely to reduce or eliminate the firm’s competitive advantage.” True or false? Write a paragraph discussing this statement.