Suppose Another Firm Found a Way to Offer IKEA's Customers

question 109

Multiple Choice

Suppose another firm found a way to offer IKEA's customers (young buyers interested in stylish furniture at low cost) additional sources of differentiation while charging the same price or to provide the same service with the same sources of differentiation at a lower price.Which of the following categories of competitive risk to a focus strategy would this be?

• A) An industry-wide competitor decides that the market segment served by IKEA is worth entering.
• B) A competitor may focus on a more narrowly defined segment and thereby "out-focus" the focuser.
• C) The needs of the customers in this narrow segment have become more similar to those of industry-wide competitors.
• D) Experience can narrow customer's perceptions of value of the firm's differentiated features.

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Definitions:

AVC

Average Variable Cost; the total variable cost divided by the quantity of output produced, indicative of variable costs per unit of output.

Marginal Cost Curve

This curve illustrates the change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced is incremented by one unit. It is the graphical representation of the marginal cost of production as the amount produced changes.

ATC

Average Total Cost, which is the total cost of production (including both fixed and variable costs) divided by the number of units produced.

AVC

stands for Average Variable Cost, which is the total variable cost divided by the quantity of output produced.