SPP Innovation & Growth Strategy 5

Question 1

In a Blue Ocean Strategy, a company creates an uncontested market space primarily by:

Accepted Answer

Eliminating, reducing, raising, and creating factors to shift value curves

Answer

The Blue Ocean Strategy Four Actions Framework—Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create—reconstructs buyer value to make competition irrelevant.

Question 2

Which governance structure is most effective at protecting exploratory innovation units from being starved of resources by core business demands?

Accepted Answer

Creating a structurally separate innovation unit with dedicated funding

Answer

Structural separation shields exploratory units from short-term profit pressure, giving them the autonomy and runway needed to develop disruptive innovations.

Question 3

A strategic planner wants to identify which market trends could become significant within 5-10 years but are not yet mainstream. Which scanning tool is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Weak signal analysis / horizon scanning

Answer

Weak signal analysis (horizon scanning) detects faint early indicators of emerging trends before they become strong enough to appear in conventional market research.

Question 4

When a firm's core competency becomes a 'core rigidity' that prevents innovation, the recommended strategic response is:

Accepted Answer

Unlearn or evolve the capability while building new ones

Answer

Dorothy Leonard-Barton's core rigidity concept suggests firms must deliberately unlearn entrenched routines and mindsets that block adaptation to new technological or market realities.

Question 5

Which metric is most useful for evaluating the commercial effectiveness of an innovation pipeline in its early stages?

Accepted Answer

Innovation funnel conversion rate (ideas to launched products)

Answer

Funnel conversion rate tracks how many ideas advance through each stage gate to launch, revealing bottlenecks and the pipeline's overall productivity.

(SPP) Strategic Planning Professional Practice Test

(SPP) Strategic Planning Professional Practice Test

SPP Innovation & Growth Strategy 5