I85PREP
⌘ K
EXIL-NEGOCIOS study materials
EXIL-NEGOCIOS study resources

EXIL-NEGOCIOS practice questions

One question at a time. Build your EXIL-NEGOCIOS understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Business strategy and general management

In Porter's five forces framework, which force intensifies when a manufacturer's component suppliers are few and the components they supply are highly differentiated?

  1. Supplier power Correct answer.
  2. Threat of substitutes
  3. Threat of entrants
  4. Buyer power

Explanation

Supplier power rises when suppliers are concentrated and their inputs are differentiated, because switching costs for the buyer are high and few alternatives exist. The other forces describe entry, buyer leverage and alternative products, not upstream leverage.

Question 2Business strategy and general management

A retailer's long-established brand recognition and loyal customer base appear in a SWOT analysis as which element?

  1. Opportunity
  2. Strength Correct answer.
  3. Weakness
  4. Threat

Explanation

SWOT separates internal attributes (strengths and weaknesses) from external conditions (opportunities and threats). An existing brand and loyal customers are internal resources already held by the firm, so they are a strength.

Question 3Business strategy and general management

In the BCG growth-share matrix, a business unit with high market share in a low-growth market is classified as a:

  1. Question mark
  2. Cash cow Correct answer.
  3. Star
  4. Dog

Explanation

The matrix plots relative market share against market growth. High share plus low growth generates surplus cash from a mature position, which is the defining feature of a cash cow.

Question 4Business strategy and general management

A software firm sells its existing accounting product to a new segment of small retailers it has never served. In Ansoff's matrix this move is:

  1. Market development Correct answer.
  2. Diversification
  3. Market penetration
  4. Product development

Explanation

Ansoff classifies growth options by whether the product and the market are existing or new. Keeping the product unchanged while targeting a new customer group is market development.

Question 5Business strategy and general management

Which element of the marketing mix covers distribution channels and the physical availability of a product?

  1. Promotion
  2. Place Correct answer.
  3. Price
  4. Product

Explanation

Place refers to how the product reaches the customer, including channel design, coverage and logistics. Price, product and promotion concern revenue terms, the offer itself and communication respectively.

Question 6Business strategy and general management

In organisation design, span of control refers to:

  1. The number of separate functions operating within the firm
  2. The degree to which decision rights are centralized at head office
  3. The count of hierarchical levels between the CEO and front-line staff
  4. The number of subordinates reporting directly to one manager Correct answer.

Explanation

Span of control is a horizontal measure: how many people report to a single manager. A wide span produces a flat structure, a narrow span produces a tall one.

Question 7Business strategy and general management

In Herzberg's two-factor theory, which item is a hygiene factor rather than a motivator?

  1. Recognition from colleagues
  2. Opportunities for personal growth
  3. Company policy and salary Correct answer.
  4. Achievement of challenging goals

Explanation

Hygiene factors concern the context of work, such as pay, policy and conditions; their absence causes dissatisfaction but their presence does not motivate. Motivators concern the content of work, such as achievement, recognition and growth.

Question 8Business strategy and general management

Which formula gives the break-even point in units?

  1. Contribution per unit divided by total fixed costs
  2. Fixed costs divided by contribution per unit Correct answer.
  3. Total variable costs divided by the number of units sold
  4. Total fixed costs divided by the selling price per unit

Explanation

Break-even occurs where total contribution equals total fixed costs, so output needed is fixed costs divided by the contribution earned on each unit. Price alone or variable cost alone ignores the other half of the margin.

Question 9Business strategy and general management

A regional airline offers no-frills flights on secondary routes at the lowest fares in its market. Which of Porter's generic strategies does this illustrate?

  1. Cost leadership
  2. Broad differentiation
  3. Cost focus Correct answer.
  4. Differentiation focus

Explanation

The firm competes on low cost and restricts itself to a narrow market segment, which is a focus strategy combined with a cost advantage. Cost leadership would require appealing to the broad market on low cost.

Question 10Business strategy and general management

Which of the following is a primary activity in Porter's value chain?

  1. Outbound logistics Correct answer.
  2. Firm infrastructure
  3. Technology development
  4. Human resource management

Explanation

Primary activities directly create, sell and deliver the product: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Support activities such as infrastructure, HR and technology development underpin them indirectly.

Question 11Business strategy and general management

A new regulation restricting the cross-border transfer of customer data would be classified in PESTEL analysis under which dimension?

  1. Economic
  2. Legal Correct answer.
  3. Technological
  4. Political

Explanation

PESTEL separates legal factors, which are binding rules and regulations, from political factors, which concern government policy and stability. A data-transfer restriction is a legal rule, even though it originates from public authorities.

Question 12Business strategy and general management

A brewing company acquires a malting plant that supplies its barley. This transaction is best described as:

  1. Conglomerate diversification
  2. Backward integration Correct answer.
  3. Horizontal integration
  4. Forward integration

Explanation

Backward integration moves the firm upstream towards its inputs and suppliers. Forward integration would move it downstream towards distribution or retail customers.

Question 13Business strategy and general management

A product sells for 50 currency units and has variable costs of 30 units per item. What is its contribution margin ratio?

  1. 60%
  2. 40% Correct answer.
  3. 20%
  4. 67%

Explanation

Contribution margin ratio equals contribution per unit divided by price, here 20 divided by 50, which is 40%. It measures the share of each sales unit available to cover fixed costs.

Question 14Business strategy and general management

A division earns an operating profit of 30,000 on an invested capital base of 200,000. What is its return on investment?

  1. 30%
  2. 20%
  3. 15% Correct answer.
  4. 6.7%

Explanation

ROI is operating profit divided by invested capital, so 30,000 divided by 200,000 equals 15%. The ratio allows comparison of units of different size.

Question 15Business strategy and general management

A producer finds that every time its cumulative output doubles, unit cost falls by about 20%. This pattern is known as:

  1. The experience curve Correct answer.
  2. Diseconomies of scale
  3. Minimum efficient scale
  4. Economies of scope

Explanation

The experience curve links declining unit cost to cumulative volume rather than to current output, reflecting accumulated learning. Scale economies relate to the size of output at a point in time.

Question 16Business strategy and general management

According to Kotter's eight-step model of change, what should leaders do first when launching a major transformation?

  1. Generate short-term wins
  2. Anchor new approaches in the culture
  3. Build a guiding coalition
  4. Establish a sense of urgency Correct answer.

Explanation

Kotter's sequence begins with raising urgency so that people accept that change is necessary, then assembles a coalition to lead it. Short-term wins and cultural anchoring come much later in the sequence.

Question 17Business strategy and general management

A firm cuts its inventory holding period from 60 to 40 days while receivable and payable policies stay unchanged. What is the most likely effect?

  1. Its debt-to-equity ratio rises
  2. Its return on equity falls
  3. Its cash cycle shortens Correct answer.
  4. Its gross margin falls

Explanation

The cash conversion cycle equals inventory days plus receivable days minus payable days. Reducing inventory days releases cash and shortens the cycle without affecting margins or leverage.

Question 18Business strategy and general management

Which indicator belongs to the customer perspective of the balanced scorecard?

  1. Number of new patents
  2. Employee training hours
  3. Operating cash flow
  4. Customer retention rate Correct answer.

Explanation

The balanced scorecard groups measures into financial, customer, internal process and learning and growth perspectives. Retention relates to how customers behave towards the firm, so it sits in the customer perspective.

Question 19Business strategy and general management

Grouping a consumer market by age, income and household size is segmentation based on:

  1. Demographic Correct answer.
  2. Psychographic
  3. Behavioural
  4. Geographic

Explanation

Demographic segmentation uses measurable population characteristics such as age, income, gender and household composition. Psychographic and behavioural bases rely on attitudes, lifestyle or usage patterns.

Question 20Business strategy and general management

In which stage of the product life cycle does competition usually intensify, prices fall and the priority shift to defending market share?

  1. Growth
  2. Decline
  3. Introduction
  4. Maturity Correct answer.

Explanation

In maturity, sales growth flattens, rivals fight for share and price competition erodes margins. Growth still offers expanding demand, while decline is marked by shrinking sales.

Question 21Business strategy and general management

A supermarket chain begins selling insurance by reusing its brand, customer database and billing systems. The main source of advantage here is:

  1. Economies of scope Correct answer.
  2. Economies of scale
  3. Learning curve effects
  4. Vertical integration

Explanation

Economies of scope arise when the cost of producing two outputs together is lower because resources and capabilities are shared. Scale economies instead come from larger volume of a single output.

Question 22Business strategy and general management

Under the resource-based view, a capability that is valuable, rare, hard to imitate and supported by the organisation is best described as:

  1. A core rigidity
  2. A temporary advantage
  3. A threshold capability
  4. A sustained advantage Correct answer.

Explanation

The VRIO logic holds that value and rarity create advantage, while inimitability and organisational support make it durable. All four conditions together point to an advantage competitors cannot easily erode.

Question 23Business strategy and general management

Which statement best explains why unrelated diversification often destroys shareholder value?

  1. The parent adds little beyond capital allocation Correct answer.
  2. It always requires cross-subsidisation of profitable units
  3. It lowers the firm's accounting profit in the first year
  4. It reduces the firm's access to capital markets

Explanation

In unrelated diversification there are few operating synergies, so the corporate centre mainly reallocates capital, a function investors can perform themselves through diversified portfolios. The added layer of bureaucracy therefore rarely earns its cost.

Question 24Business strategy and general management

A firm faces a highly uncertain environment and needs fast local responses to customer needs. Which structural choice fits best?

  1. A decentralized organic structure Correct answer.
  2. A centralized matrix focused on cost control
  3. A tall functional hierarchy
  4. A rigid mechanistic structure

Explanation

Organic structures with decentralized authority and wide spans allow rapid local decision-making under uncertainty. Mechanistic, centralized designs suit stable conditions where efficiency and standardisation dominate.

Question 25Business strategy and general management

Agency theory predicts that managers may pursue empire-building because:

  1. Their incentives diverge from shareholders' Correct answer.
  2. Profits are taxed at both firm and owner level
  3. Lenders are granted board seats by law
  4. Shareholders cannot sell their shares easily

Explanation

Agency problems arise when principals and agents have differing interests and the principal cannot perfectly monitor the agent. Managers may value size, status or perquisites that do not maximise shareholder wealth, which is why incentives and monitoring matter.

Question 26Business strategy and general management

In the BCG growth–share matrix, a strategic business unit that holds a high market share in a slow-growing industry is classified as:

  1. A question mark
  2. A cash cow Correct answer.
  3. A dog
  4. A star

Explanation

The matrix plots relative market share against market growth. A high-share position in a low-growth market generates more cash than the unit needs, so it is labelled a cash cow and is normally milked to fund other businesses. Low share combined with low growth would instead produce a dog.

Question 27Business strategy and general management

When a firm spreads a common production facility, distribution network or brand across several different product lines, it is exploiting:

  1. Economies of scale
  2. The experience curve
  3. Economies of scope Correct answer.
  4. Diseconomies of scale

Explanation

Economies of scope arise when the joint cost of producing several different products together is lower than producing them separately, because shared resources are used more intensively. Scale economies, by contrast, concern rising volume of a single output.

Question 28Business strategy and general management

A manufacturer of industrial pumps sells its existing product line to mining companies in a country where it has never operated before. In Ansoff's product–market matrix this move is best classified as:

  1. Market development Correct answer.
  2. Product development
  3. Market penetration
  4. Conglomerate diversification

Explanation

Ansoff's matrix crosses existing versus new products with existing versus new markets. Offering a product the firm already makes to a customer group it does not yet serve is market development.

Question 29Business strategy and general management

Which combination of conditions most strengthens the bargaining power of buyers in an industry?

  1. Buyers are numerous and each buys small volumes relative to industry sales
  2. Buyers buy in large volumes and can threaten backward integration Correct answer.
  3. The product is highly differentiated and critical to buyers' processes
  4. Switching costs for buyers are high and their own margins are comfortable

Explanation

Buyer power rises with concentration of purchases, low switching costs and credible threats to self-supply. Large-volume buyers who could integrate backwards satisfy two of these conditions at once, so they can extract concessions.

Question 30Business strategy and general management

A carmaker needs a component that requires highly specialised tooling with almost no resale value, and demand for the model using it is very hard to forecast. According to transaction cost economics, the carmaker should most likely:

  1. Run a competitive tender each year among many suppliers
  2. Buy the component on the spot market from any available seller
  3. Produce the component in-house Correct answer.
  4. Outsource it and rely on a detailed contract

Explanation

Transaction cost economics compares the cost of using markets with the cost of internal organisation. Where asset specificity is high and uncertainty makes contracts costly to write and enforce, both parties face a hold-up risk, so bringing the activity inside the firm (hierarchy) becomes the cheaper governance mode.

Question 31Marketing and commercial management

Which set of elements makes up the classic marketing mix?

  1. Product, price, people and promotion
  2. Price, place, positioning and promotion
  3. Product, price, place and promotion Correct answer.
  4. Product, packaging, place and promotion

Explanation

The classic marketing mix is the set of four controllable decision areas a firm combines to serve a chosen target market: product, price, place (distribution) and promotion. Extended versions used for services add people, process and physical evidence, but those are not part of the classic four.

Question 32Marketing and commercial management

A clothing company divides its market into groups based on age, income level and occupation. Which segmentation base is it using?

  1. Behavioural
  2. Geographic
  3. Psychographic
  4. Demographic Correct answer.

Explanation

Demographic segmentation groups buyers by measurable population characteristics such as age, income, gender, education and occupation. The variables named in the question are all of that type, which distinguishes them from attitudes, usage behaviour or location.

Question 33Marketing and commercial management

In marketing, positioning is best described as:

  1. The place a brand occupies in the target customer's mind relative to competitors Correct answer.
  2. The stage of the product life cycle at which a brand is launched
  3. The price band a brand occupies compared with its production costs
  4. The shelf location a product obtains in the main retail chains

Explanation

Positioning concerns the perception a brand creates in the mind of the target buyer relative to competing offers, built through the mix and through communication. It is a perceptual concept, not a physical, financial or life-cycle one.

Question 34Marketing and commercial management

In which stage of the product life cycle do sales typically reach their peak while margins come under pressure from intensifying competition?

  1. Growth
  2. Maturity Correct answer.
  3. Introduction
  4. Decline

Explanation

Sales peak during maturity, when most potential buyers already own the product and competitors have entered, pushing prices and promotional spending in ways that compress margins. Growth is characterised by rising sales, not by the peak.

Question 35Marketing and commercial management

A consumer electronics firm launches a new device at a high price to capture value from early adopters and recover development costs, then lowers the price gradually over time. This pricing approach is known as:

  1. Price bundling
  2. Loss-leader pricing
  3. Price skimming Correct answer.
  4. Penetration pricing

Explanation

Price skimming sets a high initial price and reduces it over time, which works when early adopters are relatively price-insensitive and competitors are slow to enter. Penetration pricing does the opposite by starting low to build volume quickly.

Question 36Marketing and commercial management

A product sells for €50 per unit, has a variable cost of €30 per unit and incurs €120,000 of fixed costs. What unit volume is required to break even?

  1. 4,000 units
  2. 2,400 units
  3. 8,000 units
  4. 6,000 units Correct answer.

Explanation

Break-even volume equals fixed costs divided by the unit contribution margin. The margin is €50 − €30 = €20, so €120,000 ÷ €20 = 6,000 units.

Question 37Marketing and commercial management

An intermediary that buys goods from producers, takes title to them and resells them to retailers is called a:

  1. Commission agent
  2. Retailer
  3. Wholesaler Correct answer.
  4. Franchisor

Explanation

A wholesaler purchases from producers, assumes ownership risk and resells to retailers or other business buyers. Agents and brokers, by contrast, bring parties together without taking title to the goods.

Question 38Marketing and commercial management

A manufacturer offers retailers a temporary discount to encourage them to stock and display a new product line. This action is an example of:

  1. A pull strategy
  2. Direct marketing
  3. A push strategy Correct answer.
  4. Viral marketing

Explanation

Push strategies direct incentives at channel members so that they stock, display and push the product toward consumers. Pull strategies instead stimulate end-customer demand so that buyers request the product from retailers.

Question 39Marketing and commercial management

Customer lifetime value is best defined as:

  1. The total revenue obtained from a customer during the first year of the relationship
  2. The satisfaction score a customer reports immediately after a purchase
  3. The average amount spent on advertising needed to attract one new customer
  4. The expected net profit a customer generates over the whole relationship Correct answer.

Explanation

Customer lifetime value estimates the future profit stream attributable to a customer over the duration of the relationship, usually discounted to present value. It is a profit measure over time rather than a revenue, cost or satisfaction figure.

Question 40Marketing and commercial management

A competitor opens a lower-cost plant in the region where a firm sells its products. In a SWOT analysis this factor is classified as:

  1. An opportunity
  2. A threat Correct answer.
  3. A weakness
  4. A strength

Explanation

SWOT separates internal factors, strengths and weaknesses, from external ones, opportunities and threats. A rival's move is outside the firm's control and endangers its position, so it is a threat.

Question 41Marketing and commercial management

A firm sells its existing range of products to a new export market. In the Ansoff matrix this move is:

  1. Market penetration
  2. Diversification
  3. Market development Correct answer.
  4. Product development

Explanation

The Ansoff matrix crosses existing and new products with existing and new markets. Selling current products into a new market is market development, while new products for new markets would be diversification.

Question 42Marketing and commercial management

In the BCG growth-share matrix, a business unit with a high market share in a low-growth market is classified as:

  1. A cash cow Correct answer.
  2. A question mark
  3. A star
  4. A dog

Explanation

Cash cows hold strong share in slow-growing markets, so they generate more cash than they consume and fund other units. Stars combine high share with high growth and therefore need investment to hold position.

Question 43Marketing and commercial management

Brand equity refers to:

  1. The added value a brand name gives a product beyond its function Correct answer.
  2. The total amount spent on advertising the brand each year
  3. The book value of the trademarks recorded on the balance sheet
  4. The number of stock-keeping units sold under the brand name

Explanation

Brand equity is the differential value that the brand name adds to a product, reflected in willingness to pay, loyalty and resilience to competitive pressure. It is a market-based asset and is not identical to accounting book values or to spending levels.

Question 44Marketing and commercial management

A 10% increase in price causes quantity demanded to fall by 25%. Which statement is correct?

  1. Demand is elastic and total revenue rises
  2. Demand is inelastic and total revenue rises
  3. Demand is unit-elastic and total revenue is unchanged
  4. Demand is elastic and total revenue falls Correct answer.

Explanation

Price elasticity is the percentage change in quantity divided by the percentage change in price, here 25 ÷ 10 = 2.5, which exceeds one and therefore is elastic. When demand is elastic, a price rise loses proportionally more volume than it gains in margin, so total revenue falls.

Question 45Marketing and commercial management

Which promotional tool allows the most direct two-way interaction with an individual prospect?

  1. Public relations
  2. Personal selling Correct answer.
  3. Advertising
  4. Sales promotion

Explanation

Personal selling involves a salesperson in direct dialogue with a prospect, allowing questions, objections and tailored arguments in real time. The other tools are largely one-way or addressed to broad audiences.

Question 46Marketing and commercial management

Data gathered specifically to address the current research problem, such as a newly commissioned survey, is called:

  1. Internal records
  2. Secondary data
  3. Primary data Correct answer.
  4. Syndicated data

Explanation

Primary data is collected first-hand for the problem at hand, giving control over definitions and timing at a higher cost. Secondary data, including internal records and syndicated reports, already exists and was gathered for another purpose.

Question 47Marketing and commercial management

A researcher selects every twentieth customer from an alphabetical customer list for a survey. This sampling method is:

  1. Stratified sampling
  2. Cluster sampling
  3. Simple random sampling
  4. Systematic sampling Correct answer.

Explanation

Systematic sampling applies a fixed interval to a list after a random start, which is what selecting every twentieth name describes. Simple random sampling instead gives every element an equal and independent chance of selection without a fixed interval.

Question 48Marketing and commercial management

In digital advertising, a model in which the advertiser pays only when a user clicks the advertisement is called:

  1. Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)
  2. Search engine optimisation (SEO)
  3. Click-through rate (CTR)
  4. Cost per click (CPC) Correct answer.

Explanation

Cost per click is a billing model in which payment is triggered by a click on the ad, so spend tracks delivered traffic. CPM instead charges for impressions, while CTR and SEO are a metric and an organic technique respectively.

Question 49Marketing and commercial management

A firm spends €60,000 on a campaign that generates 1,500 leads, of which 20% become customers. What is the customer acquisition cost?

  1. €120
  2. €40
  3. €200 Correct answer.
  4. €400

Explanation

Customer acquisition cost is total campaign spend divided by the number of customers acquired. Here 1,500 leads × 20% = 300 customers, and €60,000 ÷ 300 = €200 per customer.

Question 50Marketing and commercial management

A value proposition explains:

  1. The internal cost structure used to set the product's price
  2. The complete technical specification of the product
  3. The reason a customer should buy from the firm rather than a rival Correct answer.
  4. The legal terms and conditions attached to the sale

Explanation

A value proposition articulates the benefits a firm delivers and why those benefits are preferable to competing alternatives. It is customer-facing and benefit-led, not an internal cost calculation or a technical or legal document.