1. Three areas in the value chain where lower costs can be the basis for competitive advantage are
1. age of plants and equipment, number of employees, and advertising costs
2. operating activities, functional activities, and number of product lines
3. supplier-related activities, manufacturing-related activities, and distribution-related activities
4. human resource activities, vertical integration activities, and diversification activities
5. variable cost activities, fixed cost activities, and support activities
2. The most important differences among generic competitive strategies of different companies relate to
1. how they go about building a brand image
2. how they cope with the five competitive forces
3. whether they target the market broadly or narrowly and whether they seek competitive advantage based on cost or differentiation
4. the actions they take in order to increase their competitive assets and reduce their competitive capabilities