Peter Drucker’s Creative Imitation and Entrepreneurial Judo | 100+ MCQs with Answers
Q. What best describes 'Creative Imitation' as per Peter Drucker?
A. Creating an entirely new product
B. Copying an innovation without changes
C. Enhancing and repositioning an existing innovation
D. Competing on price alone
✅ Answer: C. Enhancing and repositioning an existing innovation
Q. Which company is cited as a foremost practitioner of creative
imitation?
A. Apple
B. IBM
C. Xerox
D. Bell Labs
✅ Answer: B. IBM
Q. Creative imitation is focused on:
A. Product design
B. Producer needs
C. Customer needs
D. Government regulation
✅ Answer: C. Customer needs
Q. In creative imitation, the entrepreneur typically moves:
A. Before the innovator
B. After the innovator
C. Simultaneously with the innovator
D. Without considering market needs
✅ Answer: B. After the innovator
Q. What feature did IBM add to its personal computer to surpass Apple?
A. Stylish design
B. Price drop
C. Pre-installed software and easy distribution
D. Better display hardware
✅ Answer: C. Pre-installed software and easy distribution
Q. Which Japanese company used creative imitation to dominate the watch
industry?
A. Casio
B. Citizen
C. Seiko (Hattori)
D. Toshiba
✅ Answer: C. Seiko (Hattori)
Q. Creative imitation is least effective when:
A. The pioneer’s innovation is a complete market fit
B. Market demand exceeds supply
C. The original innovator misunderstands the market
D. The product lacks segmentation
✅ Answer: A. The pioneer’s innovation is a complete market fit
Q. Tylenol is an example of creative imitation because:
A. It invented acetaminophen
B. It replaced aspirin in a new market position
C. It was less effective than aspirin
D. It cost more
✅ Answer: B. It replaced aspirin in a new market position
Q. According to Drucker, creative imitation begins with:
A. Designing new products
B. Observing government policies
C. Market research and understanding customer needs
D. Competing on pricing
✅ Answer: C. Market research and understanding customer needs
Q. What risk does IBM face due to its creative imitation in office
automation?
A. Lack of patents
B. Too many incompatible systems
C. Poor branding
D. Low-quality products
✅ Answer: B. Too many incompatible systems
Q. Entrepreneurial judo, as per Drucker, refers to:
A. Developing new market segments
B. Competing directly in crowded markets
C. Using the habits and weaknesses of industry leaders against them
D. Lowering prices to beat competition
✅ Answer: C. Using the habits and weaknesses of industry leaders against
them
Q. Which company famously practiced entrepreneurial judo with the transistor
radio?
A. RCA
B. Sony
C. Hitachi
D. Matsushita
✅ Answer: B. Sony
Q. Citibank's Familienbank in Germany succeeded due to:
A. Targeting industrial finance
B. Focusing on corporate loans
C. Exclusively serving consumers ignored by traditional banks
D. Offering high-interest savings accounts
✅ Answer: C. Exclusively serving consumers ignored by traditional banks
Q. Which of the following is NOT a bad habit that opens doors for
entrepreneurial judo?
A. NIH syndrome
B. Maximizing instead of optimizing
C. Market segmentation
D. Belief in premium pricing
✅ Answer: C. Market segmentation
Q. What does NIH stand for in Drucker’s context?
A. National Institute of Health
B. Not Informed Here
C. Not Invented Here
D. No Innovation Here
✅ Answer: C. Not Invented Here
Q. The delusion of 'quality' in Drucker’s analysis means:
A. Quality is defined by the supplier
B. Quality equals higher cost
C. Quality is what the customer perceives and values
D. Quality is irrelevant
✅ Answer: C. Quality is what the customer perceives and values
Q. What is a major risk of maximizing instead of optimizing in product
design?
A. Higher production cost
B. Obsolete features
C. Products become too complex and lose focus
D. Legal issues
✅ Answer: C. Products become too complex and lose focus
Q. Xerox lost its dominance in part because it:
A. Had poor manufacturing
B. Ignored customer service for smaller clients
C. Made low-quality machines
D. Focused on digital watches
✅ Answer: B. Ignored customer service for smaller clients
Q. Entrepreneurial judo often succeeds best when:
A. Market structures are stagnant
B. Leaders are alert and proactive
C. Market or industry structures change rapidly
D. Products have no competition
✅ Answer: C. Market or industry structures change rapidly
Q. Which feature made ROLM successful against AT&T’s PBX systems?
A. Cheaper price only
B. Simpler hardware
C. Added computer-based features AT&T ignored
D. Larger distribution network
✅ Answer: C. Added computer-based features AT&T ignored
Q. Entrepreneurial judo allows new entrants to gain market share by:
A. Innovating from scratch
B. Attacking the leader’s strongest position
C. Exploiting weaknesses the leader refuses to address
D. Acquiring competitors directly
✅ Answer: C. Exploiting weaknesses the leader refuses to address
Q. What marketing misstep did German banks make that led to Familienbank’s
success?
A. Too many branches
B. Ignored business clients
C. Undervalued consumer banking
D. Charged high ATM fees
✅ Answer: C. Undervalued consumer banking
Q. Creative imitation is most successful in which type of industries?
A. Agriculture
B. High-tech
C. Construction
D. Oil & Gas
✅ Answer: B. High-tech
Q. In Drucker’s terms, which phrase captures both strategies discussed?
A. Innovate or die
B. Think global, act local
C. Hit Them Where They Ain’t
D. Fast follower wins
✅ Answer: C. Hit Them Where They Ain’t
Q. What is required before creative imitation can be applied?
A. Mass production capacity
B. Failure of the innovator
C. Initial innovation by someone else
D. Government subsidy
✅ Answer: C. Initial innovation by someone else
Q. The main difference between creative imitation and entrepreneurial judo
is:
A. One is market-driven, the other isn’t
B. Creative imitation enhances innovations; judo exploits bad habits
C. Judo needs heavy R&D investment
D. Imitation is riskier than judo
✅ Answer: B. Creative imitation enhances innovations; judo exploits bad
habits
Q. 'Maximizing' rather than optimizing leads to:
A. Simple products
B. Efficient design
C. Complexity and customer dissatisfaction
D. Lower costs
✅ Answer: C. Complexity and customer dissatisfaction
Q. Which habit is NOT one of the five Drucker highlights as exploitable by
entrepreneurial judo?
A. NIH syndrome
B. Belief in customer service
C. Premium pricing illusion
D. Overcomplicated product features
✅ Answer: B. Belief in customer service
Q. Entrepreneurial judo usually starts by:
A. Challenging the largest player head-on
B. Securing a lightly defended or ignored market segment
C. Launching expensive products
D. Avoiding innovation
✅ Answer: B. Securing a lightly defended or ignored market segment
Q. According to Drucker, creative imitation must be:
A. Inventive in patents
B. Cheaper in production
C. Distinct in customer value and positioning
D. Fast and random
✅ Answer: C. Distinct in customer value and positioning
Q. Why did Apple lose the early PC market to IBM despite being first?
A. Poor hardware
B. High prices
C. Ignored user needs and failed in software and distribution
D. Lack of innovation
✅ Answer: C. Ignored user needs and failed in software and distribution
Q. Which of the following is a key strength of entrepreneurial judo?
A. Competing on existing terms
B. Attacking where competition is strongest
C. Low entry costs and focused attacks
D. Investing more in traditional practices
✅ Answer: C. Low entry costs and focused attacks
Q. Which principle explains why “premium pricing” is dangerous?
A. High price always equals high quality
B. Premium pricing makes it easy for competitors to enter
C. Price has no relation to competition
D. Premium prices reduce demand
✅ Answer: B. Premium pricing makes it easy for competitors to enter
Q. What role did perception of 'quality' play in the failure of U.S.
electronics companies?
A. They underestimated competition
B. They didn’t invest enough
C. They defined quality as complexity, not customer utility
D. They had outdated branding
✅ Answer: C. They defined quality as complexity, not customer utility
Q. The “benevolent monopolist” model suggests that industry leaders
should:
A. Raise prices to maximize profits
B. Avoid change to preserve dominance
C. Obsolete their own products before a competitor does
D. Avoid introducing new technology
✅ Answer: C. Obsolete their own products before a competitor does
Q. Which of the following is a condition where entrepreneurial judo
thrives?
A. Market saturation
B. Market ignorance
C. Rapid change in industry structure
D. Monopolistic competition
✅ Answer: C. Rapid change in industry structure
Q. A core requirement of both strategies is to be:
A. Technology-first
B. Market-focused
C. Brand-centric
D. Subsidy-backed
✅ Answer: B. Market-focused
Q. What is a good example of targeting a “beachhead” in entrepreneurial
judo?
A. Building a complex product
B. Offering a cheaper version to a niche
C. Starting with patents
D. Copying competitors directly
✅ Answer: B. Offering a cheaper version to a niche
Q. Which U.S. company used judo strategy against Bell in long-distance
calling?
A. Verizon
B. MCI
C. Cisco
D. HP
✅ Answer: B. MCI
Q. What distinguishes creative imitation from mere copying?
A. Price-based strategy
B. Adding patents
C. Understanding and improving upon the original innovation’s market fit
D. Blindly following trends
✅ Answer: C. Understanding and improving upon the original innovation’s
market fit
Q. What does the strategy of Creative Imitation rely on most?
A. Technological superiority
B. Market readiness and existing demand
C. Patent protection
D. Product novelty
✅ Answer: B. Market readiness and existing demand
Q. In Drucker’s view, why did IBM succeed with the PC over Apple?
A. Better pricing
B. Original hardware innovation
C. Superior marketing campaigns
D. Market-focused distribution and software support
✅ Answer: D. Market-focused distribution and software support
Q. What distinguishes Creative Imitation from simple copying?
A. Use of international patents
B. A complete redesign of the product
C. Customer-centric enhancement of an existing innovation
D. Lowering prices dramatically
✅ Answer: C. Customer-centric enhancement of an existing innovation
Q. According to Drucker, what is often misunderstood by product-focused
innovators?
A. Market segments
B. Customer needs
C. Patent law
D. Manufacturing cost
✅ Answer: B. Customer needs
Q. Which of the following companies exemplified Entrepreneurial Judo by
targeting a neglected market?
A. Samsung
B. Citibank’s Familienbank
C. Microsoft
D. Google
✅ Answer: B. Citibank’s Familienbank
Q. What is the key tactic in Entrepreneurial Judo?
A. Imitating product features directly
B. Undercutting prices without differentiation
C. Exploiting the bad habits of incumbents
D. Investing in R&D before anyone else
✅ Answer: C. Exploiting the bad habits of incumbents
Q. Why did Xerox lose market share, according to Drucker?
A. Lack of advertising
B. Failed patent protection
C. Focused only on high-end customers and neglected smaller users
D. Excessive outsourcing
✅ Answer: C. Focused only on high-end customers and neglected smaller users
Q.108. What does Drucker warn about the ‘premium pricing’ strategy?
A. It secures long-term profitability
B. It attracts only low-end consumers
C. It subsidizes competitors entering at lower prices
D. It builds strong brand loyalty
✅ Answer: C. It subsidizes competitors entering at lower prices
Q. The ‘Not Invented Here’ syndrome refers to:
A. A refusal to invest in R&D
B. A bias against external innovations
C. Overdependence on foreign markets
D. Outsourcing without quality checks
✅ Answer: B. A bias against external innovations
Q. What problem arises when a company “maximizes” instead of “optimizes” a
product?
A. Underperformance across all segments
B. High manufacturing cost only
C. Too much specialization
D. Losing focus on global expansion
✅ Answer: A. Underperformance across all segments
Q. Why did Seiko's creative imitation succeed over Swiss watchmakers?
A. It imitated and lowered prices
B. It marketed the quartz watch as a standard product
C. It avoided R&D costs
D. It partnered with Apple
✅ Answer: B. It marketed the quartz watch as a standard product
Q. What behavior makes a firm vulnerable to Entrepreneurial Judo?
A. Adopting new technology early
B. Strong customer service
C. Rigid business practices and arrogance
D. Continuous innovation
✅ Answer: C. Rigid business practices and arrogance
Q. What was Sony’s key move in the transistor radio story?
A. Manufacturing in America
B. Selling radios at premium prices
C. Licensing the technology and targeting unserved markets
D. Partnering with IBM
✅ Answer: C. Licensing the technology and targeting unserved markets
Q. Creative Imitation works best in which type of market, according to
Drucker?
A. Declining markets
B. Rapidly growing markets
C. Monopolistic markets
D. Over-regulated industries
✅ Answer: B. Rapidly growing markets
Q. What does Drucker emphasize is crucial for Creative Imitation?
A. An engineering mindset
B. Market focus and customer orientation
C. Large marketing budgets
D. Patent acquisition
✅ Answer: B. Market focus and customer orientation
Q. According to Drucker, what differentiates the creative imitator from the
innovator?
A. The imitator always enters new markets
B. The imitator improves on an already accepted innovation
C. The innovator never fails
D. The imitator works only in high-tech markets
✅ Answer: B. The imitator improves on an already accepted innovation
Q. What feature of IBM's PC launch contributed to its dominance?
A. Use of floppy disks
B. Introduction of colorful hardware
C. Multiple distribution channels and bundled software
D. Exclusive B2B sales
✅ Answer: C. Multiple distribution channels and bundled software
Q. Why is Entrepreneurial Judo considered less risky by Drucker?
A. It involves large capital investments
B. It depends on first-mover advantage
C. It attacks established players’ weaknesses
D. It uses high pricing to compete
✅ Answer: C. It attacks established players’ weaknesses
Q. In Entrepreneurial Judo, what is the role of a 'beachhead'?
A. A temporary product
B. A small but secure market entry point
C. A defensive strategy
D. A pricing policy
✅ Answer: B. A small but secure market entry point
Q. Drucker refers to which company as an example of using judo in the copier
industry?
A. Canon
B. ROLM
C. Sony
D. Xerox
✅ Answer: A. Canon
Q. Drucker says "entrepreneurial judo" starts with:
A. Market segmentation
B. Product design
C. Industry analysis and identifying bad habits
D. Hiring external consultants
✅ Answer: C. Industry analysis and identifying bad habits
Q. According to Drucker, what is a “benevolent monopolist”?
A. A market leader that avoids competition
B. A monopolist who raises prices for profit
C. A market leader who self-disrupts and keeps improving
D. A firm that dominates via litigation
✅ Answer: C. A market leader who self-disrupts and keeps improving
Q. Which of the following is NOT one of the bad habits Drucker outlines in
firms vulnerable to judo?
A. NIH (Not Invented Here)
B. Creaming the market
C. Focus on optimization
D. Delusion of premium pricing
✅ Answer: C. Focus on optimization
Q. What was the key reason for Sony’s success with transistor radios?
A. Patents
B. Focus on large corporate customers
C. Portable design and affordability
D. Selling only in Japan
✅ Answer: C. Portable design and affordability
Q. Why did German banks fail against Citibank’s Familienbank?
A. Weak government policies
B. Too much consumer risk
C. Ignoring the emerging consumer segment
D. Excessive digitization
✅ Answer: C. Ignoring the emerging consumer segment
Q. What does Drucker say about the original innovators Apple and Tylenol
competitors?
A. They failed completely
B. They misunderstood their own success
C. They were legally blocked
D. They had better advertising
✅ Answer: B. They misunderstood their own success
Q. A premium price strategy is dangerous because:
A. It deters investors
B. It limits growth potential
C. It attracts cost-effective competitors
D. It increases brand loyalty too much
✅ Answer: C. It attracts cost-effective competitors
Q. Which MCQ illustrates the “maximize vs. optimize” principle?
A. Apple selling its OS to PC makers
B. A company bloating product features to serve all users
C. A telecom launching multiple brands
D. Offering cheaper services in rural areas
✅ Answer: B. A company bloating product features to serve all users
Q. Entrepreneurial judo tends to succeed in what kind of industries?
A. Highly regulated ones
B. Where the incumbents are proactive
C. Where incumbents are habit-bound and rigid
D. With few competitors
✅ Answer: C. Where incumbents are habit-bound and rigid
Q. In Drucker's examples, how did Johnson & Johnson reposition
acetaminophen?
A. As an alternative to antibiotics
B. As a luxury painkiller
C. As a safe and universal painkiller
D. As a cure for arthritis
✅ Answer: C. As a safe and universal painkiller
Q. What was a key innovation in ROLM’s private branch exchange system?
A. High-speed Internet
B. Additional features built around a small computer
C. Lower licensing fees
D. Integration with Apple devices
✅ Answer: B. Additional features built around a small computer
Q. Drucker says creative imitators start with:
A. Patents and IP protection
B. Market needs and customer perspective
C. R&D breakthroughs
D. Government support
✅ Answer: B. Market needs and customer perspective
Q. What did IBM add to its PC that Apple lacked early on?
A. Faster processor
B. Floppy disk
C. Software and broader distribution
D. Color screen
✅ Answer: C. Software and broader distribution
Q. Creative imitation is most successful in industries where:
A. Products are regulated
B. Innovators focus more on technology than customers
C. Government controls prices
D. IP law is strict
✅ Answer: B. Innovators focus more on technology than customers
Q. Which company did NOT practice entrepreneurial judo in Drucker’s
examples?
A. Sony
B. IBM
C. Xerox
D. Citibank
✅ Answer: C. Xerox
Q. What often leads to a company becoming vulnerable to entrepreneurial
judo?
A. Too much product focus
B. Too much customer insight
C. Broad pricing strategies
D. High flexibility
✅ Answer: A. Too much product focus
Q. Which phrase best summarizes entrepreneurial judo?
A. "Innovate first, dominate later"
B. "Hit them where they ain't"
C. "Lower cost wins"
D. "Disrupt with AI"
✅ Answer: B. "Hit them where they ain't"
Q. What is Drucker’s criticism of “Not Invented Here” (NIH) syndrome?
A. It leads to price wars
B. It ignores valid innovations from outside
C. It discourages customer feedback
D. It supports foreign competition
✅ Answer: B. It ignores valid innovations from outside
Q. What error did Xerox make that opened them to Japanese copier
competition?
A. High advertising costs
B. Inadequate service to small users
C. Lack of digital features
D. Limited export markets
✅ Answer: B. Inadequate service to small users
Q. Why was Tylenol a successful example of creative imitation?
A. It had superior branding
B. It was cheaper than aspirin
C. It was positioned as a safe, general painkiller
D. It was available worldwide
✅ Answer: C. It was positioned as a safe, general painkiller
Q. In Drucker’s terms, what should a creative imitator avoid doing?
A. Targeting niche segments
B. Launching untested products
C. Entering too early
D. Copying without improvement
✅ Answer: D. Copying without improvement
Q. Drucker implies that “maximize” vs. “optimize” is a trade-off between:
A. Short-term vs. long-term profit
B. Feature overload vs. specific market fit
C. Cost vs. innovation
D. Price vs. quality
✅ Answer: B. Feature overload vs. specific market fit
Q. What habit led American electronics makers to underestimate the
transistor?
A. Belief in simple design
B. Assumption that innovation is customer-led
C. Arrogance from past success
D. Dependence on Asian partners
✅ Answer: C. Arrogance from past success
Q. What did Citibank offer through Familienbank that German banks lacked?
A. Crypto services
B. Stock broking
C. Consumer-focused services and design
D. Higher interest rates
✅ Answer: C. Consumer-focused services and design
Q. Entrepreneurial judo is particularly effective when:
A. Regulators are slow to act
B. The market is protected
C. The incumbents ignore changing customer needs
D. IP laws are strong
✅ Answer: C. The incumbents ignore changing customer needs
Q. What distinguishes entrepreneurial judo from a price war?
A. Judo focuses on branding
B. Judo uses product bundling
C. Judo finds and exploits strategic weaknesses
D. Judo involves legal action
✅ Answer: C. Judo finds and exploits strategic weaknesses
Q. Drucker argues that creative imitation should focus on:
A. Cutting production costs
B. Expanding R&D budgets
C. Satisfying existing demand better
D. Filing more patents
✅ Answer: C. Satisfying existing demand better
Q. Which of the following is an outcome of “maximizing” products?
A. Simplicity
B. Increased customer satisfaction
C. Higher costs and complexity
D. Better market segmentation
✅ Answer: C. Higher costs and complexity
Q. A key risk in creative imitation is:
A. Market saturation
B. Over-reliance on foreign suppliers
C. That the pioneer may get it right the first time
D. Government interference
✅ Answer: C. That the pioneer may get it right the first time
Q. Which of the following best explains Drucker’s view on "quality"?
A. It must be based on innovation
B. It is defined by the customer, not the producer
C. It is proportional to production cost
D. It must meet government standards
✅ Answer: B. It is defined by the customer, not the producer
Q. What did IBM do after realizing ENIAC was more suited to business
applications?
A. Patented its own new model
B. Ignored ENIAC’s potential
C. Abandoned its design and restructured ENIAC
D. Partnered with Harvard
✅ Answer: C. Abandoned its design and restructured ENIAC
Q. According to Drucker, what makes the transistor radio superior in
consumer terms?
A. Higher frequency range
B. Easy to repair
C. Portability, simplicity, and low cost
D. Built-in amplifier
✅ Answer: C. Portability, simplicity, and low cost
Q. What market did Sony target first with its transistor radio?
A. Office use
B. Industrial settings
C. Low-end consumer market
D. Educational institutions
✅ Answer: C. Low-end consumer market
Q. Drucker suggests that newcomers succeed with entrepreneurial judo by:
A. Matching prices with incumbents
B. Offering more complex solutions
C. Securing a beachhead in neglected segments
D. Outsourcing all production
✅ Answer: C. Securing a beachhead in neglected segments
Q. Drucker uses “Hit them where they ain’t” to describe which strategy?
A. Diversification
B. Guerrilla marketing
C. Entrepreneurial judo
D. Blue ocean strategy
✅ Answer: C. Entrepreneurial judo
Q. What should a company practicing entrepreneurial judo look for in an
industry?
A. Patent ownership
B. Supplier networks
C. The incumbents' bad habits
D. Real estate values
✅ Answer: C. The incumbents' bad habits
Q.157. In Drucker’s example, why did Swiss watchmakers lose out to Seiko?
A. Seiko underpriced them illegally
B. Swiss watches were banned abroad
C. Swiss makers delayed quartz adoption
D. Swiss ignored patents
✅ Answer: C. Swiss makers delayed quartz adoption
Q. What did Drucker call the tendency of firms to serve only high-profit
segments?
A. Customer avoidance
B. Profit filtering
C. Market creaming
D. Value stripping
✅ Answer: C. Market creaming
Q. Which of these is NOT listed by Drucker as a “bad habit” of
incumbents?
A. Maximizing instead of optimizing
B. Focusing on customers
C. Believing in premium pricing
D. Ignoring unexpected successes
✅ Answer: B. Focusing on customers
Q. What was Citibank’s primary innovation with Familienbank?
A. Advanced interest rates
B. Stock brokerage for rural areas
C. Consumer-friendly banking services
D. Crypto banking
✅ Answer: C. Consumer-friendly banking services
Q. Creative imitation is described as “imitation in ___ and creativity in
___.”
A. Pricing, design
B. Brand, customer service
C. Substance, application
D. Marketing, product features
✅ Answer: C. Substance, application
Q. Drucker claims creative imitation often succeeds because:
A. The pioneer usually fails
B. The pioneer misreads their own success
C. Markets are always saturated
D. Pricing is not a concern
✅ Answer: B. The pioneer misreads their own success
Q. In Drucker’s framework, the customer defines:
A. Technical superiority
B. Market segmentation
C. Product quality
D. Supply chain efficiency
✅ Answer: C. Product quality
Q. Why is creative imitation often considered less risky than pure
innovation?
A. Legal protections are weaker
B. Demand and market validation already exist
C. It requires less investment
D. It avoids customer interaction
✅ Answer: B. Demand and market validation already exist
Q. Entrepreneurial judo works well when:
A. Regulation is strict
B. Industry structure changes rapidly
C. Labor is expensive
D. Marketing budgets are large
✅ Answer: B. Industry structure changes rapidly
Q. What happens when a firm tries to please all customers with one
product?
A. Optimized market fit
B. Higher revenue
C. Market confusion and product failure
D. Stronger loyalty
✅ Answer: C. Market confusion and product failure
Q. Which term best describes a leader who sets new product trends before
others?
A. Passive monopolist
B. Benevolent monopolist
C. Silent competitor
D. Regulatory defector
✅ Answer: B. Benevolent monopolist
Q. Which strategy involves improving an existing product and repositioning
it better?
A. Disruptive innovation
B. Creative imitation
C. Bootstrapping
D. Franchising
✅ Answer: B. Creative imitation
Q. The "signature" analogy in Drucker’s text compares corporate habits
to:
A. Licensing patterns
B. Legal trademarks
C. Criminal behavior
D. Leadership traits
✅ Answer: C. Criminal behavior
Q. Why did Drucker say Apple lost its early PC lead to IBM?
A. IBM had cheaper hardware
B. Apple lacked customer service
C. IBM understood and served the mass market better
D. Apple refused to build software
✅ Answer: C. IBM understood and served the mass market better
Q. Which of the following strategies best exemplifies “market-focused”
behavior?
A. Selling to existing customers only
B. Launching high-tech without demand validation
C. Designing products based on user needs
D. Reducing production costs
✅ Answer: C. Designing products based on user needs
Q. What term does Drucker use for corporate resistance to outside ideas?
A. “Creaming”
B. “Not in Use” syndrome
C. “NIH” (Not Invented Here)
D. “Premium Positioning”
✅ Answer: C. “NIH” (Not Invented Here)
Q. What was a key factor in the success of Tylenol as a creative
imitation?
A. Early patent control
B. Emphasis on medical endorsements
C. Repositioning acetaminophen as a safer, universal painkiller
D. Aggressive hospital lobbying
✅ Answer: C. Repositioning acetaminophen as a safer, universal painkiller
Q. What mistake did original PC innovators like Apple make, according to
Drucker?
A. Lack of advertising
B. Overpriced products
C. Being product-focused, not customer-focused
D. Lack of engineers
✅ Answer: C. Being product-focused, not customer-focused
Q. Which company did Drucker cite as failing to maintain market leadership
due to “creaming”?
A. IBM
B. Xerox
C. Sony
D. Seiko
✅ Answer: B. Xerox
Q. A core feature of entrepreneurial judo is to:
A. Imitate every product in the market
B. Challenge industry leaders in their strongest segments
C. Exploit competitors’ weaknesses and blind spots
D. Maximize product features
✅ Answer: C. Exploit competitors’ weaknesses and blind spots
Q. What does Drucker mean by "maximize rather than optimize"?
A. Focus on best-selling products
B. Overloading a product with features to serve all customers
C. Minimizing operational costs
D. Building scalable platforms
✅ Answer: B. Overloading a product with features to serve all customers
Q. According to Drucker, what allows creative imitation to succeed even when
pioneers are successful?
A. Original innovators often fail to serve new demand properly
B. The market size stays small
C. The legal system always favors new entrants
D. Copycats usually get first-mover advantage
✅ Answer: A. Original innovators often fail to serve new demand properly
Q. What’s a danger of maximizing product features, as described by
Drucker?
A. Customers may become confused or dissatisfied
B. Competition becomes irrelevant
C. Distribution becomes easier
D. Manufacturing costs decrease
✅ Answer: A. Customers may become confused or dissatisfied
Q. Why was IBM’s PC successful despite being technically similar to
Apple’s?
A. It was more stylish
B. It had faster hardware
C. It offered better software and broader distribution
D. It was open-source
✅ Answer: C. It offered better software and broader distribution
Q. How did MCI and Sprint challenge AT&T using entrepreneurial judo?
A. By using advertising tactics
B. By creating new hardware
C. By using AT&T’s own pricing against it
D. By lobbying the government
✅ Answer: C. By using AT&T’s own pricing against it
Q. Drucker argues that quality is defined by:
A. Manufacturing cost
B. Internal engineering standards
C. What the customer perceives and pays for
D. Patent exclusivity
✅ Answer: C. What the customer perceives and pays for
Q. A “benevolent monopolist” maintains leadership by:
A. Cutting staff costs
B. Blocking competitors legally
C. Reducing prices and making their own products obsolete
D. Ignoring small market segments
✅ Answer: C. Reducing prices and making their own products obsolete
Q. What makes high-tech industries vulnerable to creative imitation?
A. Overreliance on marketing
B. They’re usually focused on market needs
C. They ignore technological development
D. They focus too much on the product and not on customer demand
✅ Answer: D. They focus too much on the product and not on customer demand
Q. What did ROLM do differently to compete with AT&T in PBX
systems?
A. Cut prices in half
B. Introduced tax-free equipment
C. Added computer-based features AT&T didn’t promote
D. Focused on international markets
✅ Answer: C. Added computer-based features AT&T didn’t promote
Q. Which of the following is not one of the five bad habits mentioned by
Drucker?
A. NIH syndrome
B. Market fragmentation
C. Creaming
D. Premium pricing delusion
✅ Answer: B. Market fragmentation
Q. What allowed the Japanese copier manufacturers to beat Xerox?
A. New patents
B. Better salesmen
C. Machines tailored to small offices
D. High-speed industrial copiers
✅ Answer: C. Machines tailored to small offices
Q. What principle did Citibank’s Familienbank capitalize on in Germany?
A. Creating an AI-driven product
B. Offering loans without documentation
C. Treating consumers as valued clients
D. Eliminating all middlemen
✅ Answer: C. Treating consumers as valued clients
Q. Creative imitation is NOT:
A. Market-driven
B. Innovation in customer experience
C. Focused on refining what already works
D. Based on original product invention
✅ Answer: D. Based on original product invention
Q. Drucker says that the key to success in entrepreneurial strategies is:
A. Technology investment
B. Strong legal defense
C. Market awareness and adaptability
D. High R&D budgets
✅ Answer: C. Market awareness and adaptability
