IPA FE Subject A 2024 Question 17
A question IPA Japan published in 令和６年度 基本情報技術者試験 科目A 公開問題 問17, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Which of the following is an appropriate explanation of the blue ocean in marketing strategy?
Explanation
An unknown market where no competition exists — a blue ocean is market space nobody serves yet, as opposed to a red ocean crowded with rivals.
Blue ocean strategy (Kim and Mauborgne) divides markets in two. In a red ocean, an existing industry, companies fight over the same demand, and prices and profits fall. A blue ocean is opened by value innovation: dropping or reducing what the industry competes on while raising or creating other factors, so buyers get new value and competition becomes irrelevant instead of being beaten.
Answer (a)
Why not others:
- •(b) — an existing market where products have become commodities that compete only on price is the opposite, a typical red ocean
- •(c) — the time it takes to grow an idea for a new business into a working business is a period in new-business development (its incubation), not a kind of market
- •(d) — the barrier between developing a product and bringing it to market is what technology management calls the valley of death, again not a market
Key rule: Red ocean: existing markets with fierce competition; blue ocean: new, uncontested market space created by value innovation.
Business Strategy Management · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.