Economies Of Scope Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Economies Of Scope?
Economies of scope are a type of economies that arise from the sharing of common costs between two or more products, activities or processes. Economies of scope can be achieved by production diversification, which is when the same firm produces multiple goods with shared inputs and/or manufacturing processes. It is an important cost-saving measure in production as it allows firms to spread fixed costs over a greater number of outputs, thus reducing their overall unit cost. For example, if two different products require similar materials and labor then producing both items together would result in reduced total costs. This could include using the same factory equipment for both products or buying supplies at bulk discounts. Additionally, knowledge and experience acquired through the production process may allow the producer to gain additional advantages such as better quality control processes or increased efficiency levels resulting in further cost savings. Economies of scope also enable companies to leverage their existing resources and capabilities into new markets since they have already perfected certain production methods from past experiences. For example, Apple Inc has been able to use its technology expertise to develop software applications for mobile devices like iPads and iPhones despite having no prior experience with these types of products before entering this market segment. Similarly, Amazon has leveraged its massive distribution network developed for books into other consumer goods and services such as music downloads and streaming videos on demand. Both examples demonstrate how companies can achieve economies of scope by leveraging existing resources into new markets where there are fewer entry barriers due to their prior success in related areas.