Core rigidity is defined as

• A. When a firm has too many core competencies
• B. When a core competency is overrelied upon and its value creation erodes as the market changes
• C. When outsourcing eliminates core capabilities
• D. When marketing fails to address customers

Answer: (B)

Core rigidity happens when a firm clings too tightly to a single capability and fails to adapt as the market changes, so the value that capability creates starts to decline. This is exactly what the statement captures: overreliance on a core competency, with its value eroding as external conditions shift. In practice, a company might be excellent at a particular skill or process, but if customer needs or technology evolve, that same competency can become outdated or less valuable, and the firm struggles to reconfigure around new capabilities.

The other ideas describe different issues. Having too many core competencies isn’t rigidity; it’s a breadth issue. Outsourcing can erode internal skills, but that’s about loss of capabilities through outsourcing, not the inertia of sticking with a once-winning capability. Marketing that fails to address customers is about market alignment, not the internal rigidity of core skills.