Which of the following refers to a product with a low growth and low market share?

E. cash cow

A product serving a market with a low rate of growth but having a market share in high quantity in its industry of operation is an instance of a cash cow. Hence, this is the correct option.

A. Star generally signifies a high level of rate of market growth as well as market share. Hence, this is an incorrect option.

B. Dog generally signifies a low level of rate of market growth as well as market share. Hence, this is an incorrect option.

C. Question mark generally signifies a high potential for growth in the market but a low level of market share. Hence, this is an incorrect option.

D. Champion is not one of the quadrants or variables of the BCG matrix. Hence, this is an incorrect option.

A business planning tool used to evaluate the strategic position of a firm's’ brand portfolio

What is the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix?

The Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG Matrix), also referred to as the product portfolio matrix, is a business planning tool used to evaluate the strategic position of a firm’s brand portfolio. The BCG Matrix is one of the most popular portfolio analysis methods. It classifies a firm’s product and/or services into a two-by-two matrix. Each quadrant is classified as low or high performance, depending on the relative market share and market growth rate. Learn more about strategy in CFI’s Business Strategy Course.

Which of the following refers to a product with a low growth and low market share?

Understanding the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

The horizontal axis of the BCG Matrix represents the amount of market share of a product and its strength in the particular market. By using relative market share, it helps measure a company’s competitiveness.

The vertical axis of the BCG Matrix represents the growth rate of a product and its potential to grow in a particular market.

In addition, there are four quadrants in the BCG Matrix:

  1. Question marks: Products with high market growth but a low market share.
  2. Stars: Products with high market growth and a high market share.
  3. Dogs: Products with low market growth and a low market share.
  4. Cash cows: Products with low market growth but a high market share.

The assumption in the matrix is that an increase in relative market share will result in increased cash flow. A firm benefits from utilizing economies of scale and gains a cost advantage relative to competitors. The market growth rate varies from industry to industry but usually shows a cut-off point of 10% – growth rates higher than 10% are considered high, while growth rates lower than 10% are considered low.

Learn more about strategy in CFI’s Business Strategy Course.

The BCG Matrix: Question Marks

Products in the question marks quadrant are in a market that is growing quickly but where the product(s) have a low market share. Question marks are the most managerially intensive products and require extensive investment and resources to increase their market share. Investments in question marks are typically funded by cash flows from the cash cow quadrant.

In the best-case scenario, a firm would ideally want to turn question marks into stars (as indicated by A). If question marks do not succeed in becoming a market leader, they end up becoming dogs when market growth declines.

The BCG Matrix: Dogs

Products in the dogs quadrant are in a market that is growing slowly and where the product(s) have a low market share. Products in the dogs quadrant are typically able to sustain themselves and provide cash flows, but the products will never reach the stars quadrant. Firms typically phase out products in the dogs quadrant (as indicated by B) unless the products are complementary to existing products or are used for a competitive purpose.

The BCG Matrix: Stars

Products in the star quadrant are in a market that is growing quickly and one where the product(s) have a high market share. Products in the stars quadrant are market-leading products and require significant investment to retain their market position, boost growth, and maintain a competitive advantage.

Stars consume a significant amount of cash but also generate large cash flows. As the market matures and the products remain successful, stars will migrate to become cash cows. Stars are a company’s prized possession and are top-of-mind in a firm’s product portfolio.

The BCG Matrix: Cash Cows

Products in the cash cows quadrant are in a market that is growing slowly and where the product(s) have a high market share. Products in the cash cows quadrant are thought of as products that are leaders in the marketplace. The products already have a significant amount of investments in them and do not require significant further investments to maintain their position.

Cash flows generated by cash cows are high and are generally used to finance stars and question marks. Products in the cash cows quadrant are “milked” and firms invest as little cash as possible while reaping the profits generated from the products.

More Resources

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to the BCG Matrix. To keep learning and advancing your career, the additional CFI resources below will be useful:

  • Aggregate Supply and Demand
  • Market Positioning
  • Network Effect
  • Substitute Products

Are low share business units in high growth markets?

They need less investment to hold their market share, thus, they produce a lot of cash that the company uses to support other SBUs that need investment and develop new businesses. Low-share business units in high-growth markets. They require a lot of cash to hold their share, let alone increase it.

Are low growth high share businesses or products that need less investment?

Cash cows: Cash cows are low-growth, high-share business or products. These established and successful SBUs need less investment to hold their market share.

Which of the following has a small share of a growing market and usually requires a large amount of cash to build market share?

dogs. having a small share of a growing market and requiring large amounts of cash to build market share.

What does business growth rate refer to as used in the BCG matrix?

Structure of the BCG Matrix The market growth rate is this years industry sales minus the past years industry sales. The y-axis of the graph/matrix represents rate of market growth while the x-axis represents a products overall market share.