Louis is a student at Texas A&M who just secured a summer internship working for the marketing department of Southwest Airlines. He is assisting Marlene, one of the marketing managers, with a competitive assessment of the U. S. market. Marlene wants him to think outside of the box when assessing the competition. She tells him to think beyond direct competitors to any competitors that might be able to offer similar services as Southwest. Which of the following represents a generic competitor to Southwest Airlines? a. Schwinn bicycle b. Greyhound bus system c. Delta Airlines d. Blue Star Jets (on-demand private charter)

The correct answer would be option B, GreyHound Bus System.

Explanation:

Greyhound Bus System is considered to be the generic competitor for Southwest Airline. Generic competitors are the ones who have different products or provide different services but the purpose of the product or service remains the same.

So the Greyhound Bus System and Southwest Airline both provide different services, as Greyhound bus system allows travelling through bus while Southwest Airlines allow travelling through aircraft, but the purpose of both the companies remain same, which is to travel or to transport people from one place to another. So these both companies will be the generic competitor of each other.