Pioneer, early follower, or late follower: Which entry strategy should you prefer?
Fischer, Marc ; Himme, Alexander ; Sönke, Albers
Fischer, Marc
Himme, Alexander
Sönke, Albers
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Publication Type
Journal article
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2007
Journal
Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft
Book
Publication Volume
77
Publication Issue
5
Publication Begin page
539
Publication End page
573
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Abstract
Previous empirical research on order of entry effects shows strong evidence for the existence of a first-mover advantage. Conventional strategic recommendations are therefore based on the assumption that pioneering is preferable in order to create competitive advantages. However, theoretical work has argued that there are also considerable potential advantages for early movers. But this hypothesis lacks empirical evidence, which is due to the limitations of previous empirical research designs. On the one hand, early movers have not been precisely separated from pioneers and late movers. On the other hand, previous research designs often specified a monotone relationship between order of entry and a success variable. As a consequence, it was not possible to find an inverted u-shaped relationship supporting the early mover advantage hypothesis. In this study, authors propose ways to overcome these limitations. An empirical application to 12 pharmaceutical markets finds a surprising early mover advantage that contrasts with the conventional wisdom in this industry.
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Keywords
Marketing & Sales