A Comparative Case Study on Industry Emergence and First Mover Advantages: The Case of GPS and Solar Cell Industries
Date Issued
2007
Date
2007
Author(s)
Cheng, Chi-Feng
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
The existence of first mover advantage (FMA) is vital to firm’s entry timing and survival. Finding the best timing to enter a new market is always a tough decision for a new entrant. Early entering into an industry where FMA is hard to sustain may suffer from lower returns while later entering into an industry where FMA can be sustained may lose a great opportunity to grow and lead. Previous research on FMA at best reveals a mixed result which calls for further research exploration at the case level. The present thesis undertooks a comparative study on the GPS(Global Positioning System) and solar cell industries. Although there are many similarities between these two industries, key technologies pertainting to these two industries were not for commercial purposes when they were first invented.
According to our research, we found that it is hard to maintain FMA in the GPS industry but leaders in solar cell industry seem to keep their leading positions for long. Reasons attributtable to such a difference are associated with the characrteristics of perspective technologies. GPS technology is comparatively more similar to the presently used communication technology and therefore is easier to be integrated by the existing eletronic devices. Leading system manufacturers in the industry are difficult to maintain FMA due to lower entry barrier. On the other hand, solar cell technology tends to be more difficult to be integrated with other electronic products and therefore it is more difficult for other electronic or semiconductor companies to penetrate this market. Another factor that helps to sustain the FMA for incumbent companies is that they have better control over the source of silicon material. In summary, the sustainability of FMA is relevant to the similarities between the technologies of products and the interdependency between the industries in concern. The research also discovers that, in addition to the external factor of industry interdependency, the potential inertia of major industry players in GPS industry constitute a critical internal factor to erode FMA as these incumbents often fails to control over the ever-changing key success factors of the industry due to complacency and conservatism.
Subjects
產業分析
競爭優勢
先進者優勢
GPS產業
太陽能電池產業
Industry Analysis
Competitive Advantage
First Mover Advantage
GPS Industry
Solar Cell Industry
Type
thesis
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