Arbeitspapier

I Like The Way You Move: An Empirical Investigation into the Mechanisms Behind First Mover and Follower Strategies

There appears to be an ambivalent dimension in innovation strategies: timing. When is an innovation ready for the market or when is the market ready for the innovation? This paper empirically investigates the determinants of a firm?s decision to become a first mover or a follower in innovation strategies. Much of theoretical and empirical work has focused on whether first mover strategies pay off or not. Here we take a different approach by analysing the determinants that lead companies to opt for either a first mover or a follower strategy. One of this paper?s major goals is to distinguish between firm and industry specific effects on this particular strategic choice. We estimate our model using the most recent data from the German innovation survey of 2003. This dataset allows us to identify deliberate followers rather than outstripped first movers. One of our main findings is that firms choosing a first mover strategy operate in industries with intensive knowledge exchange and further leverage this advantage through excellent internal absorptive capacities. Followers, though, compete by way of their operational excellence for streamlining processes and cutting costs. Hence, we argue that neither of these two innovation strategies is per se superior to the other.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 04-87

Classification
Wirtschaft
Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance: General
Subject
innovation strategy
first mover
bivariate probit
Innovationsmanagement
Innovationswettbewerb
Markteintritt

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Sofka, Wolfgang
Schmidt, Tobias
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)
(where)
Mannheim
(when)
2004

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Sofka, Wolfgang
  • Schmidt, Tobias
  • Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)

Time of origin

  • 2004

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