IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v181y2022ics0040162522003080.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Early bird or early worm? First-mover (dis)advantages and the success of web-based social enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Halberstadt, Jantje
  • Kollhoff, Sophia
  • Kraus, Sascha
  • Dhir, Amandeep

Abstract

Achieving the optimal market entry time is of immense strategic importance for entrepreneurs, especially in online markets, where web-based social entrepreneurial activity continues to grow. This raises the question of whether first-mover market entry actually pays off or if market entry as a (later) follower might be the better option. First-mover research has so far not adequately answered this question. Our work contributes to closing this gap by transferring first-mover theory to web-based social enterprises. We expand upon first-mover theory by reflecting on the winner-take-all hypothesis to better illuminate the mechanisms of market structure development and entry decisions. Our empirical data was gathered on various types of web-based social enterprise models in a sample of 12 national markets. Our results show that first-mover advantages are available not only to those who are the very first to market but also to early followers. In addition, the speed of market entry matters. Our work also indicates, however, that first-mover advantages should not be overestimated; market structures and network effects may explain varying results. Furthermore, both business models studied exhibited high market concentration at a mature stage, implying that the winner, although perhaps not taking all, does take most.

Suggested Citation

  • Halberstadt, Jantje & Kollhoff, Sophia & Kraus, Sascha & Dhir, Amandeep, 2022. "Early bird or early worm? First-mover (dis)advantages and the success of web-based social enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:181:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522003080
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121784
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162522003080
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121784?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cayetano Medina-Molina & Manuel Rey-Moreno & J. Augusto Felício & Inmaculada Romano Paguillo, 2019. "Participation in crowdfunding among users of collaborative platforms: the role of innovativeness and social capital," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 529-543, June.
    2. Huang, Dan & Jin, Xin & Coghlan, Alexandra, 2021. "Advances in consumer innovation resistance research: A review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    3. Francisco Adro & Cristina I. Fernandes & Pedro M. Veiga & Sascha Kraus, 2021. "Social entrepreneurship orientation and performance in non-profit organizations," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1591-1618, December.
    4. McMullen, Jeffery S., 2018. "Organizational hybrids as biological hybrids: Insights for research on the relationship between social enterprise and the entrepreneurial ecosystem," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 575-590.
    5. KODAMA Naomi & Beata S. JAVORCIK & ABE Yukiko, 2016. "Transplanting Corporate Culture across International Borders: FDI and female employment in Japan," Discussion papers 16015, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    6. Jeffrey Robinson, 2006. "Navigating Social and Institutional Barriers to Markets: How Social Entrepreneurs Identify and Evaluate Opportunities," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Johanna Mair & Jeffrey Robinson & Kai Hockerts (ed.), Social Entrepreneurship, chapter 7, pages 95-120, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Glen L. Urban & Theresa Carter & Steven Gaskin & Zofia Mucha, 1986. "Market Share Rewards to Pioneering Brands: An Empirical Analysis and Strategic Implications," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(6), pages 645-659, June.
    8. Anna B. Spiegler & Jantje Halberstadt, 2018. "SHEstainability: how relationship networks influence the idea generation in opportunity recognition process by female social entrepreneurs," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(2), pages 202-235.
    9. Ismael Moya-Clemente & Gabriela Ribes-Giner & Odette Pantoja-Díaz, 2020. "Identifying environmental and economic development factors in sustainable entrepreneurship over time by partial least squares (PLS)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-17, September.
    10. Agnieszka Konys, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Entrepreneurship Holistic Construct," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-33, November.
    11. Yannis Bakos & Erik Brynjolfsson, 1999. "Bundling Information Goods: Pricing, Profits, and Efficiency," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(12), pages 1613-1630, December.
    12. Sun Mingchun & Tse Edison, 2007. "When Does the Winner Take All in Two-Sided Markets?," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-25, March.
    13. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram & Glen L. Urban, 1992. "Dynamic Effects of the Order of Entry on Market Share, Trial Penetration, and Repeat Purchases for Frequently Purchased Consumer Goods," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 235-250.
    14. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    15. Hellmann, Thomas & Puri, Manju, 2000. "The Interaction between Product Market and Financing Strategy: The Role of Venture Capital," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 959-984.
    16. Murillo, David & Buckland, Heloise & Val, Esther, 2017. "When the sharing economy becomes neoliberalism on steroids: Unravelling the controversies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 66-76.
    17. Kaminski, Jermain & Hopp, Christian & Tykvová, Tereza, 2019. "New technology assessment in entrepreneurial financing – Does crowdfunding predict venture capital investments?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 287-302.
    18. S. J. Liebowitz & Stephen E. Margolis, 1994. "Network Externality: An Uncommon Tragedy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 133-150, Spring.
    19. Camille Lacan & Pierre Desmet, 2017. "Does the crowdfunding platform matter? Risks of negative attitudes in two-sided markets," Post-Print hal-02132606, HAL.
    20. Fischbacher, Urs & Thöni, Christian, 2008. "Excess entry in an experimental winner-take-all market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 150-163, July.
    21. David Urbano & Nuria Toledano & Domingo Ribeiro Soriano, 2010. "Analyzing Social Entrepreneurship from an Institutional Perspective: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 54-69, March.
    22. William Boulding & Markus Christen, 2003. "Sustainable Pioneering Advantage? Profit Implications of Market Entry Order," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 371-392.
    23. Zhao, Eric Yanfei & Ishihara, Masakazu & Jennings, P. Devereaux, 2020. "Strategic entrepreneurship's dynamic tensions: Converging (diverging) effects of experience and networks on market entry timing and entrant performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    24. Rey-Martí, Andrea & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel, 2016. "A bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1651-1655.
    25. Jamal El-Den & Pratap Adikhari & Pratap Adikhari, 2017. "Social media in the service of social entrepreneurship: Identifying factors for better services," Journal of Advances in Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Yi-Hsing Hsieh, vol. 3(2), pages 105-114.
    26. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    27. Taneli Vaskelainen & Laura Piscicelli, 2018. "Online and Offline Communities in the Sharing Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    28. Gali, Nazha & Niemand, Thomas & Shaw, Eleanor & Hughes, Mathew & Kraus, Sascha & Brem, Alexander, 2020. "Social entrepreneurship orientation and company success: The mediating role of social performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    29. Othmar M. Lehner, 2013. "Crowdfunding social ventures: a model and research agenda," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 289-311, October.
    30. Eocman Lee & Jeho Lee & Jongseok Lee, 2006. "Reconsideration of the Winner-Take-All Hypothesis: Complex Networks and Local Bias," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(12), pages 1838-1848, December.
    31. William Bygrave & Maria Minniti, 2000. "The Social Dynamics of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 24(3), pages 25-36, April.
    32. Choi, Nia & Majumdar, Satyajit, 2014. "Social entrepreneurship as an essentially contested concept: Opening a new avenue for systematic future research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 363-376.
    33. Soni, Gunjan & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Singh, Pallavi & Dey, Bidit L. & Dora, Manoj, 2021. "Technological interventions in social business: Mapping current research and establishing future research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    34. Marvin B. Lieberman & David B. Montgomery, 1988. "First‐mover advantages," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(S1), pages 41-58, June.
    35. Gupta, Parul & Chauhan, Sumedha & Paul, Justin & Jaiswal, M.P., 2020. "Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 209-229.
    36. Geoffrey G. Parker & Marshall W. Van Alstyne, 2005. "Two-Sided Network Effects: A Theory of Information Product Design," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(10), pages 1494-1504, October.
    37. Sansone, Giuliano & Andreotti, Pietro & Colombelli, Alessandra & Landoni, Paolo, 2020. "Are social incubators different from other incubators? Evidence from Italy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    38. Veronica Vecchi & Francesca Casalini & Luciano Balbo & Stefano Caselli, 2015. "Impact Investing: A New Asset Class or a Societal Refocus of Venture Capital?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stefano Caselli & Guido Corbetta & Veronica Vecchi (ed.), Public Private Partnerships for Infrastructure and Business Development, chapter 0, pages 275-293, Palgrave Macmillan.
    39. David Barberá-Tomás & Itziar Castelló & Frank de Bakker & Charlene Zietsma, 2019. "Energizing through Visuals: How Social Entrepreneurs Use Emotion-Symbolic Work for Social Change," Post-Print hal-02511088, HAL.
    40. S. Bacq & F. Janssen, 2011. "The multiple faces of social entrepreneurship: A review of definitional issues based on geographical and thematic criteria," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5-6), pages 373-403, June.
    41. Johann J. Kranz & Arnold Picot, 2016. "Internet business strategies," Chapters, in: Johannes M. Bauer & Michael Latzer (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of the Internet, chapter 17, pages 365-384, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    42. Wang, Kung-Jeng & Lestari, Yuliani Dwi, 2013. "Firm competencies on market entry success: Evidence from a high-tech industry in an emerging market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2444-2450.
    43. Pieter A. VanderWerf & John F. Mahon, 1997. "Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Research Methods on Findings of First-Mover Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(11), pages 1510-1519, November.
    44. Shivaram Rajgopal & Mohan Venkatachalam & Suresh Kotha, 2003. "The Value Relevance of Network Advantages: The Case of E–Commerce Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 135-162, March.
    45. Dwivedi, Abhishek & Weerawardena, Jay, 2018. "Conceptualizing and operationalizing the social entrepreneurship construct," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 32-40.
    46. I. Brezina & J. Pekár & Z. Čičková & M. Reiff, 2016. "Herfindahl–Hirschman index level of concentration values modification and analysis of their change," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 24(1), pages 49-72, March.
    47. Sabrina Bonomi & Francesca Ricciardi & Cecilia Rossignoli, 2017. "Network organisations for externality challenges: how social entrepreneurship co-evolves with ICT-enabled solutions," International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(4), pages 346-366.
    48. Baojun Jiang & Lin Tian, 2018. "Collaborative Consumption: Strategic and Economic Implications of Product Sharing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1171-1188, March.
    49. Victor Tiberius & Meike Rietz & Ricarda B. Bouncken, 2020. "Performance Analysis and Science Mapping of Institutional Entrepreneurship Research," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-21, September.
    50. Hans Rawhouser & Michael Cummings & Scott L. Newbert, 2019. "Social Impact Measurement: Current Approaches and Future Directions for Social Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 82-115, January.
    51. Feng Zhu & Marco Iansiti, 2012. "Entry into platform‐based markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 88-106, January.
    52. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2011. "Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 222-237, May.
    53. Rajan Varadarajan & Manjit S. Yadav & Venkatesh Shankar, 2014. "First-Mover Advantage in the Internet-Enabled Market Environment," Progress in IS, in: Francisco J. Martínez-López (ed.), Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management, edition 127, pages 157-185, Springer.
    54. Davila, Antonio & Foster, George & Gupta, Mahendra, 2003. "Venture capital financing and the growth of startup firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 689-708, November.
    55. Deng, Ziliang & Wang, Zeyu, 2016. "Early-mover advantages at cross-border business-to-business e-commerce portals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 6002-6011.
    56. Johanna Mair & Ernesto Noboa, 2006. "Social Entrepreneurship: How Intentions to Create a Social Venture are Formed," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Johanna Mair & Jeffrey Robinson & Kai Hockerts (ed.), Social Entrepreneurship, chapter 8, pages 121-135, Palgrave Macmillan.
    57. Tiberius, Victor & Stiller, Laura & Dabić, Marina, 2021. "Sustainability beyond economic prosperity: Social microfoundations of dynamic capabilities in family businesses," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    58. Tobias Kollmann & Julia Christofor & Andreas Kuckertz, 2007. "Explaining individual entrepreneurial orientation: conceptualisation of a cross-cultural research framework," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(3), pages 325-340.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Knudsen, Eirik Sjåholm & Belik, Ivan, 2023. "The Achilles heel of interconnected user networks: Network firms and the vulnerability of rapid decline," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gupta, Parul & Chauhan, Sumedha & Paul, Justin & Jaiswal, M.P., 2020. "Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 209-229.
    2. Pradeep Kumar Hota, 2023. "Tracing the Intellectual Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship Research: Past Advances, Current Trends, and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 637-659, January.
    3. Paola Bernardi & Alberto Bertello & Canio Forliano & Ludovico Bullini Orlandi, 2022. "Beyond the “ivory tower”. Comparing academic and non-academic knowledge on social entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 999-1032, September.
    4. Cheng, Colin C.J. & Shiu, Eric C., 2022. "A two-level, longitudinal investigation into the effects of employee social entrepreneurship orientation and top management team decisions on product innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    5. Lortie, Jason & Cox, Kevin C. & Roundy, Philip T., 2022. "Social impact models, legitimacy perceptions, and consumer responses to social ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 312-321.
    6. Ho, Jae-Yun & Yoon, Semee, 2022. "Ambiguous roles of intermediaries in social entrepreneurship: The case of social innovation system in South Korea," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    7. Kaushik, Vineet & Tewari, Shobha & Sahasranamam, Sreevas & Hota, Pradeep Kumar, 2023. "Towards a precise understanding of social entrepreneurship: An integrated bibliometric–machine learning based review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Rohit Bhardwaj & Saurabh Srivastava & Sunali Bindra & Sumit Sangwan, 2023. "An ecosystem view of social entrepreneurship through the perspective of systems thinking," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 250-265, January.
    9. Mir Shahid Satar & Deepanshi Aggarwal & Rohit Bansal & Ghadah Alarifi, 2023. "Mapping the Knowledge Structure and Unveiling the Research Trends in Social Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Development: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-28, March.
    10. Diaz-Sarachaga, Jose Manuel & Ariza-Montes, Antonio, 2022. "The role of social entrepreneurship in the attainment of the sustainable development goals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 242-250.
    11. Régis Y. Chenavaz & Alexandra Couston & Stéphanie Heichelbech & Isabelle Pignatel & Stanko Dimitrov, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-30, May.
    12. Chang, Sungyong & Park, Sanghyun, 2021. "Borders of Network Effects and Early Internationalization as a Latecomer Strategy," SocArXiv d74he, Center for Open Science.
    13. Karl Taeuscher, 2019. "Uncertainty kills the long tail: demand concentration in peer-to-peer marketplaces," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(4), pages 649-660, December.
    14. Danilo Boffa & Antonio Prencipe & Armando Papa & Christian Corsi & Mario Sorrentino, 2023. "Boosting circular economy via the b-corporation roads. The effect of the entrepreneurial culture and exogenous factors on sustainability performance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 523-561, June.
    15. April M. Franco & MB Sarkar & Rajshree Agarwal & Raj Echambadi, 2009. "Swift and Smart: The Moderating Effects of Technological Capabilities on the Market Pioneering-Firm Survival Relationship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(11), pages 1842-1860, November.
    16. Himme, Alexander, 2005. "Der Einfluss der Markteintrittsreihenfolge auf den Unternehmenserfolg: Eine Zusammenfassung empirischer Arbeiten und Leitlinien für die weitere Forschung auf diesem Gebiet," Manuskripte aus den Instituten für Betriebswirtschaftslehre der Universität Kiel 600, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Institut für Betriebswirtschaftslehre.
    17. Charles H. Fine & Loredana Padurean & Sergey Naumov, 2022. "Operations for entrepreneurs: Can Operations Management make a difference in entrepreneurial theory and practice?," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(12), pages 4599-4615, December.
    18. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 0. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    19. Adélie Ranville & Marcos Barros, 2022. "Towards Normative Theories of Social Entrepreneurship. A Review of the Top Publications of the Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 407-438, October.
    20. Xiaoti Hu & Susan Marlow & Angelika Zimmermann & Lee Martin & Regina Frank, 2020. "Understanding Opportunities in Social Entrepreneurship: A Critical Realist Abstraction," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(5), pages 1032-1056, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:181:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522003080. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.