Markteintrittstiming von Telekommunikationsdiensteanbietern

Using data on 87 new product introductions (NPI) and foreign market entries (FME) of telecommunications service providers which were derived from a written survey of 42 key informants in Germany the present empirical study looks at the extent to which choices of market entry timing positions are influenced by market characteristics and company resources. Further, it explores the general success impacts of different entry timing choices and whether entry performance impacts of timing strategies are moderated by situational constraints. An earlier market entry (i.e. a lower entry rank) was more likely if the competitive intensity of the target market was low and if the expansion step was backed by an above average investment and marketing budget. A significant non-monotone inverted u-shaped relationship was found between market entry timing position and entry success perceptions: Early followers had significantly better success ratings than pioneers or late movers which did not differ significantly with regard to the achieved level of entry performance. This suggests that pioneer and follower disadvantages outweigh first-mover/late-mover advantages in an industry environment characterized by strong network externalities. Regardless of market entry position sampled NPI/FME of telecommunications service firms received more positive success ratings in cases where corporations stepped into a market characterized by a strong demand growth and a substantial interrelatedness between strategic moves of industry competitors with a top quality downwardly compatible offer that customers can test and use intuitively without much explanatory guidance from the provider. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2008