Topic summary

First-mover advantage

First-mover advantage

Business advantage In marketing strategy, first-mover advantage (FMA) is the competitive advantage gained by the initial ("first-moving") significant occupant of a market segment. First-mover advantage enables a company or firm to establish strong brand recognition, customer loyalty, and early purchase of resources before other competitors enter the market segment. First movers in a specific industry are almost always followed by competitors that attempt to capitalise on the first movers' success. These followers are also aiming to gain market share; however, most of the time the first-movers will already have an established market share, with a loyal customer base that allows them to maintain their market share. Mechanisms leading to first-mover advantages The three primary sources of a first-mover advantage are technology leadership, control of resources, and buyer switching costs. Technology leadership First movers can make their technology/product/services harder for later entrants to replicate. For example, if the first mover reduces the costs of producing a product, then they will establish an absolute cost advantage, not just a marginal cost advantage. Not only this, but the