Strategic Management

This document discusses the concept of strategic management and explores the advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover in the market. It provides real-life examples of successful first movers such as KFC, Apple, and Google, as well as examples of failed first movers like Netscape and E-Trade Group.

Running Head: Strategic Management
Subject Name:
Student Name:
University Name:

Strategic Management
Contents
Part 1.....................................................................................................................................................3
Part 2..................................................................................................................................................3-5
References:............................................................................................................................................6
2

Strategic Management
Part 1: Adam Grant mentions in his Ted Talk that the first mover’s risk involved if you are
creating a new market segment the success rate of companies is much lower than that of
improvers who introduce something different and better. The failure percentage mentioned
for first movers is 47% which is much higher than the improvers which are 8%. To become
originals you don’t have to be first, you have to be different and better from others.
Compared to what we have learned in our book which shows that there are various
advantages for first movers as they are at ease as compared to others who arrive later. First
movers also replace traditional approach to specific business. First movers also create a new
market instead of fighting for existing customers. First movers also establish a small position
in the market and expand later. First movers also create something new from the something
already present in the market. First movers also establish a dominant position as compared to
other firms who enter late in the market.
As Adam Grant mentions in his Ted Talk, it is often much easier to improve on others’ ideas
than it is to create a newdesign from scratch. In conjunction with our textbook, this could be
because first movers may not commit enough resources to pioneer a product/service or when
there is minimal compatibility or patentability about the new products and services.
McQuerrey (2017) of bizfluent also points to some of the following reasons: as to why late
movers may thrive: making tweaks and improvements, less financial risk and coat-tailing
momentum built by first movers. Some examples of this could include search engines
(Google replacing Ask Jeeves and other less robust earlier movers), social networks
(Facebook replacing MySpace), and video games (Nintendo and others replacing Atari).
Part 2: First Mover successes examples
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), the organization took first mover advantage by building a
bond with Chinese officials which in return provided them the exposure to the market in
3

Strategic Management
China as there was less or no competition in the market that helped the organization to boost
sales. Now KFC I among the leading company in the fast-food market.
Genentech: The organisation was the first comer in biotechnology development that created
a new market segment as other pharmaceutical companies due to entry barriers and
Genentech became the successful organization.
Apple: The Company created a user-friendly computer in the early 1980s as the first mover
market was new and it helped Apple to gain the reputation of its creativity which Apple is
continuing.
Facebook: Similar ideas were present in the market, making changes in it by creating a more
informative and advance medium Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook and established a small
position in the market and expanded later (Mark Zuckerberg Biography, 2019).
Sony: During the time of World War II economy of Japan was low Ibuka Masaru took first
mover advantage and was able to create an organization to build tape recorders and
transistors. The organization which Ibuka Masaru created was Sony, till date it is giving
competition in the electronics market.
Kosmo.com: This organization was dealing in free delivery of goods such as games,
magazines, DVDs, and Starbucks coffee. The first mover advantage did not last long for
more than four years due to the boom in dot.com.
Warby Parker: The inception of the idea had taken place in a computer lab. After incubating
the idea for a year and a half, the idea finally hatched and they created a vertically integrated
company. It replaced the traditional approach of glasses being expensive bypassing retailers,
bypassing the middlemen
4

Strategic Management
Google: It created something new from the something already present in the market by
taming sprawl and vast information available on the internet by linking them to the search
medium which gains them popularity. Till today the company is growing and is dominant in
online research platform worldwide and are creating revenues by online advertisements
(BBC, 2016).
Pfizer took benefit of patented technology on strategic resources which created a monopoly
for Pfizer and they succeed in the market. Pfizer has a monopoly for five years in the field of
sexual disease medicine as they have patented their medicine Viagra. After five years two
competitors (Cialis and Levitra) entered in the market but Pfizer continues to get the benefit
of first mover and it continues to get a significant market share.
First Move Failures
Netscape: It created web browser an early mover its market in 1990 and was very popular
among people it when Microsoft launched it web browser in 2002 internet explorer it
becomes nearly extinct.
Apple: All the products created by Apple were not successful, it attempted personal digital
assistant through its product ‘Newton’ that created a massive loss for the organization.
E-Trade Group: The organization used to deal in portable mortgage due to lack of use of its
leverage in strategic resources the company nearly crashed in 2003. The organization process
allowed people to move to a new home while keeping their existing mortgage thus created
debt for the organization while other big organization gained customer acceptance under E-
trade and increaded profit from its first move.
5

Strategic Management
References:
McQuerrey, L. (2017), The Advantages of Late Movers, Available 28 March 2019 from:
Mark Zuckerberg Biography (2019), Success Story of Facebook Founder and CEO,
Retrieved March 2019, from .
BBC (2016), How did Google become the world's most valuable company, Available 28
March 2019 from
Adam Grant (2016), the surprising habits of original thinkers, Available 28 March 2019 from
No author (2016), Supporting the Business-Level Strategy, Available 28 March 2019 from
6