Order of Market Entry: Established Empirical Generalizations, Emerging Empirical Generalizations, and Future Research

Abstract

Three established and four emerging empirical generalizations are identified below. The first established generalization is that there is a negative relationship between order of market entry and market share. Second, for consumer packaged goods and prescription anti-ulcer drugs, the entrant's market share divided by the first entrant's share roughly equals one divided by the square root of order of market entry. Third, in mature markets, market pioneer share advantages slowly decline over time. While the emerging generalizations require additional research support, the initial findings suggest: (1) for consumer packaged goods, order of market entry has a stronger negative relationship with trial penetration than with repeat purchase; (2) market pioneers have broader product lines than late entrants; (3) skill and resource profiles differ across market pioneers, early followers, and late entrants; and (4) order of market entry is not related to long-term survival rates. Future research topics are also discussed.