Abstract The literature on early-mover status and its effect on sustainable competitive advantage has produced equivocal results. Sarin et al. (2025) conducted in-depth interviews with senior tech industry executives, in which the authors explored contingencies that affect the early-mover status to sustainable competitive advantage relationship. In this study, we integrate insights from these qualitative interviews and the extant literature, to propose a conceptual framework. The proposed framework and accompanying propositions relate to the moderating effects of innovation characteristics and firm capabilities on the relationship between early-mover status and sustainable competitive advantage. Our study concludes with theoretical contributions, managerial implications and directions for future research.

Conventional wisdom suggests that early entry into a market with an innovation confers enduring competitive advantage upon a firm. Empirical evidence to this effect is mixed. Despite claims that “earlier is better,” results on early-mover advantages are inconsistent. Drawing on two in-depth interviews with senior technology industry executives (former CEOs/CMOs with multi-decade experience in printing, telecom, networking, cybersecurity, and collaborative technologies), we explore conditions under which entry timing (early vs. late movers) leads to sustainable competitive advantage. The executive interviews suggest that timing is a necessary but not sufficient condition, resulting advantages hinge on the contextual effects of ecosystem economics, innovation characteristics, and organizational “will and skill,” among other things.

Abstract Despite their evident mutual relevance and interconnection, systematic examinations of the relationship between customer experience (CX) and sustainable consumption are rare. This systematic literature review explores the intersection of these concepts by analyzing the nature and influence of CX in sustainable consumption. First, the study synthesizes existing research knowledge on CX stimuli that are particularly highlighted in the context of sustainable consumption, such as product elements and sensory cues tied to sustainability, eco-conscious advertising and marketing messages, and bio-based packaging elements. Second, the review charts CX dimensions evoked by sustainability stimuli, including various sensory, affective, cognitive, and social experiences. Third, the study describes the role of CX in promoting or hindering both purchase behaviors, such as purchasing organic offerings, and non-purchase behaviors, such as recycling. The findings confirm the relevance of CX in facilitating transaction-focused outcomes (purchases or sales), but also show that CX can influence non-transactional outcomes, such as engagement and disengagement in sustainability practices. The study advances existing CX research by developing a conceptual framework that delineates CX in the sustainable consumption context and identifying special features and tensions related to it. Furthermore, the study adopts a dynamic and processual approach to understanding consumer behavior in the context of sustainable consumption, departing from traditional knowledge, awareness, and practice-based approaches. It highlights the interplay between CX stimuli and outcomes, not only in purchase decisions but also in non-purchase journeys, such as sharing. The findings highlight significant gaps in the current literature, including the need for more attention to the economic, social, and cultural dimensions of sustainable consumption, alongside the environmental dimensions that have been more commonly studied. Building on identified gaps in existing research and the developed propositions, our study sets the stage for future research on CX in the context of sustainable consumption.