Comments on: Is First-Mover Advantage a Myth? (With Graphs!)

By: moversdirectory

moversdirectory — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:59:40 +0000

it is more on things where advantages is all at yours as you try to make it and have it for sure move.

By: John Hunter

John Hunter — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:29:56 +0000

I agree that FMA is practically useless. I tried to convince my brother of this while he was at business school, but failed. So many companies fail to execute well. Think sensibly and execute well and you have a good chance.

There are some businesses where it is difficult to dislodge an incumbent. People act like this is about them being first movers. It doesn't seem to me it often is.

By: Can you keep a secret? » BrainHuddle

Can you keep a secret? » BrainHuddle — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:53:54 +0000

[...] So why are people like this? One of the culprits is the first mover advantage doctrine. The first mover advantage for those that aren’t familiar with it refers to the first significant company to move into a market and take advantage of limited resources. It is the early bird gets the worm school of thought. So many people are afraid that if they tell people about the worm they are going to get that that person will beat them to it and their one chance at fortune and fame is thwarted. (Here’s a good post w/some graphs for a counterpoint to that way of thinking- Is First Mover advantage a Myth?) [...]

By: AC

AC — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:47:51 +0000

I can't believe they are still teaching you this theory... specially if you are at MIT!!! The assumptions for FMA have been debunked as far back as 1996 by a series of debates at the The Academy of Management Review... http://www.jstor.org/stable/258991?cookieSet=1

There are many technology books mentioning cases such as the Netscape (FMA and innovator) vs Microsoft (not innovative but managed to profit w/ Explorer) etc.

You might want to review this teacher credentials, is he (she) tenured or just an adjunct?

Best of luck,
AC

By: links for 2010-02-16 « Blarney Fellow

links for 2010-02-16 « Blarney Fellow — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:32:18 +0000

[...] Is First-Mover Advantage a Myth? (With Graphs!) — Save Me From B-School (tags: strategy business startup brezmejnik) [...]

By: coder8

coder8 — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:01:50 +0000

Moore's law is still in effect… who is saying it is not? the difference is instead of clock speed we are doubling by using more cores… Take a look at the latest video cards

By: amanda peyton

amanda peyton — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:23:28 +0000

The point is not so much that speed of hardware is directly related to adoption, it was more that one side effect of the law is that people get used to adopting better technology faster.

Yep – but they are still teaching Moore's law as if it's true. I've seen both sides argued well and am not sure I buy that it's dead completely as it will still have effects on the perception and adoption of technology long after the actual numerical law ceases to be true.

By: amanda peyton

amanda peyton — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:20:03 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Dharmesh.

That is definitely a fresh perspective – I was just taught Moore's law in a class last Friday (they teach Moore's law and Metcalfe's law as the two almost biblical rules of the software business).

Agree about iteration too. Falls in line with a lot of the “lean startup” principles that I've seen hyped quite a bit recently.

By: Name

Name — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:11:37 +0000

Your analysis of Moore's Law seems somewhat off. Because the power of computers were doubling every 18 months (not 24) the FMA would target features that would be accessable when they hit market. So there was still a FMA for people who did their homework. Furthermore it had nothing to do with getting accepted by the public. You still have to develop a user base and this doesn't matter how fast your computer runs.

Additionally people regularly say that Moore's Law is dead, as it it may have been true for those golden decades from the 1960's to about 2000 but it is not true now.

By: Dharmesh Shah

Dharmesh Shah — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:01:20 +0000

Great article -- and welcome to MIT Sloan (you'll have a great time)

A few thoughts/points:

1. I may be in the minority, but I don't think Moore's Law is really a law.

2. You make some good points against the concept of "First Mover Advantage". I think the real advantage these days is more of a "First Learner Advantage". Successful web companies these days are those that can get something out there early, and iterate quickly. She who can learn the lessons first (not just move into the market first), tends to win.