Abstract
Even though firms that are first to market often maintain a performance advantage over later entrants, this is not always the case. There are important contingencies upon which a first move may or may not be successful. One such contingency, described herein, is organizational capacity, a multidimensional construct that aids the firm in creating sources of advantage from a first move. Additionally, the role of environmental dynamism as an influence on organizational capacity’s moderating effect on the relationship between first-moves and performance is discussed. Hypotheses concerning these effects, including some differential effects of the components of organizational capacity, are developed. Event study and multiple regression analyses are used to test these hypotheses.
The findings of these tests indicate that technology and knowledge integration enable the success of first moves. Additionally, and largely in contrast to predictions based in the resource-based view, there is evidence that there may be constraining factors that could inhibit the creation of appropriate sources of advantage from the first move. These constraining factors are consistent with the job demand perspective. Through these findings and the model developed, this dissertation extends and tests a framework intended to advance our comprehension of how first moves can create value for a firm and, in turn, lead to increased performance.
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