Analyzing for Yoshinoya’s Expansion in European Markets

University of Nottingham

Are First-Mover Advantages Really Sustainable? A Case Study of Foreign Mobile Phone Manufacturers in China

Yu-Fang Yang

MSc International Business

Are First-Mover Advantages Really Sustainable? A Case Study of Foreign Mobile Phone Manufacturers in China

By

Yu-Fang Yang

2008

A Dissertation presented in part consideration for the degree of MSc International Business

Acknowledgement

Firstly, I would like to thank to my supervisor, Dr. Chengqi Wang, for his guidance and suggestion in the process of writing my dissertation. In addition, I wish to appreciate the support of my parents, my brother and sister, and friends in Taiwan. Finally, I will offer my heartfelt thanks to my friends in the University of Nottingham for their encouragement and company during this period.

Abstract

The answer to whether the first-mover advantage is a source of sustainable competitive advantage is still debatable. Empirical studies are widely made in many industries. However, many of them are made in the United States. In this dissertation, the first-mover advantages and the resource-based view of a firm are applied jointly to China’s mobile phone industry to examine whether the first-mover advantages are really sustainable.

According the results, it is found that the sustainability of first-mover advantages depend on many factors. It depends on the resources pre-empted by the first mover at the initial stage and its ability to accumulate and develop new resources. In addition, the resources possessed by the followers are also critical. The resource portfolio of a firm may change over time, especially when the market is in the transitional period or becomes more competitive. Pioneers enjoy the benefits of early entry before the entrance of other rivals. However, the first-mover advantages may perish over time and late entrants may surpass the pioneers if they can not develop new resource portfolio in accordance with the...