An empirical analysis of follower entry timing decisions

Followers frequently incur market share penalties due to delayed entry. How might they then respond to a pioneer? This paper attempts to answer this question. Followers are assumed to be able to respond by choosing a time interval of entry relative to the pioneer, and by focusing on consumer relative preferences for their brand. These choices potentially involve different trade-offs. For example, achieving higher relative preferences may result in an entry delay that would increase the leadtime. We argue that the follower's response will depend on the magnitude of the pioneering effect. Our analysis of the ASSESSOR database indicates that followers respond primarily by reducing leadtimes. We further find that later followers achieve higher consumer relative preferences than earlier followers do. While these findings merit generalizability as they concern multiple brands and categories, many of which still exist, their implications should be qualified with caution since the data do not go beyond 1984.