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Microsoft’s Bid to Make Outlook More than Email

Harvard Business Review

Apple’s iPod started as a music-playing device, until it developed the iTunes music store and App Store to connect content providers and app develops to iPod users. Many successful platforms today have experienced this product-to-platform transition.

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What U.S. E-Commerce Can Learn from Its Global Copycats

Harvard Business Review

We were unable to capitalize on first mover advantage. But first mover advantage is a simplistic tenet of global strategy. With limited purchasing power, low credit card usage, and poor delivery networks, it''s clear that the approach for e-commerce in developing markets has to be different than in the U.S.

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Five Myths of a CEO's First 100 Days

Harvard Business Review

Because he initially concentrated on assembling a strong team and personally communicating with them, he was able to develop a firm launch-pad for a variety of initiatives aimed at transforming the company. One CEO, for example, excelled at communicating to small groups, delegating and team-building.

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NewTV Is the Antithesis of a Lean Startup. Can It Work?

Harvard Business Review

The mantra of “ first-mover advantage ,” the idea that winners are the ones who are the first entrants in their markets, became the conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley. Startups now had tools that sped up the search for customers, reduced time to market, and slashed the cost of development.

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It's Time to Cut Back on Social Media

Harvard Business Review

Clearly there is a first mover advantage in some cases: Chris Brogan developed a passionate following as an early blogger, and Guy Kawasaki jumped onboard Twitter and became a powerhouse there. But as I advise my clients to do, I believe everyone needs to think about which platforms best speak to your strengths.

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Growing, or Not, in an Age of Permanent Volatility

Harvard Business Review

In a recent Accenture study involving 1000 CFOs and CMOs across eight industries and a dozen countries in developed and emerging markets, 85 percent of executives expected their companies to grow at a rate equal to or significantly greater than global growth forecasts. Innovation focused on first-mover advantage, not price point.

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How Netflix Expanded to 190 Countries in 7 Years

Harvard Business Review

In France and India, for example, homegrown leaders offer local-language video content, thus depriving Netflix of first-mover advantage. and Netflix has managed to make inroads into even those markets where Prime arrived first. Furthermore, strong competition in streaming already exists in many countries.