The Strategic Determinants of Tardy Entry: Is Timeliness Next to Godliness?

Abstract

Previous research has considered extensively the causes and effects of market entry order and timing. It has neglected, however, the timeliness of such entry — the degree to which a firm delivered a new product on the date it had set for its release. In this article, we begin to fill the need for such research by evaluating some strategic explanations for why a firm might miss a scheduled entry date. We then test whether such “tardy entry” influences sales performance in the new market.

Keywords: entry timing, new products, disk drive industry, reputation, managerial disfunction

JEL Classification: M13, O32, M, M31