Late Mover Strategy

A firm can be said to have followed a late-mover strategy when it adopts a strategy of introducing a new product or entering a new market after the competitors have already done it.

Being the late-mover means the firm is not interested in taking a strategic move first. The firm waits to see what happens in the marketplace after the competitors have implemented similar strategies.

When your company decides to have a late-mover strategy, it may also l decide to be a ‘fast-follower.’

For some fast-followers with a strong resource base and marketing, efficiency has been able to outcompete the first-mover quickly.

Microsoft is a glaring example. Microsoft outcompeted Netscape as a fast-follower, although Netscape had gained the lion’s share of the market as the pioneer of the Internet browser.

The disadvantages of the first-mover strategy are the advantages of the late-mover strategy, which have already been discussed above (see the disadvantages of the first-mover strategy).

Finally, we can conclude that though first-movers can sometimes gain strategic advantage, it may also be more gainful to be a late-mover (follower).

Therefore, a firm must be prudent in deciding whether to be first or late.