The Timing of Competitive Market Entry: An Exploratory Study of New Industrial Products

Abstract

In a dynamic, competitive environment, the decision to enter the market should be timed to balance the risks of premature entry against the missed opportunity of late entry. Previous research has mainly focused on the strategic aspects of the entry-time decision. In this paper we review the literature and develop a set of propositions about the timing of new product entry. Then we empirically test the relationship between the market-entry time and the likelihood of success for new industrial products.