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New research offers fresh insight on when to launch a product or service, and shows that being first to market isn’t always a competitive advantage.
In 2004, David Cohen had an idea for a social network for mobile phones that would connect users in the real world. His company, called iContact, launched a beta version ( 测试版 ), and seemed ready to tap the much publicized mobile software market. Cohen, then 36, had already founded a successful software company. __51__, after 18 months, he was unable to get phone carriers to distribute his software, and he closed the company.
Bets on mobile applications didn’t begin to __52__ until Apple’s iPhone app store opened the market in 2008.
Conventional __53__ says being first to market creates a competitive advantage. Reality is more complicated. Market opportunities are __54__ opening and closing, and a hit idea at one point could be a failure a year earlier or a yawning “ me too ” business a year later. It’s tough---likely __55__ ---to identify the best moment to enter a market, but common sense dictates new entrepreneurs ( 创业人 ) can improve their odds ( 机会 ) if they __56__ how much they bear to gain or lose by waiting.
New academic research suggests one way entrepreneurs can __57__whether they should enter a market first or wait on the sidelines. The decision depends on how hostile ( 不利的 ) the learning environment is; __58__, how much entrepreneurs can learn by observing other players before they __59__, compared to what they learn from participating after they enter, according to Moren Levesque, an entrepreneurship researcher at the University of Waterloo. Levesque, along with professors Maria Minniti of Southern Methodist University and Dean Shepherd of Indiana University, used a mathematical __60__ to weigh the risks and benefits of entering the market early. Their research is among the first to explore “ how different learning environments may influence the entry behavior of entrepreneurs.”
The key to the academics’ findings on timing is this: In a hostile learning environment, entrepreneurs gain relatively __61__ benefit by watching others. For example, if the relevant knowledge is __62__intellectual property, studying the market before entering wouldn’t yield much advantage. In these situations, the trade-off ( 权衡利弊 ) __63__ entering early. But in less hostile learning environments, where entrepreneurs gain valuable information __64__to increase their success just by watching other companies, companies benefit from waiting and learning lessons from earlier players. IContact’s successors, for example, may have learned from watching the company’s trouble in getting mobile networks to distribute their software, a barrier that was __65__ by the iPhone’s app store.
51. A. Otherwise B. Moreover C.However D. Therefore
52. A. pay in B. pay back C. pay for D. pay off
53. A. custom B. wisdom C. habit D. experience
54. A. completely B. confusingly C. constantly D. increasingly
55. A. impossible B. possible C. potential D. manageable
56. A. imagine B. interpret C. weigh D. measure
57. A. value B. evaluate C. ensure D. convince
58. A. after all B. as a result C.in other words D.in addition
59. A. launch B. campaign C. strike D. function
60. A. version B. pattern C. example D. model
61. A. few B. many C. little D. much
62. A. provided B. protected C. shared D. improved
63. A. favors B. dislikes C. opposes D. concerns
64. A. unlikely B. likely C. unbelievable D. questionable
65. A. lowered B. created C. resolved D. removed
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