Managing Information and Technology

Baliwag Polytechnic College

Dalubhasaan Kong Mahal

Case Scenario Assignment #3

Entellium, Digg, Peerflix, Zappos, and Jigsaw:

Success for Second Movers in e-Commerce

Group Member #1: Eliezer P. Raba

Group Member #2: Aires Sosa
Group Member #3: Rogelio Lim

1. Is the second-mover advantage always a good business

strategy? Defend your answer with examples of the companies
in this case.
As mentioned in the case. “It’s never too late if you are
smarter and better than everybody else”. Being second doesn’t
mean you are not good enough in the business world, it also helps
you to see your surroundings and seize opportunities and chances
of winning the first one. Being second is also better as long as
you know what you can do to surpass the first, as you are better
and smarter than everybody else.
Something being a second mover becomes much more beneficial
for the business. As they are less risky and have a minimal
error. The main advantage of becoming a second mover is that they
can learn from the success or failure of those existing
companies. And they had an opportunity to improve on what their
leader had been doing. But this kind of strategy could not always
be a good business strategy because they can’t seize the benefits
of being a first mover as they are called for being a leader. And
no matter what you do in the industry for you, being a second
mover will not make an impact and be known, but as for the first
mover as they are known to be for innovation and credibility,
they can make an impact and be known. As an example, in school,
 Managing Information and Technology

as we all finished studying in high school and take a graduation

march, a few years later we are met, the number 1 is always to be
first to know, but the number 2 will always be forgotten. As
Bender says "Second place? That's a fancy word for losing!", it
means the first place is still better than the second place. This
is especially true in tournament-style sports like basketball and
hockey, where the bronze team had won their game, but the silver
medalists lost the game for gold. Although, if we examine and
analyze carefully the study about the move of the leader or the
first mover, considering their weaknesses if prepared ourselves
with defending strategies, we can say being a second mover could
be good business strategy to the organization. Always remembering
being second is good this time but not all the time.
For example, based on the case, to compete with
salesforce.com, an online software vendor, Paul Johnston has
focused on usability and customer support, to offer Entellium.
The creation of a product that is more user-friendly is the one
way to beat the competition. Another strategy that Johnston
offers is a free 24/ hours a day in 7 days a week service to make
it easier for the customer. Having this kind offered access to
the customer, Entellium making it a less risky decision for those
businesses who are apprehensive about it to take chances and try
a new product. A more-user friendly approach the Johnston has
taken with the Entellium makes a great impact to more customers.
The strategy is very similar to that of Lowes. Taking an existing
product and delivering it better is the strategy chosen by
Johnston.

2. What can a front-runner business do to foil the assaults of

second movers? Defend your answer using the examples of the
front-runner companies in the case.
The case speaks about second movers and front-runners in a
competing market. The second mover watches the first mover’s
every move, determining when and where to make a bid for gold.
There are no safe leads. The second mover advantage seems more
substantial for companies that use the Internet as the home base
for their businesses. Front-runner businesses can observe the
second movers and improve on their tactics. Front-runners can
offer attractive and innovative products and services at
competitive prices. They continue establishing mutual trust and
secure access between the parties in an e-commerce transaction by
authenticating users, authorizing access, and enforcing security
 Managing Information and Technology

features. Build a reputation for high quality, guaranteed

satisfaction, and top customer support while shopping and after
the sale. This would challenge the second movers and make it a
little more difficult to compete against the front-runners.
Increase the amount of investment needed to enter the market,
thereby deterring attempts made by the second movers to reach in
‘first place’ or discouraging them from competing at all. Keep
all their business plans and strategies confidential. This could
be done by having all employees sign confidentiality and non-
competition agreements. Own the ideas of its employees, once it
is done on the company’s time using the company’s resources, by
asking them to sign agreements passing rights over to the
employer.

3. Do second movers always have the advantage in Web based

business success? Why or why not? Evaluate the five
strategies given in the case and the companies that used
them to help defend your answer.
The second-mover advantage can compete with pioneers. There is
a certain mystique to being the first. We remember and honor
innovators and first achievers in countless fields-first in
flight, first to walk. Yet being the pioneer of a product
category hardly guarantees that a company will enjoy enduring
success. One study showed, in fact, that pioneers were more
successful than late movers in just 15-50 product categories.
Pioneering and late-moving companies both have distinct
advantages. Making smart decisions means knowing why many
pioneers fail, why many late movers succeed, and whether your
situation favors pioneering or entering the market late. First,
be better, faster, cheaper and easier by focusing on improving
one of four things. Making sure not to make the other three
worse. We can make continuous improvement, something anyone at
any level of the organization can easily understand and
implement.