Research On The Application Of Early-mover Advantage Theory In Cross-border Imported Retail E-commerce Market

E-commerce has increasingly become an important drive of China’s economic development.The scale of cross-border e-commerce transactions continues to grow at a high rate,which has led many companies to join the industry one after another.The competition in cross-border import retail e-commerce has become increasingly fierce.Traditional early-mover advantage(EMA)theory focuses mainly on the entity business environment.While the special environment in cross-border e-commerce challenges the applicability of the EMA.Therefore,this paper investigated the applicability of EMA theory in China’s cross-border imported retail e-commerce industry,focusing on the relationship between market entry orders of industry competition participants and their performance.Combing the theoretical framework of first-mover advantage and the development of China’s cross-border imported retail e-commerce industry,this paper connects theory to reality to analyze the applicability of EMA theory under the new environment of cross-border e-commerce.On this basis,this article selected "Yangmatou" and NetEase’s"Koala" as representatives of the early entrants and later entrants of the industry.The conclusion of the case study is that the special environment of cross-border e-commerce changes the importance of sources of early-mover advantages and early-mover disadvantage.When market competition is mild,early-movers are more advantageous,and early-mover advantage is more obvious.When competitors in market increase,later-mover enterprises have greater advantages,and early-mover disadvantage will be more obvious.Finally,based on the previous analysis conclusions,this paper puts forward the following suggestions for the cross-border imported retail e-commerce platform:When faced with first-mover opportunities,the platform should decide whether to enter the market first according to its own resources and capabilities.Those companies which enter market early should avoid "free-riding" behaviors of later-movers,build switching cost through increased customers’ stickiness,and keep up with users’ needs.While later-entry companies should avoid the mistakes of the predecessors,seize niche markets,and positively innovate.