IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/erjour/v7y2017i1p30n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Competitive Moves: The Influence of Industry Context and Individual Cognitive Factors

Author

Listed:
  • Zane Lee J.

    (Department of Management, Rider University, Sweigart Hall, Room 233 2083 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA)

  • Kline William

    (Pennsylvania State University, Middletown, PA, USA)

Abstract

Businesses compete in markets with significant uncertainty and choose disparate competitive strategies. Some attack while others appear to wait. While real options logic has been used to explain market entry and exit decisions under uncertainty, few have tied this logic to the characteristics of ventures’ competitive moves. This paper discusses how ventures launch competitive moves, particularly the speed and intensity of action, under contrasting conditions of exogenous uncertainty and first-mover advantage. We argue that the speed and intensity with which entrepreneurs conduct competitive activities are contingent on both their perceptions of the environment and their level of certain cognitive biases. We conducted a two-by-two within-subjects design experiment to test our hypotheses with a sample consisting of service industry professionals.

Suggested Citation

  • Zane Lee J. & Kline William, 2017. "Competitive Moves: The Influence of Industry Context and Individual Cognitive Factors," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:bpj:erjour:v:7:y:2017:i:1:p:30:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/erj-2015-0037
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2015-0037
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/erj-2015-0037?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. van de Vrande, Vareska & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Duysters, Geert, 2009. "External technology sourcing: The effect of uncertainty on governance mode choice," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 62-80, January.
    2. Huizinga, John, 1993. "Inflation Uncertainty, Relative Price Uncertainty, and Investment in U.S. Manufacturing," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 25(3), pages 521-549, August.
    3. Forlani, David & Mullins, John W., 2000. "Perceived risks and choices in entrepreneurs' new venture decisions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 305-322, July.
    4. Hai Yap Teoh & See Liang Foo, 1997. "Moderating effects of tolerance for ambiguity and risktaking propensity on the role conflict-perceived performance relationship: Evidence from singaporean entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 67-81, January.
    5. Li, Yong, 2008. "Duration analysis of venture capital staging: A real options perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 497-512, September.
    6. Campa, Jose & Goldberg, Linda S., 1995. "Investment in manufacturing, exchange rates and external exposure," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3-4), pages 297-320, May.
    7. Amit, Raphael & Brander, James & Zott, Christoph, 1998. "Why do venture capital firms exist? theory and canadian evidence," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 441-466, November.
    8. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Delmar, Frederic & Shane, Scott, 2004. "Legitimating first: organizing activities and the survival of new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 385-410, May.
    10. Forbes, Daniel P., 2005. "Are some entrepreneurs more overconfident than others?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 623-640, September.
    11. F. H. Knight, 1921. "Cost of Production and Price over Long and Short Periods," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(4), pages 304-304.
    12. Paul D. Reynolds & Nancy M. Carter & William B. Gartner & Patricia G. Greene, 2004. "The Prevalence of Nascent Entrepreneurs in the United States: Evidence from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 263-284, November.
    13. Robert McDonald & Daniel Siegel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 707-727.
    14. John Huizinga, 1993. "Inflation uncertainty, relative price uncertainty, and investment in U.S. manufacturing," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, pages 521-557.
    15. Busenitz, Lowell W. & Barney, Jay B., 1997. "Differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations: Biases and heuristics in strategic decision-making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 9-30, January.
    16. Avinash Dixit, 1992. "Investment and Hysteresis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 107-132, Winter.
    17. Baron, Robert A., 1998. "Cognitive mechanisms in entrepreneurship: why and when enterpreneurs think differently than other people," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 275-294, July.
    18. Barbara J. Bird, 1992. "The Operation of Intentions in Time: The Emergence of the New Venture," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 17(1), pages 11-20, October.
    19. Janney, Jay J. & Dess, Gregory G., 2006. "The risk concept for entrepreneurs reconsidered: New challenges to the conventional wisdom," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 385-400, May.
    20. Cynthia E. Devers & Gerry McNamara & Robert M. Wiseman & Mathias Arrfelt, 2008. "Moving Closer to the Action: Examining Compensation Design Effects on Firm Risk," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 548-566, August.
    21. Tornikoski, Erno T. & Newbert, Scott L., 2007. "Exploring the determinants of organizational emergence: A legitimacy perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 311-335, March.
    22. Ming‐Jer Chen & Danny Miller, 1994. "Competitive attack, retaliation and performance: An expectancy‐valence framework," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 85-102, February.
    23. Buckley, Adrian & Tse, Kalun, 1996. "Real operating options and foreign direct investment: A synthetic approach," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 304-314, June.
    24. Simon, Mark & Houghton, Susan M. & Aquino, Karl, 2000. "Cognitive biases, risk perception, and venture formation: How individuals decide to start companies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 113-134, March.
    25. Trigeorgis, Lenos, 1991. "Anticipated competitive entry and early preemptive investment in deferrable projects," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 143-156, May.
    26. Campa, Joe Manuel, 1993. "Entry by Foreign Firms in the United States under Exchange Rate Uncertainty," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 75(4), pages 614-622, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dubard Barbosa, Saulo & Fayolle, Alain & Smith, Brett R., 2019. "Biased and overconfident, unbiased but going for it: How framing and anchoring affect the decision to start a new venture," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 528-557.
    2. Andreas Hack & Frauke Bieberstein & Nils D. Kraiczy, 2016. "Reference point formation and new venture creation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 447-465, March.
    3. Najoua Dali & Sana Harbi, 2016. "The Effect of Risk Perception and Cognitive Biases on the Evaluation of Opportunity in Family and Non-Family Entrepreneurs: The Case of Tunisian Entrepreneurs," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(03), pages 281-312, September.
    4. Saulo Dubard Barbosa & Alain Fayolle & Brett Smith, 2019. "Biased and overconfident, unbiased but going for it: How framing and anchoring affect the decision to start a new venture," Post-Print hal-01988083, HAL.
    5. Kraft, Priscilla S. & Günther, Christina & Kammerlander, Nadine H. & Lampe, Jan, 2022. "Overconfidence and entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of different types of overconfidence in the entrepreneurial process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    6. Vivek Ghosal & Yang Ye, 2015. "Uncertainty and the employment dynamics of small and large businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 529-558, March.
    7. Podoynitsyna, Ksenia & Song, Michael & van der Bij, Hans & Weggeman, Mathieu, 2013. "Improving new technology venture performance under direct and indirect network externality conditions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 195-210.
    8. Wesley II, Curtis L. & Kong, Dejun Tony & Lubojacky, Connor J. & Kim Saxton, M. & Saxton, Todd, 2022. "Will the startup succeed in your eyes? Venture evaluation of resource providers during entrepreneurs' informational signaling," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    9. Magdalena Markowska & Dietmar Grichnik & Jan Brinckmann & Diana Kapsa, 2019. "Strategic orientations of nascent entrepreneurs: antecedents of prediction and risk orientation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 859-878, December.
    10. Oliver Thomas, 2018. "Two decades of cognitive bias research in entrepreneurship: What do we know and where do we go from here?," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 68(2), pages 107-143, April.
    11. Zellweger, Thomas & Sieger, Philipp & Halter, Frank, 2011. "Should I stay or should I go? Career choice intentions of students with family business background," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 521-536, September.
    12. Alan Carruth & Andy Dickerson & Andrew Henley, 2000. "What do We Know About Investment Under Uncertainty?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 119-154, April.
    13. Cucchiarini, Veronica & Scicchitano, Sergio & Viale, Riccardo, 2024. "The Entrepreneur's Cognitive and Behavioral Journey: Understanding Heuristics and Bias under Risk and Uncertainty," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1390, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Jaeyeob Jeong & Myeonggil Choi, 2017. "The Expected Job Satisfaction Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention as Career Choice in the Cultural and Artistic Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-16, September.
    15. Ahmadi, Maryam & Manera, Matteo & Sadeghzadeh, Mehdi, 2019. "The investment-uncertainty relationship in the oil and gas industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    16. Sandri, Serena & Schade, Christian & Mußhoff, Oliver & Odening, Martin, 2010. "Holding on for too long? An experimental study on inertia in entrepreneurs' and non-entrepreneurs' disinvestment choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 30-44, October.
    17. Ksenia Podoynitsyna & Hans Van der Bij & Michael Song, 2012. "The Role of Mixed Emotions in the Risk Perception of Novice and Serial Entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(1), pages 115-140, January.
    18. Levesque, Moren & Schade, Christian, 2005. "Intuitive optimizing: experimental findings on time allocation decisions with newly formed ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 313-342, May.
    19. Hean Tat Keh & Maw Der Foo & Boon Chong Lim, 2002. "Opportunity Evaluation under Risky Conditions: The Cognitive Processes of Entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(2), pages 125-148, April.
    20. Kambiz Talebi & Pouria Nouri & Abdolah Ahmadi Kafeshani, 2014. "What Factors Contribute to Entrepreneurs’ Decision Making Biases? A Comprehensive Study," International Journal of Management Sciences, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 4(2), pages 59-68.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:erjour:v:7:y:2017:i:1:p:30:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.