$1.$ Friendster was an early mover in the social media space. Jonathan Abrams founded the company in $2002.$ By $2008,$ more than $100$ million people used the social media platform. Friendster grew aggressively in the early years, trying to $$get big fast$$ by adding as many users as possible. It spent aggressively to add users both in North America as well as in Asia. However, the company experienced a dramatic drop in users in subsequent years, as Facebook supplanted both Friendster and MySpace as the leading social media site. By mid$-2011,$ Friendster had abandoned its traditional market and repositioned itself as a social gaming site.

Contrast the Friendster story with the dominance of Boeing in the airplane manufacturing industry. Founded in the early $1900$s by William Boeing, the company has been a pioneer in the military and commercial airplane manufacturing business. It has retained a dominant position in the industry for a century. Boeing operates a very complex manufacturing process. It has been building some of its planes for decades. For instance, the first Beoing $737$ took flight in the late $1960$s$.$ The firms still produces the $737$ today. Since the late $1960$s$,$ Boeing has produced and delivered more than $8,000$ of these jets, making the $737$ the most popular commercial jet ever made. Boeing has manufactured and sold more than $400$ of the $737$ jets in each of the past three years. While Airbus represents a formidable competitor today, Boeing still flourishes in this market.

$$ Why are some key sources of first$-$mover advantage for Boeing that enabled the firm to achieve and sustain its superior competitive position for decades?

$$ What advantages did Friendster have as the first mover in social media?

$$ What disadvantages did Friendster have as the first mover?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Key sources of firstmover advantage for Boeing 1 Brand recognition Boeing has been in the airplane m... View the full answer