First-mover advantage is defined as the advantage gained by the initial significant occupant of a market segment. A market participant has a sustainable first-mover advantage if it is the first entrant and gains a competitive advantage through control of valuable resources that are inaccessible to competitors that enter the market later on.

In class, we used network effects as a source of first-mover advantage, but there exist other sources of first-mover advantage such as patents or state sponsorship.

Can data as an asset serve as a source of sustainable first-mover advantage? You can justify your answer with examples where data as an asset does or does not create benefits/values for the first- mover and by discussing why these assets/benefits are or are not easily accessible by the second- mover.