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First movers (pioneers), as the name indicates, are the rst entrants to
the market. The classic example is a pharmaceutical company to introduce a
new category of drugs immediately after obtaining FDA approval. All other
pharmaceutical entrants will follow with a “variation of the theme” product.
From a marketing standpoint, the rst movers may dominate the largest mar-
ket share for a prolonged period of time.
Followers may never gain much market traction, but are not as nan-
cially exposed as the rst movers are. Current examples are car manufactur-
ers Fisker and Tesla, who were pioneers in the introduction of electric cars,
but were forced to declare bankruptcy in 2013. Perhaps follower companies,
with the advantage of hindsight, may be more successful.
Specialists concentrate all their skills in one single niche market,
develop a formidable core competency, and end up offering a family of
superior products, at least for a while. If successful, specialists will be cop-
ied by followers, capitalizing on the specialists’ initial success.
Generalists attempt to spread their skills across many market niches
(“do not put all your eggs in one basket”). Generalists are most successful
when the business environment is uncertain because their risk prole has
been spread over a variety of market niches.
5.4.1 Greiner’s Model of Organizational Growth
In 1972, Greiner published his seminal research on the evolution and revolu-
tion as organizations grow.
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According to this model, organizations encoun-
ter a predictable series of problems (crises) that must be managed if the
edgling organization is allowed to survive, thrive, and mature in a complex
and challenging environment.
The Greiner model consists of ve stages of growth. To advance from
one stage to the next, the organization must successfully manage and solve
the corporate, nancial, and technological problems seen in each stage,
including the predictable “crises” typically associated with each stage. This is
illustrated in Figure5.2.
According to this model, startups are characterized by stages, dened
as a number of predictable, discrete, and consistent growth phases.
Revolutions are dened as those periods of substantial turmoil in organi-
zational life. Crises are an important feature, dened as periods of relatively
stable growth, interspersed with periods of chaotic and discontinued growth.