Animating the Pioneer versus Late Entrant Debate: An Historic Case Study
通过美国动画产业的历史案例，研究后来者如何克服先驱者的优势，发现专利保护有限、自满情绪、技术人才流动及管理因素等是关键。
This paper examines the debate about whether early entrants/pioneers to an industry enjoy long–term advantage over their successors. While most of the research suggests that pioneers are advantaged, there are methodological problems with these studies that tend to enhance the likelihood that pioneers will be found to be more successful. Through a case study of the US animation industry, it is shown that being a late entrant was almost certainly advantageous to some of the companies concerned. The paper explores the reasons why some late entrants prevailed over others and some of the mechanisms that allowed late entrants to overcome pioneers. The factors involved in survival relative to pioneers include the limited protection of patents, complacency, the mobility of staff with expertise in a new technology (in this case cel animation), and the neglected importance of managerial and organizational factors. It is shown that the findings also have implications for the population ecology approach.