Dear Colleagues,
The next Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy Research virtual seminar is Wednesday, March 20, from 11:00-12:00 ET. Wendy Bradley (Southern Methodist University) - will present "Competitive Dynamism in Nascent Markets: Trademarks and Superstar Firm Entry in the Metaverse" (with Julian Kolev, USPTO). Mahka Moeen (University of Wisconsin) will discuss. Click the link immediately below to register for the 3/20 seminar (abstract is below). We hope you join us! https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fuconn-edu.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtJMsceGoqjIrHN0F4BXBktDpO6NyvA8pW6fn&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AOvVaw0ht6R9vW2F-ye95c4seIK7
Please visit this LINK to view and register for other Spring 2024 seminars.
- Tim Folta (UCONN), Maryann Feldman (ASU), and Supradeep Dutta (Rutgers U)
Abstract: Does entry by a superstar firm change the competitive dynamics of nascent industries? Using USPTO trademark data and a quasi-experimental design, we explore this question by analysing the development of new products and services in the metaverse. We develop a theoretical framework of heterogeneous strategies for market entry under uncertainty, contrasting competition in digital vs. physical industries. Empirically, we show that firm size has a strong positive correlation with metaverse participation among U.S.-based trademarking firms, and that this effect is amplified for born-digital and international, physical-goods firms. However, following Facebook's entry in 2014, we document a 10% decline in metaverse engagement; decomposing this average effect, larger and born-digital firms were minimally impacted, while international physical-goods firms experienced the largest declines. These results suggest that physical-goods firms are much more sensitive to superstar entry than digital-goods firms in nascent markets. Our analysis contributes to the understanding of intangible assets as key drivers of firms' competitive advantage in the global, digital economy with implications for non-market strategy and antitrust regulation.