In a continuous-time model with uncertain market development, two potential entrants detect a nascent demand only if it reaches a firm-specific threshold. Entry occurs by investing irreversibly before competing in quantities. When leadership in the investment stage implies a first-mover...

Many start-ups chose to compete with incumbent firms using one of two generic strategies: cost leadership or differentiation. Our study demonstrates how this choice depends on whether the startup was founded out of necessity. Our results, based on a representative data set of 4,568 German...