Online market entry: the motivations for imitation across retailer types

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Date

2014

Authors

Bhatnagar, Amit
Nikolaeva, Ralitza
Ghose, Sanjoy

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Managerial and Decision Economics

Abstract

This study examines the motivations for imitation in retailers’ online channel entry. Extant literature suggests that legitimacy and efficiency are the primary motivators for firms to imitate. We develop hypotheses which center on the belief that not all firm types would use the same motivator for deciding to imitate and enter the online market; legitimacy would be the driving force for some retailer types while efficiency would be the motivator for others. We test our hypotheses on a unique data collected from multiple sources. Our findings confirm that the motivators for imitation vary across retailer types. Bhatnagar, Amit and Nikolaeva, Ralitza and Ghose, Sanjoy, Online Market Entry: The Motivations for Imitation Across Retailer Types (November 2014). Managerial and Decision Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2522084

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Keywords

Imitative Behavior, online retailing, legitimacy, efficiency, channel entry, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Business and economics

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