An Examination of Reseller Buyer Attitudes toward Order of Brand Entry

A national survey of 145 reseller buyers was used to study how brand entry order into new categories affects reseller buyers’ attitudes toward new items. The literature on pioneer brand advantage is extended by finding empirical support for an advantage to pioneer brands with resellers. Also, an important distinction is found between the first me-too follower brand and second or later me-too follower brands. Specifically, reseller buyers have a very favorable attitude toward pioneer brands, a less favorable but still positive attitude toward first me-too follower brands, and an unfavorable attitude toward second or later me-too follower brands. An adaptation of the multiattribute attitude model (that of “importance-likelihood”) served as the psychological basis in an effort to explain how and why these attitudinal differences occurred. A causal model framework then was applied to the data to investigate the significant interrelationships between brand order of entry and reseller buyer beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. The theoretical and managerial implications of entry order effects are discussed.