Post-shakeout Performance, Survivor Bias and the Meaning of Success

A new market poses many questions for potential entrants. Among the most pertinent ones are which factors contribute to firm’s survival. But whether the same factor is equally beneficial at the time of entry and at a later stage has been rarely addressed. Consequently, we explore the dynamism of firm-controlled survival determinants and their correspondence to sales drivers. Our contributions are twofold – exploring the time-varying effect of survival determinants and comparing them to sales determinants after a shakeout in the market. We demonstrate the dangers of generalizing about success factors without considering their dynamic nature or the firm’s strategic objectives.