Abstract
The context of casual-dining restaurants in emerging markets represents a unique sector in the foodservice industry and this study represents the first analysis of the impact of entry timing on firm performance for casual-dining foodservice firms in a developing market. A theoretical model of the hypothesized relationships was developed. Data were collected from three hundred and one users of forty-one separate casual-dining restaurant chains in the country of Kuwait. Regression and path analyses were used to test the model. Although market penetration is revealed to have a positive direct effect on market share, market entry timing is shown to exhibit a negative direct effect on market share. This means that later entrants with less time-in-market actually exhibit larger market share than earlier entrants; thus, providing contrary evidence to a first-mover effect. Therefore, early entry is not as important in this setting as may be expected since later entrants are likely to introduce new and innovative offerings capable of overcoming the presumed pioneering advantages of early entrants.