Portal Combat Revisited: Success Factors and Evolution in Consumer Web Portals

Abstract

What determines a market leader when business models and technologies can be easily imitated? This work examines this question within the context of the market for free, consumer-oriented Web portals. Factors considered include the length of time a service has been offered, the brand-related make effects of various leading players, and product features that create virtual communities and other switching costs. This analysis demonstrates that there are strong make-related premiums among leading portal players, suggesting that brand value may be a critically important asset for industry players. The study also offers qualified support for the first-mover hypothesis and the benefits of chat and gaming features and notes a lack of significant benefit from leadership in various technology-based service innovations.