They usually don't win in the long-run because someone comes along with
> better design, cheaper price, better range, better reliability
That doesn't mean the first mover advantage doesn't exist.
> better design, cheaper price, better range, better reliability
That doesn't mean the first mover advantage doesn't exist.
They are trapped by the decisions they made as first movers, while later incumbents have freedom to create improvements without worry about the installed base.
Apple is one company that never seemed to fall into that trap. They just tell the installed base “fuck you, buy the new thing” and somehow get away with it.
Apple comes in and innovates against something that existed but was user hostile.
It actually did happen to Apple over a long enough horizon, they cornered the paid digital music market by perfecting it, and upended it, and didn't innovate/upend again, and along came Spotify to upend it for them.