A firm that is first to the market with a new product frequently discovers that there are
design flaws or problems with the product that were not anticipated. How do these
problems affect the innovating firm?
A) The firm is protected by a first-mover advantage: initial design flaws tend not to
harm a firm significantly because consumers resist changing products for fear of
incurring high switching costs.
B) They reduce profits for the new innovations and open the door to competitors who
can enter the new market with a better product.
C) Because these design flaws were not anticipated, consumers tend to be more
forgiving and are likely to remain loyal to the company and its products.
D) The firm’s cost increases as it improves the product but it will not be able to raise its
price for fear of alienating customers. Consequently, its profits will erode although its
market share remains secure.
A monopolistically competitive firm earning profits in the short run will find the
demand for its product decreasing and becoming more elastic in the long run as new
firms move into the industry until
A) the original firm is driven into bankruptcy.
B) the firm’s demand curve is perfectly elastic.
C) the firm’s demand curve is tangent to its average total cost curve.
D) the firm exits the market.