The value of being second: Exploring the legitimation work of second-mover platform ventures in underdeveloped markets

Is entering a nascent foreign platform market second after a global pioneer a disadvantage or a strategic opportunity? While prior research suggests that pioneering firms in foreign markets accrue first-mover advantages, burgeoning studies point to an increasingly short-lived benefit. This paper adds to the extant discourse on second-mover advantage by exploring how foreign second-mover digital platform ventures establish legitimacy in an underdeveloped context where a global pioneer has already gained legitimacy and shaped local expectations. Data for our enquiry, including 53 interviews with managers and drivers and publicly available sources, comes from a qualitative case study of a second-mover ridesharing platform in Ghana. Our analysis of the data reveals three legitimation pathways adopted by the second-mover digital platform firm to secure legitimacy advantages from stakeholders—pragmatic, sociopolitical, and moral paths. We find that these pathways are co-enacted through continuous relational and adaptive engagement with relevant stakeholders. We propose a relational–adaptive framework that contributes to the ongoing discourse at the intersection of digital platform internationalisation, legitimacy, and foreign second mover strategies in underdeveloped market contexts.