Everyone knows advantage is transient but we keep falling into certain traps which are a result of past strategic frameworks or even assumptions stated as facts.
Strategists overall haven't really caught on to this phenomenon, as is exemplified by the fact that we still have people repeating jargon which should have been laid to rest along with Nokia, at the time when Microsoft tried in vain to revive it.
Here are a 7 of the misconceptions, which have been laid out clearly in Rita McGrath's HBR article - Transient Advantage.
The first-mover trap - In most industries now the first mover advantage doesn't last long
The superiority trap - Most offerings take time to mature, so companies usually don't invest in established offerings till they are taken by surprise by up-starts who have invested for some time in the offering
The quality trap - Companies which have an established market charge a premium for what they perceive as a higher quality product leaving themselves exposed to a new competitor who may offer a simpler product with greater value at a better price
The hostage resources trap - It is difficult to shift resources from big, profitable businesses to areas which need investment, leading to stagnation over time.
The white-space trap - The refusal to take up new opportunities due to a lack of experience in a particular space or defining the industry narrowly
The empire-building trap - Companies where hoarding of resources is encouraged leading to loss of innovation
The sporadic innovation trap - Companies where innovation only happens once in a while as there is no process to encourage innovation.