The Internet phenomenon of late has instigated a fresh surge of interest in the first-mover advantage theory and offers proof of its continued relevance today. Following a critical analysis of the first-mover advantage theory literature, theoretical and empirical inconsistencies are identified within the literature. A 'stalemate' position has arisen, where the question as to the optimal entry strategy remains, i.e. should a firm enter as a first-mover, bearing extra costs and risks to avail of first-mover advantages, or should it wait and enter when the market has developed and learn by the first-movers' mistakes, but in doing so sacrifice initial market share? The aim of this theoretical paper is to illustrate future direction for the first-mover literature in which it takes a fresh look at the first-mover theory, adopting a resource-based perspective. It is proposed that the broad theoretical base of the resource-based view of the firm will assist in gaining a deeper understanding of 'how' and 'why' first-movership has resulted in a sustainable competitive advantage or not. Two fundamental considerations in understanding the sustainability of a first-mover advantage will be dealt with, including the accumulation of resources by the first-mover on entering early to the market and the initial resources the first-mover brings to the market, relative to the quality of resources held by later entrants. Research propositions are outlined to assist in furthering research within the first-mover literature.