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 firstmovers' 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.