The Lean Startup is a bestselling business book by Eric Ries that has become a global revolution with followers in 17 countries . Its principles have been adopted by early-stage ventures, Fortune 500 companies and even the U.S. government. Its core principle is to test a “minimum viable product” early and gather information to further fine-tune development. The idea is to mitigate risk in the product development process.

But there is a downside to early market testing, according to the research paper, “Experimentation, Learning and Appropriability in Early-Stage Ventures,” by Andrea Contigiani, a researcher at the Mack Institute for Innovation Management and a Wharton doctoral candidate. By releasing early versions of products, companies risk imitation by a competitor.…