This case chronicles the development of the market for electronic books – the success of Amazon’s Kindle reading device, and Apple’s April 2010 launch of the iPad for e-book reading and also for watching videos, surfing the web, etc. The broader context is the book publishing industry and how e-books and e-readers affect its dynamics. The case focuses on the strategies of Amazon, Apple, and the book publishers.
The case allows a discussion of several issues: 1) How disruptive technologies can impact an industry; 2) How technology changes the vertical integration advantages and disadvantages in the supply chain, forcing all supply chain actors to rethink their strategy, and 3) The competition between a uni-dimensional technology (Kindle) and a technology bundle (iPad).
- technology convergence
- substitution
- disruptive technology
- network effects
- vertical integration
- supply chain deconstruction
- bundling
- pricing
- RD0111
- AR2011
- AR1011
