Apple iPhone™: Reshaping the Strategic Network
Ian Braithwaite · 2007
The Apple iPhone™ has received much publicity in recent months. Stories about company hype, blog discussions, fanatical demand and how the product would transform mobile phone user experience have been common. The iPhone represents a significant shift in Apple’ strategic focus. A less examined aspect of this phenomenon is its potential to transform the surrounding network of suppliers, customers, competitors and end users of consumer electronic devices. This paper will explore the capacity of Apple, as a late market entrant, to reshape the strategic network in the US cell phone market. Industry practices are being altered as consumers, using iTunes software, activate their phones online at a time and place of their choosing. Potential impacts on wireless carriers, rival handset manufacturers and phone operating system software will be examined.