A Study on the Co-opetition Strategies of Major Operating Systems in the Mobile Internet Industry
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Shen, Yu-Chia
Abstract
Since the launch of the first generation of mobile device till now, along with the development of technology (the evolution of mobile internet devices), the services (the development and penetration of mobile broadband), and the applications (the mobile application/software), mobile device has been fastly evolved from simply providing voice to mobile internet services. While the smartphones evolving to be more and more powerful devices and people starting to extend their internet usage behavior from computer to smartphone, mobile internet related businesses have made two distinctive industries, i.e, mobile communication and computer information, converged into one fast growing market. As smartphone becomes a dominant device for mobile internet services, the competitive situation of three major operating systems becomes an interesting issue to study. This thesis attempts to apply value net analysis and platform strategy framework to unravel the co-opitition relationships, strategic move of the three major smartphone operating systems, Google Android, Apple iOS, Microsoft Windows Phone 7, in the mobile internet industry.
We found that together with smartphone manufacturers, mobile operators, digital contents/services/application developers, Apple, Google and Microsoft all create a platform to interact with their counterparts in the mobile internet market. We found that the scope and numbers of complementors are critical to the success of the platform. In addition, we also found that no matter closed operating system platforms, such as Apple iOS, or open operating system platforms, such as Google Android, Microsoft, four groups of players (smartphone manufacturers, mobile operators, digital content / services / application developers) form inter-dependent symbiosis around respective platform. The players usually establish, consolidate or expand their money side first, then decide their investment in the subsidy side. Different money-side resources make these major operating system platforms cut into the mobile internet market from different angles. Additionally, platform strategy attracts more participants from different industries into the mobile internet field, especially digitial contents/service. The co-opitition relationship among the players in the mobile internet value net becomes more complex and diverse. The outcome of the battles among these three major smartphone operating systems depends on their business models. With all these observations, we further proposed strategic suggestions for Google, Apple, Microsoft, and recommendations for the future research.
We found that together with smartphone manufacturers, mobile operators, digital contents/services/application developers, Apple, Google and Microsoft all create a platform to interact with their counterparts in the mobile internet market. We found that the scope and numbers of complementors are critical to the success of the platform. In addition, we also found that no matter closed operating system platforms, such as Apple iOS, or open operating system platforms, such as Google Android, Microsoft, four groups of players (smartphone manufacturers, mobile operators, digital content / services / application developers) form inter-dependent symbiosis around respective platform. The players usually establish, consolidate or expand their money side first, then decide their investment in the subsidy side. Different money-side resources make these major operating system platforms cut into the mobile internet market from different angles. Additionally, platform strategy attracts more participants from different industries into the mobile internet field, especially digitial contents/service. The co-opitition relationship among the players in the mobile internet value net becomes more complex and diverse. The outcome of the battles among these three major smartphone operating systems depends on their business models. With all these observations, we further proposed strategic suggestions for Google, Apple, Microsoft, and recommendations for the future research.
Subjects
Mobile Internet
Smartphone
Operating Systems
Value Net
Platform Strategy
Type
thesis
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