Shift in Value Chain and Leverage in the Tech Industry

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The shift in the value chain and leverage in the tech industry has had significant implications. Previously, Microsoft held the leverage due to its platform hosting applications, but with the advent of the web, Google became the singular point of access to numerous websites, shifting the leverage away from Microsoft and up the stack to Google. This shift rendered Microsoft and Windows as commodities, leading to the resurgence of Mac. The shift in the value chain marked the decline of Microsoft despite continued profitability. Missing the next wave of growth can lead to a decline, necessitating organisations to adapt and find a new point of leverage.

Ben and James discuss how leverage shifts in a value chain, why WeChat is so powerful in China, and why that is a problem for Apple.

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Links

Ben Thompson: Apple’s China Problem — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Messaging: Mobile’s Killer App — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Slack and the State of Technology at the End of 2015 — Stratechery
Connie Chan: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China — a16z
Ben Thompson: Peak Google — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Beyond Disruption — Stratechery
James Allworth: The Blessing of Failure — Medium
Ben Thompson: The State of Consumer Technology at the End of 2014 — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? — Stratechery