Co-opetition Strategies of e-Reader Firms---A Case of Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony

自90年代以來，電子書及電子書閱讀器已成為出版產業最熱門的話題。2007年Amazon公司推出Kindle電子書閱讀器，成功的結合硬體、軟體、內容、通訊、平台，創造一新的商業模式，改變此產業生態。隨著數位閱讀的普及，人們的閱讀及消費習慣逐漸改變，未來將帶動周邊相關產業興起，創造另一波數位革命。 本研究以Brandenburger與Nalebuff(1996)提出的價值網與競合策略理論為架構，首先分析電子書閱讀器的產業現況，接著以此產業中的代表性廠商Amazon作為價值網的中心，將Barnes & Noble及Sony置於競爭者的角色，分析其價值網體系內，與各參與者之間的互動關係，並進一步以PARTS架構分析Amazon的競合策略，最後則提出及歸納此產業獨特之競合關係，並對現存或後進廠商給予策略建議。 本研究發現，以電子書閱讀器產業面的角度來看有兩大競合特質。第一，平板電腦、智慧型手機等參與者，同時扮演競爭者與互補者的角色，原因在於電子書閱讀器廠商開發出的跨平台應用程式，讓不同參與者也能閱讀自家平台的電子書；第二，傳統出版商也同時身為競爭者與互補者，原因在於出版商除了出版實體書籍之外，同時也是數位內容提供者。另外，以Amazon為中心的價值網，主要可發現四種競合關係。第一，B&N、Sony等電子書閱讀器廠商，以及平板電腦、智慧型手機，因供應商來源相似度高，與Amazon競爭產能的同時亦能形成採購聯盟；第二，B&N、Sony等電子書閱讀器廠商，以及平板電腦、智慧型手機，與Amazon競爭顧客的同時亦扮演互補的角色；第三，出版商同時也身為數位內容提供者；第四，消費者成為獨立作家，也就是互補者的角色。 最後，本研究認為，Amazon的成功關鍵不在於硬體，而是商業模式的創新、內容與服務、納入互補者及將競爭者轉化為互補者的能力。且廠商須同時經營內容平台，與平板電腦之間的競爭界線將越來越模糊，需要橫跨不同領域的業者合作與交流。此產業的廠商可考慮的競合策略有以下六點，包括：與出版商及作家合作，開發跨平台應用程式、上游原料採購、增加其他互補者、模仿競爭對手及提供出版平台。E-books and e-book readers have been discussed in the publishing industry since 1990. Amazon launched Kindle in 2007. It has combined hardware, software, contents, wireless internet and platforms sucessfully and created a new business model and thus changed the ecosystem in this industry. With the popularity of digital reading, people have changed the habit of reading and consuming gradually. In the foreseeable future, relevent industries will rise and create another digital revolution. Based on value net model and co-opetition strategies proposed by Brandenburger & Nalebuff(1996), this research first provides analyses on e-reader industry. Then we put the representative firm Amazon in the center of value net and put Barnes and Noble, Sony in the Competitors block. After that we analyze the value net of Amazon and the relationships with other players. Furthermore, we analyze the co-opetition strategies of Amazon based on PARTS. Finally, we generalize the distict co-opetition characteristics and give suggestions in the e-reader industry for incumbent and potential firms. This research finds that there are two main co-opetition characteristics from the industry perspective. First, tablet PC and smart phone play the role of competitors and complementors simultaneously. Second, traditional publishers are also competitors and complementors. Besides, we can find four main co-opetition relationships in the value net of Amazon. First, e-reader firms like B&N Sony, tablet PC and smart phone compete capacity of suppliers with Amazon. They can also form purchasing alliance. Second, e-reader firms like B&N Sony, tablet PC and smart phone not only compete customers but also be regarded as complementors for Amazon. Third, publishers also play the role of digital content providers. Fourth, customers become individual writers and meanwhile become complementors of Amazon. Finally, this research suggests that the key success factor of Amazon lies not in the hardware but in the innovation of business model, contents and services, complementors and the capabilities of turning competitors into complementos. In addition, firms in e-reader industry can consider the following co-opetition strategies, including cooperation with publishers and writers, development of cross-platform apps, jointly procurement from suppliers, other complementors, imitation of competitors and provision of publishing platforms