James Curry 7 Martin Kenney

F -COMMERCE IS AFFECTING the terms of competition in many indusi tries because it makes it possible to rearrange and restructure segments of the value chain. This chapter explores the impact of e-commerce on the personal computer (PC) industry. The PC is particularly appropriate for study for a number of reasons—most important because it is the device linking most persons to the Internet and because the PC industry played a significant role in exploring new business models that were later adopted by other industries. The most prominent experimenter with the new business model was Dell Computer. Not only PC firms but nearly every other firm involved in producing and selling a product has evinced interest in the Dell model.' Dell Computer was successful in an industry characterized by