Abstract
The IBM PC was the first digital computer platform that was open by as a matter of strategy, not necessity. The purpose of this chapter is to understand the IBM PC as a technical system and set of organization choices in light of the theory of how technology shapes organizations. In Chapter 7, I argued that sponsors of large technical systems (including platform systems) must manage the modular structure of the system and property rights in a way that solves four inter-related problems: • Provide all essential functional components; • Solve system-wide technical bottlenecks wherever they emerge; • Control and protect one or more strategic bottleneck; and • Prevent others from gaining control of any system-wide strategic bottleneck. I use this framework to understand how IBM initially succeeded with the PC platform and then lost its position as platform sponsor in the industry it had created.
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