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Apple Watch: Managing Innovation Resistance

Tania Bucic; Gaganpreet Singh

Product #:9B18A005_P
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Entrepreneurship, International Business, Marketing
Setting:Australia, 2016
Details:Case (PDF) • 8 pages • 2018-01-24 (Rev: 2020-11-13)

Subjects:

Business managementSales and marketingEntrepreneurshipInternational businessMarketing

Industries:

Goods, trade, and consumer services

Geography:

AustraliaAustralia and Oceania
Your Price:$10.54

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Having affirmed its place in the computer, phone, and music markets, Apple Inc. (Apple) decided to embark on a brand extension strategy, shifting its focus to wearable technologies. With this shift in mind, Apple launched the Apple Watch in April 2015 as an attempt to enter different industries. Apple Watch integrated fitness and health features with Apple’s mobile operating system (iOS) and other Apple products and services. Because Apple owned the necessary hardware, software, and services that were augmented through its ecosystem, the watch was virtually inimitable. The innovation thus appeared poised to be a true game changer.

However, in mid-2016, Apple’s chief executive officer, acknowledged that Apple Watch had not created quite the market impact Apple had expected. Apple management had limited options. Should Apple reconfigure the marketing mix to realign Apple’s marketing strategy to reduce resistance to Apple Watch?

Learning Objectives

This case is designed for use in an MBA program. It is suitable for courses in marketing management, strategic management, and innovation.

The key learning objectives of this case study are to understand and consider
  • the conceptual phenomenon of innovation resistance;
  • types of innovation resistance (active versus passive);
  • consumer-centric approaches for managing innovation resistance; and
  • the value of marketing for consumer-centric innovation.
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Case Study: Apple Watch: Managing Innovation Resistance | Ivey Publishing