IBM couldn't compete with Dell and other direct to buyer manufacturers - but it wasn't because of IP. It was economic. IBM's sales channel had two extra levels of markup, inventory that would go obsolete in warehouses (and have to be bought back by IBM to keep their resellers and distributors happy), it took 4-6 weeks to go from the manufacturer's loading dock to the customer's desktop. Then there was configuration: Dell and the directs custom made each computer - make it once. You had to get an IBM out of the box, rip out what you didn't want and replace it - make it twice - which added even more to the cost.
You're not wrong that OS contributed to it, but having no IP moat (proprietary hw/sw) was the cherry on top, but not the entire sundae.
IBM could have fixed the IP moat by shipping OS/2 for free, but that still would not have fixed the channel problem. The channel problem made an IBM PC cost 20-30% more than their competitors... regardless of OS.
You're not wrong that OS contributed to it, but having no IP moat (proprietary hw/sw) was the cherry on top, but not the entire sundae.
IBM could have fixed the IP moat by shipping OS/2 for free, but that still would not have fixed the channel problem. The channel problem made an IBM PC cost 20-30% more than their competitors... regardless of OS.