978-0134149530 Chapter 3 Sony Battling the Marketing Environments Perfect Storm

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Company Case 3

Sony: Battling the Marketing Environment’s “Perfect Storm”

Synopsis

Not so long ago, Sony was the market leader in consumer electronics. Everyone owned at

least one, and probably multiple, Sony devices. But the market changed and Sony didn’t.

Clinging to its rigid engineering culture, Sony was passed by more nimble and dynamic

competitors. Various factors in the microenvironment and macroenvironment changed

and caused changes. This included a string of natural disasters that set Sony back even

more. This case examines Sony’s struggles over the past decade and what lies in its

future.

Teaching Objectives

The teaching objectives for this case are to:

1. Identify how microenvironmental factors can affect a strong, established business.

2. Identify how macronenvironmental factors can affect a strong, established

business.

3. Identify strategic issues in responding to environmental factors.

4. Formulate recommendations for a company in crisis.

Discussion Questions

1. What microenvironmental factors have affected Sony’s performance since 2000?

The Company – Sony didn’t lose the capabilities that made it great, but its

Competitors – Sony was hit by many new competitors that were younger, more

Customers – Because of many things that were changing in the

2. What macroenvironmental factors have affected Sony’s performance during that

period?

 Economic – The Great Recession.

Natural – Tsunami in Japan, floods in Thailand, riots and fires in Europe,

shuttering Sony plants as well as supplier plants.

Part 1: Defining Marketing and the Marketing Process

 Political – This includes regulation and legal issues. Although not mentioned

Cultural – Cultural values of convenience, virtual experiences, constant

3. What stands in the way of Sony’s success today?

Primarily, Sony stands in the way of itself. The thing that should come out of this

case more than anything else is that Sony’s rigid engineering culture is what

Teaching Suggestions

Give students a few minutes to respond privately to the following questions:

How do you listen to music?

How do you watch television programs and movies?

How much do you spend each month on purchasing music and video content?

How do you communicate with others?

What consumer electronic devices do you own?

Lead a discussion on these questions. Then transition into a discussion on the Sony case.

You might share your own experiences with respect to these questions, especially if you

are old enough to have been in high school and college in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. How

much was Sony a part of your life prior to 2000? Students today will have a hard time

understanding just how and why Sony was such a dominant player in the market.

This case was developed to be used with Chapter 3. This case also works well with the

marketing strategy chapter (Chapter 2).