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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.
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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).
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