In 1975 Sony introduced into the market the Betamax video cassette recorder (VCR). This has been the main actor of an interesting competitive battle in the consumer electronics industry. In detail, this industry was at its early stage, and standards were not defined yet. Apparently Sony built a valid and good strategy that was supposed to win the standard war against its main competitor VHS, a VCR provided by Matsushita. However, Matsushita performed a different strategy that have lead it as winner (Raynor 2007).
Even if Sony’s strategy was well-built, Sony lost this standard war due to other unpredictable factors such as market and technological uncertainties. This paper aims to analyze these factors in detail, with a complementary identification of the rationale beyond Sony’s strategic choices, and a consequential identification of the strategic choices that it would have done differently.
Furthermore, rationale beyond Matsushita’s strategic choices will be studied as well, and the competitive battle will be analyzed also from the technology point of view.
Hence, it’s interesting to observe how these two firms have adopted so different strategies, in alignment with the firm corporate strategy, and how they focused in different product attributes. So, the outcome of this paper will be understandings of the insight of Sony’s strategy in relation to relevant literature.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Analysis of the reasons of Sony's failure
- Analysis of factors which made Matsushita's approach successful
- Analysis from Technology point of view
- Strategic choices Sony could have made differently...
- Discussion and Conclusion..
- References....
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper examines the competitive battle between Sony and Matsushita in the consumer electronics industry, specifically focusing on the development and adoption of video cassette recorders (VCRs). It aims to analyze the factors that led to Sony's failure despite having a well-built strategy, identifying the rationale behind Sony's strategic choices and exploring alternative paths they could have taken. The paper also examines the strategic choices made by Matsushita, leading to their success. Moreover, the study delves into the technology adoption process and its implications for the competition.
- Analysis of Sony's strategic choices and their rationale
- Exploring alternative strategies Sony could have adopted
- Examining the factors that led to Matsushita's success
- Analyzing the competitive battle from a technology perspective
- Investigating the role of market and technological uncertainties in the competition.
Chapter Summaries
- Introduction: The paper sets the stage for the competitive battle between Sony and Matsushita in the VCR market. It highlights the industry's early stage and the absence of defined standards, emphasizing the importance of standard wars in shaping the industry's trajectory. The paper outlines its objectives, focusing on the analysis of strategic choices, factors contributing to Sony's failure, and the rationale behind Matsushita's success.
- Analysis of the reasons of Sony's failure: This chapter delves into Sony's strategic choices, examining their decision to compete with Matsushita rather than collaborate. The chapter introduces the "Lead to Win" tool, which helps companies decide between competition and collaboration based on factors like available resources, complementary assets, and market for ideas. Applying this tool to Sony's case, the chapter analyzes their decision to compete, focusing on the dependence of complementary assets on their competitor.
Keywords
This paper delves into the realm of technological change and strategic decision-making, focusing on the competitive landscape of the consumer electronics industry. Key themes include standard wars, strategic choices, technology adoption, market and technological uncertainties, and the analysis of Sony's failure and Matsushita's success. The paper utilizes frameworks like the "Lead to Win" tool to assess strategic decisions and the importance of complementary assets in shaping competitive outcomes.
- Quote paper
- Giulia Lucarelli (Author), 2015, Betamax vs VHS. A Case Study of the Competitive Battle of Video Cassette Recording Systems, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/307982
