Importance of Product Innovation at Sony

Importance of Product Innovation at SonySearching for Sonys redemption The Turnaround Strategy of an Industrial GiantThere is no disbelieve that Sony, one of the greatest companies of the twentieth century, accredited with being the creators of products such(prenominal) as the portable radio, Walkman, and PlayStation, to name but a few, is no longer the extract of old. zero(prenominal)longer does it rule the roost in the consumer electronics industry to the goal that it did in decades gone by. No longer does it feature among the worlds most precious brands as it did at the peak of its powers. Founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akito Morita in post-war keen of Japan, Sony, or Tokyo Tsuchin Kogyo KK (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), the predecessor of Sony, started as a small company with capital of just 190,000 yen and less than a couple of dozen employees (Sony, n.d.). Yet, in this laid the foundations of what was to become one of, if not, the most iconic consumer electronics company in the world, worth an estimated $7.6 billion as at 2016 (Forbes, 2016) with more than 125,000 employees on its payroll (Sony, n.d.). However, it is fair to say that in new years, Sonys performance has fallen miserable of expectations. jibe to the object lesson study, the company has failed to tap into new opportunities, and been criticised for being complacent and over-reliant on past winneres. The aim of this assignment, therefore, is to firstly, discuss the importance of product existence to the futurity success of Sony, in regard to the changing foodstuff purlieu secondly, conduct a chock up analysis of Sony and thirdly, recommend a run away of action for Sony based on an exploration of the strategic options available, in an act to turnaround the industrial giants ailing fortunes. In so doing, this assignment explores the gravestone concepts at the heart of each discussion and applies them within the scene of the case study, around which the qu estions are based.Discuss the importance of product innovation to the future success of Sony, in regard to the changing trade surroundings.In give to fully appreciate the importance of product innovation to the future success of Sony, there are several issues which must be examined. For example, the concept of the merchandiseing environment should first be defined and broken down, likewise the sue of environmental see that leave back end lead on from this, and only therefore can such a discussion begin to take place.The marketing environment can be defined as the actors and forces that affect a companys capability to run low effectively in providing products and services to its customers (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016). In former(a) words, the marketing environment includes all the factors that deliver an impact upon the decisions, policies, and strategies of an plaque. On the looking of it, therefore, the marketing environment is a one-dimensional concept that is ea sy-to-understand. However, that is by no means correct. Indeed, there are multiple facets of the marketing environment thus it is vital to break it down into its component parts.The marketing environment is still of the macro environment and small environment. Whereas the former consists of a number of patient of forces that affect not only the company but also the former(a) actors in the microenvironment, (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016 38) the latter consists of the actors in the firms immediate environment that affect its capabilities to operate effectively in its chosen markets. (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016 55) To put it more simply, the macro environment revolves around external factors, in contrast to the micro environment, the focus of which is on ingrained factors. For example, the macro environment includes political, economic, social, scientific, legal, and ecological factors that affect an organisation, all of which will be expanded upon later in the discussion . The micro environment, meanwhile, includes competitors, customers, distributors, and suppliers. These shape the denotation of the opportunities and threats facing a company and yet are largely uncontrollable.In order to combat the uncontrollability of the marketing environment, it is essential that organisations adopt a schema for dealing with such a problem. This leads us to the concept of environmental scanning. According to Huczynski and Buchanan (2016), environment scanning refers to processes through which the impact of external trends and developments on the internal functioning of an organisation can be determined and forecasted. Diffenbach (1983) finds that organisations can gather the rewards from carrying out the process of environmental scanning. Chief amongst the multitudinous advantages it can press home are enhanced general cognisance of, and responsiveness to, changes in the marketing environment improved strategic planning and decision-making better industry an d market analysis and more efficient energy planning.As far as the macro environment is concerned, one of the widely used approaches to environmental scanning is a PESTLE analysis. This is an environmental scanning tool identifying political, economic, social, technological, legal, and ecological factors that have an effect on an organisation. Political factors influencing organisations emerge from decisions made and actions taken by the government. For example, taxation rates may change which will affect the favorableness of an organisation. Economic factors arise from the state of the countrys wealth. If there is a recession, for example, it slows down the saving as people are less likely to spend unnecessarily which, in turn, impacts upon sales and profits. Social factors refer to the ways in which beau monde changes and the requirement for organisations to acclimatise in the same way. For example, changing demographic forces such as an ageing population may mean appetite for especial(a) products either peters out or grows. Technological factors relate to the rapidly evolving technological advancements that marketers have to keep abreast with and invest in to remain competitory. jural factors include the implementation of specific laws, which, for example, may necessitate the payment of a statutory minimum wage by organisations to their workforces. Ecological factors, meanwhile, revolves around environmental concerns and reducing toxic emissions, pollution, and spills. These factors cannot be controlled but can prepare the organisation for changes that may take place in the marketing environment (Morrison and Daniels, 2010). presently that we have explored the concepts at the heart of the question, namely innovation, and the marketing environment, tying in with environmental scanning and PESTLE analysis, it is possible to apply these within the context of Sony.Beginning with the micro environment, Sony has faced increasing be of competitors in recent years. Indeed, the case study alludes to the fact that aggressive competitors are stealing market share in key markets where once it dominated. For example, within the mobile scream sector, multination corporations such as Apple and, to a greater extent, Samsung are at present seen as the dominant forces. Together, Samsung and Apple, the top two global smartphone brands, accounted for more than 42% of the worldwide market share in the first quarter of 2016. (TrendForce, 2016) By stark contrast, Sony did not even feature among the top five, lagging behind in the others category. Hopes had initially been high that Sonys range of phones, complete with top-of-the-range camera capabilities and Walkman-branded capabilities alter them to be transformed into portable digital music gadgets, would see them recapture the lead in the market. However, Sonys strategy to market Walkman-branded products against the likes of Apples highly innovative and lucky iPhone range has yet to yield succ ess and is unlikely to do so in light of how outdated the Walkman is in comparison to their opposite numbers latest device. Just as technology is evolving, so too is it the duty of marketers to keep up-to-date with such changes in an attempt to remain competitive in the marketplace. Thus, the importance of product innovation should be underplayed from a micro marketing environment perspective.That said, it can be argued that it is of equal importance in a macro environment sense too.Conduct a SWOT analysis on Sony.What are the strategic options available to Sony? Furthermore, recommend a course of action for Sony, giving reasons for your answer.BibliographyDiffenbach, John (1983) Corporate Environmental compend in Large US Corporations, Long-Range Planning Vol. 16 No. 3 pp107-16Forbes Website (2016) The Worlds Most Valuable Brands https//www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/tabrank accessed third March 2017Huczynski, Andrzej and Buchanan, David (2013) Organizational Behaviour eighth Edition, PearsonJobber, David and Ellis-Chadwick, Fiona (2016) Principles and Practice of Marketing 8th Edition, London McGraw-Hill EducationMorrison, Mike and Daniels, Kathy (2010) Pestle Analysis Factsheet, London lease Institute for Personnel and DevelopmentSony Website (no date)TrendForce Website