Sony Case Study

External Business Environmental Factors that Affected Sony
Sony Corporation is a company that manufactures electronic products that is headquartered in Japan (Sony Corporation Headquarters). Its innovative products such as Walkman portable music player, PlayStation, and Trinitron TV used to win customers’ heart. However, as time goes by Sony started to lose its position in the market due to its external environments factors of its place of operation. Hence this paper will discuss the different factors that had led to Sony’s poor performance that was discussed on the case study that was given to class.
Microenvironmental Factors that Affected Sony
The first question on the case study was regarding the different factors that had affected Sony’s

While other similar companies tried to connect people to a more digital world, Sony was late in responding to these changes—it could have succeed, but as what was stated on the case study, “…that vision (Sony’s) never materialized.” With that said Sony might be able to get a grip on its position again, by developing new product that is/are more innovative and develop its currently existing products.
Customers
Sony started out as a company that was known to drive the pop culture into the industry, which as a result attracted many people’s attention. However, Sony failed to keep up with the trend which led customers to shift to other brands. Since nowadays we are moving towards something more digital, looking more closely to its customer’s demand might allow Sony to bring back its customers.
In addition, in understanding the business environment, we can also use the SWOT analysis. The table below represents the SWOT of Sony:
INTERNAL FACTORS
STRENGTHS (+) WEAKNESSES (-)
• Diverse Customer Base
• Diverse Product and Service • Slow adaptation to trends
• Unsustainable profitability EXTERNAL FACTORS
OPPORTUNITIES (+) THREATS (-)
• Government may give support to Sony for recovery (Japan).
• Develop more products or develop its existing products to match the current

As it was mentioned in the case, the writer stated that Sony “fell behind technology.” With the emergence of internet and other advanced technology, other companies saw this as an opportunity to grow their business. However it is different from Sony; they acknowledged the opportunity, but they chose not to follow the demands in the market. If only they took the opportunity to keep up with the new technologies, Sony would have kept its position in the market. Other than that, the case also mentioned about Sony’s data being hacked. This was out of the company’s control, but Sony could have made its security tighter, knowing that nowadays information can be obtained easily through the internet.
Environmental
In Sony’s case, the environmental factor that affected the company was the natural disaster that hit their plants. Natural disasters are out of the business’s reach and it cannot be control; but its effect may cause great losses to the business. The earthquake and tsunami that happened at Eastern Japan disrupted the production of its products because 10 plants closed down.