Business Environment and Strategic Management: A Case Study of Sony

This report examines Sony's declining mobile phone market share, attributing it to a lack of innovation and competitive strategies. It analyzes Sony's past approaches, highlighting failures in models like the Xperia series due to factors like price, technology, and brand identity. The report recommends a new strategy focused on market research, highlighting technical features, visual advertising, and building a strong brand personality based on sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. It emphasizes the importance of aligning with consumer preferences and leveraging advertising to enhance brand image. The report concludes that Sony needs to revamp its strategies, focusing on technical features and brand personality, to regain its competitive edge in the mobile phone market. Desklib provides access to similar reports and solved assignments for students.

Running head: Business environment and strategic management
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Business Environment and Strategic Management
8/13/2018

Business environment and strategic management
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Sony is the company taken here to explain the failed strategy that it had used in promoting its
mobile phones. Sony phones are less competitive in the market, if it is compare with other
phones. This report is prepared to find out the factors that led to the declining phase of Sony
in the market. Report also focuses on the current or past strategies that were used by the Sony
to sell their mobile phones. As it is a well-known fact that, Sony is not in competition with its
rivals, because of lack of latest and innovative strategies. New strategic suggestion for Sony
will be there in the report that helps in building its brand personality once again.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................1
TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
Strategy used by Sony in its business unit of mobile phones:...............................................3
New strategy for Sony to excel in the mobile phone market:................................................4
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION
Sony Corporation is a Japanese company, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. It has diversified
business which includes consumer goods and professional services, electronics, financial
services and entertainment. It has largest music entertainment business in the world. Sony
Corporation is the subsidiary of Sony group. Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita were the
founders of Sony (Sony, 2018). Sony Mobile Communications Inc. is a multinational
corporation founded in the year October 2001, it was the collaboration of Sony and Ericson,
and it is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. This collaboration was wholly owned by Sony. Sony
mobiles have research and development facilities across the world like, Beijing, China,
Tokyo and USA. Early in the era of mobiles phones Sony had flourished immensely, but due
to the entrance of many competitors in the market, it had failed to capture the market share
for their mobile phones.
Strategy used by Sony in its business unit of mobile phones:
SWOT analysis of Sony has come to the finding of factors like, Sony was lacking in
technology, and Sony has to focus on improvement in technology. Following are the failed
models or mobile phones of Sony in the market discussed below:
Sony had launched various series of mobile phones. Some examples of its mobile phone
brands are Sony Xperia, Xperia Z, Z1S and Z3 and many more. Sony was always failed in its
mobile phone brands; failure in Mobile phones was not new for Sony (Gupta, 2013).
Before the entrance of iPhone and Android Sony had struggled much in the market for
capturing the share for their mobiles. Sony Ericson phones at least took some market share,
but that was not enough for such a big company to establish its brand or survive in the
market. Huge market share should be needed to establish its image in the world; Sony
Ericson phones did much for Sony in the business unit of Mobile phones. Sony Ericson
phones were quite innovative and powerful. iPhone of the Apple had led to the failure of
Sony Xperia Play. In the year 2013, Sony had launched Xperia Z line, and released the
flagship of six months. But this strategy of launching of new brand was also didn’t work
(Digital trends, 2018).
Identification of the mobile is the foremost thing, that thing was missing in case of Sony
Xperia. Sony had faced crisis for its identity, only because of entrance of iPhone in the
market. Android and iPhone led to the decline phase of Sony phones in the market. As people
were more inclined towards android and iPhone.

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Sony focused on quality along with price factor, but android wiped out all the quality and
price of the Sony. Android phones are available with more features and at fewer prices. Sony
phones were lacking in boom sound, QHD display, laser autofocus, finger print, scanner and
other features. Sony had not flown with the technology that was the main reason behind the
failure of Sony mobile phones. If these features were in the Sony’s phone, it would result in
capturing the huge market share and position in customers mind (CNBC, 2014).
Competition is too high in the market; there were many other competitors of Sony Xperia in
the market like, Huawei, Lenovo and Moto E and G. Sony was the victim of competition and
new technology in the market.
There was not enough difference between Sony M, L and Z models. Sony tried always
something new to be in the market, that’s why it had launched many series of mobile phones.
Technology and innovation is the key factors in which Sony is lacking, that is why unable to
stand in the competition with its rivals.
Recommendations regarding new strategy for Sony to excel in the mobile phone
market:
In today’s world cell phone companies are offering various features to the customers along
with affordable prices. Proper market research is needed before going for any product; this
will help in determine the exact match of the consumer needs.
There are various factors that affect the consumer’s choice of mobile phones.
 Price of the product
 Brand of the product
 Size of the product
 Interface of the product
 Technical features of the product (Forbes, 2018).
Factors like price and technical features are most important for older consumers of mobile
phones. Brand and interface are most important features for younger consumers of the mobile
phones. As we all know that Sony mobiles were failed to deal with most of the features like,
price and technical features.
Sony should highlight its phone’s features to keep its potential customers engaged. Visual
advertising of these features is must to show their mobile phone.
One commercial should be there to showcase the phone’s speed, web browsing, video games
and many more. Highlighting of phone’s features improves the brand image of the phone, and
also helps in building the brand personality. Apple attracts their potential customers through
advertising, so Sony also has to follow the same for their mobile phones. One of the best
strategies is maintaining its brand, through various tools of advertising (Android authority,
2018)

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Personality of the brand:
Personality of every mobile phone is different from that of other. Every mobile phone
company tries to differentiate its product from that of others by explaining features of their
phones, through attracting advertising. Technical features of the phones make the phone
different from others. Many people became the diehard fans of some mobile brands, just
because of their technical features and attractive advertising (Dittrich and Duysters, 2007).
Advertising efforts of the mobile phones develops the commitment and brand personality of
the mobile. Brand
Personality of the mobile phone is not only developed by the advertising of the mobile
phones, it is also the efforts of CEO, employees, endorsers and many more.
There are five brand personalities that are considered by the consumer while going for any
purchasing of mobile phones:
Sony has to consider these brand personalities to compete with its rivals in the market.
Sincerity: This is the first factor that is considered by the consumer during purchasing of
mobile phones. This factor explains the cheerfulness and honesty of the mobile phones
(Technians, 2018).
Excitement: This factor is all about the image of the product. Is the consumer excited to buy
the product, prove to be different from others or not?
Competence: This factor is all about the reliability of the product, success of the product and
intelligence of the product. Is the mobile has the ability to fight competition with its rivals.
Sophistication: This is all about charm of the mobile. Is the mobile consumer is about to
purchase has charm or not? Charm of the mobile is all about to raise the social status in the
society (Jeffs, 2008).
Ruggedness: This factor of the brand personality is all about the roughness and toughness of
the product, in case of mobile durability of the mobile is the ruggedness (Kapferer, 2012).
Exploration of brand personality factors will lead to the success with any series of the mobile
phones.
All the above factors are most important for a mobile company to excel in the mobile phone
business. Sony didn’t do well with its past strategy, it has to change its strategy and try to
focus on all the above mentioned factors that will definitely results in establishing its image
in customers mind. Sony is such a big brand, so it’s not difficult to excel once again, proper
strategies should be needed to excel in the field of mobile phone business.

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CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that, Sony should focus on strategy to sell its products.
Technical features are the most important features of the mobile phones. Sony was lacking in
these features, Apple and Samsung are top most companies in the field of mobile phone
business. If Sony wants to be in the competition with its rivals, then it has to change its
strategies, and has to focus on building its brand personality. Technical features and price of
the product plays very important role in positioning of brand.

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REFERENCES
Android authority. (2018) Sony has lost faith in mobile. What went wrong? [online] Available
from: https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-lost-faith-mobile-went-wrong-588698/
[Accessed 13/08/2018]
CNBC. (2014) Should Sony forgets about smartphones? [online] Available from:
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/08/01/should-sony-forget-about-smartphones.html [Accessed
13/08/2018]
Digital trends. (2018) A question for the ages: Why the hell can’t you buy a Sony phone in the
U.S? [online] Available from: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/why-sonys-xperia-
phones-keep-failing-in-the-us/ [Accessed 13/08/2018]
Dittrich, K. and Duysters, G. (2007) Networking as a means to strategy change : the case of
open innovation in mobile telephony. Journal of product innovation management, 24(6),
pp.510-521.
Forbes. (2018) 7 Mobile strategies your Business Needs to implement [online] Available
from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2015/04/04/7-mobile-strategies-your-
business-needs-to-implement/#45d76e5e1795 [Accessed 13/08/2018]
Gupta, A. (2013) Environment & PEST analysis: an approach to external business
environment. International Journal of Modern Social Sciences, 2(1), pp.34-43.
Jeffs, C. (2008) Strategic management. (Illustrated) London: SAGE
Kapferer, J.N. (2012). The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic
thinking. Kogan page publishers.
Sony. (2018) About Sony. [online] Available from: https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/
[Accessed 13/08/2018]
Technians. (2018) Top 10 mobile marketing strategies [online] Available from:
https://technians.com/blog/mobile-marketing-strategies/ [Accessed 13/08/2018]