Business Strategy Application: Sydney Symphony Orchestra Case Study

This report analyzes the business strategy of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) within the classical music industry. It begins with an external analysis considering political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors in Australia. The report assesses competitive rivalry, the threat of substitutes and new entrants, and the bargaining power of customers and suppliers. It identifies SSO's competitors, resources (tangible and intangible), and capabilities, highlighting its differentiation strategy using the Sydney Opera House, top musicians, and technology. The strategic problem of maintaining differentiation amidst potential funding cuts is discussed. The report references academic sources to support its analysis of SSO's business and competitive environment.

APPLICATION OF
BUSINESS STRATEGY OF
SYDNEY SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA

INTRODUCTION
• Business strategy of an organisation
helps them in gaining competitive
advantage and also in gaining
success in the competitive business
environment.
• The report focuses on the case study
of SSO, which stands for Sydney
Symphony Orchestra.
• SSO is a part of the classical music
industry, which in the present time
performs around 150 concerts every
year having more than 350,000
people as their audience.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
• Political- Australia is a politically stable country and
whose federal government is divided into three
branches, namely the judiciary, the executive and the
legislature.
• Economic- The capital growth in the country helps in
investment in Australia. In addition to this, cost of living
in the country is low. The economic stability is also
another factor that influences business in the country.
• Social- The population of Sydney is 5.37 million and it is
found that the income level of people living in the city is
good.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
CONTD…
• Technological- There are two major organisations that
support research and development in the country,
namely Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation, and Defence Science and
Technology Organisation.
• Environmental- The country has developed policy
regarding the protection of environment, which are in
compliance with the laws and regulations.
• Legal- The legal framework of Australia is strong and
transparent.

INDUSTRY
ANALYSIS
Competitive Rivalry- In the music industry the
competition is high; however, in the case of classical
music industry the competition is little.
Threat of Substitutes- It has been identified that the
threat of substitutes is high in the market as people in
the current scenario prefer pop music and western
music over classical music.
Threat of New Entrants- Industry analysis shows that
the threat of new entrants is low in the classical
music industry due to low profit and increasing
preferences of people towards western and pop
music.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS CONTD…
Bargaining Power of Customers-
With regard to classical music,
bargaining power of the
customers is low as the group
preferring classical music is
declining.
1
Bargaining Power of Suppliers- It
has been identified that
bargaining power of the suppliers
is low in the music industry as
new musicians can be hired
easily.
2

COMPETITORS,
RESOURCES
AND
CAPABILITIES
OF SSO
• There is no direct competition that exists in Sydney
for SSO; however, indirect competition of SSO is
Chamber music.
• Outside Sydney, competition is high for SSO.
• Intangible resources of SSO are attraction of
government funds, technological advancements,
which help SSO in recording music on different
platforms, and attraction of solicits.
• Tangible resources of SSO are Sydney Opera House,
financial reserves and donations.
• Capabilities of SSO include playing of world-class
symphonic music and best orchestra.

STRATEGIES OF SSO
• Major strategy adopted by SSO is differentiation strategy, which includes
using Sydney Opera House as concert hall, best players in the
organisation and the best orchestra.
• SSO also differentiates based on the technological platforms adopted by
SSO to record music.

STRATEGIC PROBLEM OF SSO
• It has been analysed that SSO has adopted differentiation strategy by
including best players and having best orchestra, which must be
maintained by the organisation, in order to sustain in the music industry.
• SSO gets government funds and also donations, which are important for
sustaining in the market.
• The major issue is that if the government funds stops and also donations
are stopped, then SSO may face issue in operating in the classical music
industry.

REFERENCES
• Chan, C., Driscoll, T. and Ackermann, B. 2013. Development of a specific exercise programme for professional orchestral
musicians. Injury Prevention 19(4), pp. 257-263.
• Fleisher, C.S. and Bensoussan, B.E. 2015. Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods. FT
Press.
• Homan, S., Cloonan, M. and Cattermole, J. 2017. Popular Music and Cultural Policy. London: Routledge.
• IBP, Inc. 2015. Australia Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook Volume 1 Practical Information, Opportunities, Contacts.
Lulu.com.
• Lei, D. and Slocum, J.W. 2013. Demystifying Your Business Strategy. London: Routledge.
• Maggio, M. 2017. Mobility Patterns and Experiences of the Middle Classes in a Globalizing Age: The Case of Mexican Migrants in
Australia. London: Springer.
• Perera, R. 2017. The PESTLE Analysis. Nerdynaut.
• Population Australia. 2018. Sydney Population 2018. [Online]. Available at: http://www.population.net.au/sydney-population/
[Accessed on: 25 May 2018].
• Sydney Symphony. 2018. Our History. [Online]. Available at: https://www.sydneysymphony.com/about-us/history/our-history
[Accessed on: 25 May 2018].
• The Global Economy. 2018. Australia: Political stability. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Australia/wb_political_stability/ [Accessed on: 25 May 2018].
• Trading Economics. 2018. Australia GDP Growth Rate. [Online]. Available at: https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp-growth
[Accessed on: 25 May 2018].