Kodak Case Study 2.edited
Kodak Case Study 2.edited
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Kodak Case Study2
Dan (2012) says that for more than 100 years, Kodak Company has always been
regarded as a leader in the photography industry. Its novel inventions and innovations
enabled it to remain at the top in the photographic industry. The company was founded
in the 1880s, and it rose to the limelight in the 1970s but declared bankrupt in
2012(Levin, 2012). Kodak invested so much in its business after introducing the colored
photographs. It was considered the only company that had the processes and
knowledge of producing the colored type of pictures. The company managed to realize
high sales, and it captured the film market with a market share of about 90% as well as
Kodak was organized, and it had a unique competency, which gave it more
Hewlett-Packard, among others. Soon, the company realized radical changes in its
competitors, and the advances of new technology that the entrants joined within the
market (Mupemhi and Muposhi, 2018). The same, there were corporate blunders that
caused the company to lose its opportunities in the industry. The leading cause of its
failure was the strategy that led to its downslide in the digital photographic sector. Kodak
was the only company that was considered to have developed many digital photography
components, and yet the new photographic technology had a significant impact on the
film business (MINDS Brand, 2018). Kodak was chosen in the current case given the
transformation stages the company has gone through and the ability of the firm to be
among the first companies to introduce technology in the photographic industry. This
Kodak Case Study3
paper seeks to analyze the digital imaging strategy of Kodak, the reasons why the
company failed, and to suggest strategies that can be developed by the company to
Disruptor daily (2016) says that Kodiak is regarded to be one of the digital
revolution pioneers even as the company failed to maintain the pace because of the
rapid changes in the needs of the customers (Reneé and Malan, 2011). Kodak had
competitors, and the dynamics of the market were drastically changing. Kodak's digital
imaging strategy from 1992-2012 was to transform the business into a leading digital
photography firm from the traditional photo firm it was known. For the company to
achieve the strategy, it brought about two strategies: commercial and professional
markets and consumer markets(Egan, 1978). The company wanted to offer reliability,
simplicity, and security to the customers more, especially those that needed to adapt to
new technology. This was why Kodak managed to offer many services which gave room
customers needed more time and effort in learning how to use these services. But later,
the issues were addressed by introducing a system called Easy Share, which allowed
customers to see their images on the devices differently, sharing the images through
emails and printing them. In the process, this helped strengthen the company’s market
share. Concerning commercial and professional markets, the strategy of Kodak was on
printing and scanning photos (Shanklin, 2002). It mainly based on elements that involved
the use of the technology of inkjet and variable-data printing leadership, which brought
about individually customized output. This was because of the good internal capabilities
Kodak Case Study4
and resources and the hiring, acquisitions, and alliances that were key in adding value
Kodak made many strategic alliances and joint ventures with AOL, Canon, IBM,
and Intel. Kodak’s main focus was on printed images, and it believed that nothing like
digital technology could replace the company (MacKnight, 1995). This was the reason
Kodak put more emphasis on investing in printers in the market. More so, Kodak’s
strategy was divesting its traditional photography business after the dramatic fall in the
sales of the film products and the increase in digital technology investment. However,
Kodak’s strategies failed and became bankrupt in 2012 because of the company relying
on printed photos excessively(Li, 2015). They had the mentality that people could not
watch the Smartphone screen images and computers, which was wrong. More so, the
company managed to target the wrong customers. They tried to reach vast segments of
In addition to the above, Kodak made sure it ventures in the niche strategy, after
offering a selected market with the products. This was after limiting the substitute threat
that Kodak could experience because it led in the film-based photography and
dominated for long(Salehzadeh et al. 2017). The company was good at the creative and
innovative approach, but it became hard to meet the customers' market needs. Kodak
also used the cost leadership, where it shows limits. Kodak managed to use the model
of razor-blade. They started offering the products at lower prices but was unsuccessful
because of the emergence of Fiji Company that imitated the concept of cost
Kodak Case Study5
leadership(Bruno,2005). This reduced the number of customers and reduced the profits
that the company received. The customers started viewing the Kodak products as of
More so, the other strategy was the development and implementation of the
digital strategy, whose focus was on imaging. It was based on themes like the
incremental approach, after building its presence by offering products and services due
come up with a hybrid camera that had both digital and traditional photography. There
was the employment of a differentiation strategy that offered different services and
products to the customer and commercial markets. The services and products served
had a reflection of the price differentials(Salehzadeh et al. 2017). Moreover, the company
Matuku (2019) argues that Kodak never failed due to missing the digital age because it
was involved in inventing the digital camera. Instead of carrying out marketing of the
new technology, it just feared to lose the film business. The company faced the problem
of near sighting that the film business was better than the new digital technology, and it
also had the view of protecting the market share it had. They had believed digital
technology would lead to the cannibalization of the film business (Ochsner,2001). The
competitor’s canon and Sony managed to charge ahead and brought digital cameras,
and it was too late for Kodak to enter the game, and they witness their company
declining. In other words, Kodak had a blind faith when it came to the new technology's
Kodak Case Study6
marketing abilities, and the company failed to adapt itself to the new consumer attitudes
and new market place. Many factors lead to the failure of the business of Kodak. Kodak
Company had an information gap during its operations and management. The
staggering blunder was that the management made was failing to anticipate the
While competitors of Kodak, which included Fuji and anon, were making
innovations and bringing new products on the market basing on the changing needs,
Kodak management was rotating about with the old products and could not think of
adding new products and services on the market (Bruno, 2005). There was the problem
of the management approach to get solutions to the problems the organization faced.
Kodak, as a market leader, ignored the need for change in its technology as it remained
using silver-halide technology of films (Egan, 2012). The result of sticking to the rational
thinking perspective was a big blunder that the management of Kodak made. This
should have been avoided if the company had applied the perspective of generative
In addition to the above, the company of Kodak was lacking initiatives of adapting
to market-changing needs, and this led to its fading gradually. The organization
management failed to realize the dangers resulting from the rival organizations'
innovations (Shih, 2016). For example, SonyCorporation introduced Mavica, which was a
filmless digital camera, and this could have acted as a signal to the management of
Kodak. Still, the management failed to realize the disaster signs. It should have adopted
have helped maintain the position that Kodak had as the leading company in the
camera industry market (Lee et al., 2020). The management was also confused about
whether to go for DRP or not to go for it when there was a ruling by the digital
technology on the camera manufacturing industry. They were expected to take the risk,
but they kept quiet, which led to losing the market share.
More so, organizational agility was lacking as the company did not have strategic
creativity, which caused a misinterpretation of the line of work and the industry it was
operating in, which devastated the digital age shift. The management tackled the
problems using rigid means (Wu, and Yezhou, 2011). The mistakes seemed costly
because the company always tried to avoid making risky decisions but instead opted to
develop policies and procedures of maintaining itself in the industry. There was the
organization's overflow with complacency since Kodak failed to keep up before the
digital revolution after the Fuji organization was doing better while using the old
technology and even doing the business of roll-film. No one at the top management was
devising means of solving the problem that needed urgency, which led to the failure of
the organization's strategies. The organization failed to reinvest when it saw a decline in
the revenues and the market (Salehzadeh et al. 2017). The company observed the
disruptive forces affecting its own company as there were competition and the
introduction of new technology. They failed to embrace the new models of the business
after the disruptive changes. Yes, they managed to create a digital camera and even a
technology investment. They came to understand that the images can be shared online
but failed to realize it was a new business, not the only way to expand the business of
printing.
Kodak Case Study8
and chemicals over the rivals(Saha, 2018). When introducing the new digital technology,
it became hard for the company to realize profits and benefits when using old
technology. Kodak management faced the problem that it does not hold an advantage
over rivals when digitalizing technology with the transmission, storage, retrieval,
projection solutions, and manipulation. The digital age advent has made the company
get into a dilemma. Kodak was supposed to move digital if it wanted to outcompete its
compete with Canon, Sony, and Mitsubishi. Kodak was faced with a dilemma in
choosing cooperation and competition strategy (Wu, and Yezhou, 2011). Kodak started
acquiring other companies that had technology after experiencing competition problems
with the organizations that had superior technology. Kodak needs to address the needs
of the customers and the market. The company acquired Verizon wireless and Scitex
digital printing and even bought the stakes in Nexpress solutions. This led to the
depressed cash flows for KodakCompany, and the investment community became
industry, and this are the company that does not have the capacity to outcompeting its
competitors with the vast technology. The company faced with the challenge of either
Furthermore, the outdated and old model of sales was successful in the Eastern
market. But in the western market, there is competition because of the market due to
Kodak Case Study9
the core competencies of having advanced technology(Nielson, 2014). This was the
challenge to Kodak to challenge global technology, which was strategically located and
advanced and this led to the decline of the company. Furthermore, Kodak was slow
when embracing the new technology change. Its product mentality caused her slow
transition to digital photography, and it even failed to innovate (Dan, 2012). This company
did not fail because of the missing digital revolution. Kodak was the first to identify the
digital revolution only that it sat back for fear of losing the lucrative business of films.
The company became ignorant when there was the reshaping of the new digital market
in the industry.
The success of businesses today heavily depends on the innovation and ability to
change. The company that feels like seeking change should concentrate on the
changing market and should be having the ability to respond to the needs of the
customers in the market (Vonyó and Klein, 2018). Kodak managed to identify the
opportunity but lost it away because it was not well prepared for revolution. Kodak
sticking with traditional photography as its cost leadership strategy should have opted
for diversification, and it should have taken the risk and used digital photography. Using
the diversification strategy helps the company to escape declining (Analytical Chemistry,
1981). Therefore, the growth of the company has to focus on the interest of the
generally not able to respond to digital photography. The company should have invested
Kodak Case Study10
so much in research to get to know the customer preferences and the competitors on
the market, and this could have helped in the organization to maintain the market share
(Dan, 2012). The company should heavily employ creativity to get new products to attract
and inspire customers. It should be able to engage in other market segments like
movies and entertainment, which will help the company create a strong market share.
Kodak Company should have focused on the niche markets up to the end. In addition to
the above, Kodak had many paths to have taken if they wanted to be recognized. For
example, they could have known that it was hard for them to have one product because
other companies would outcompete the market (Banatvala, 2001). The company should
have decided to be in the business of chemical coating, and this could have given them
an upper hand in expanding the market where they could sell anything they had
produced. This would also have helped them outpacing the competitors, given the fact
that they were already the leading company in the film industry having a lot of money. In
other words, they should have diversified, which could have helped them pull with the
Another alternative is that the company should have invested more in the sensor
and camera development. The reason is that the company had good technology that
enabled them to create suitable sensors that were used in scientific applications. They
should have got a proper manufacturer of the cameras that had enough experience in
optics. Moreover, the company was receiving high profits in the selling of photographic
roles, making it a monopoly. Therefore, they should not have dumped the opportunity
and adopted the econosphere system, which would have changed the transition (Pinelle
et al., 2012). Companies like cannon, Nikon managed to live through concentrating on
Kodak Case Study11
professional photography just like Nokia Company. Still, Kodak refused to change and
get to know the trends in ten markets. Therefore, they should have understood the
market trend like the way other companies understood it. They should have
concentrated on a specific activity just like Nikon, which concentrated on the hardware
because people can still buy the products for more than 3 generations just like Nokia in
that people can buy the phones from Nokia and the competitors as well.
Kodak Company should have avoided the revenue losses from the competitors
and the rival organizations if it used the generative thinking perspective (GTP), which
would have helped handle the needs of the changing environment. This helps in
meeting the problems associated with the market place(TUBIOLO, 2000). Thus, it would
have helped the company to know and foresee the needs from the traditional to the
digital camera to adjust according to the changing needs of customers. I the early years
of the 1980s, Kodak company should have slowly started to transform the resources
they ad from the technology of silver-halide film to the digital system. Still, the company
did not involve in the process. This forced the company to have no options left but to
join the digital technology at different stage dilemma (Wolf, and Hanisch, 2014). More so,
for Kodak to concentrate and compete on the changing environment, they announced a
new strategy where their main aim was to attend to inkjet and display market segments.
This comes along with a change in the target market needs of the customers, like
moving away from traditional to digital technology. The main aim of the business was to
capture the market who had a belief in the hard copies printed of the images and even
give them options like kiosk printing and inkjet printers. KodakCompany handled the
Therefore, the company must carefully present its offerings to the intended
market to outcompete the other players in the industry with a lot of technical expertise in
the market. Kodak management should not get involved in decisions of hasty
acquisitions and merging. The reason is that it would send a bad message to the
have to be made basing while keeping the best organizational interests in mind. The
management has to thoroughly examine first if the acquisition or merger will be of profits
to the organization and what will be the effects of the acquisition to the customers and
to the organization at the same time. The management should have defined its target
market before entering into partnerships with other organizations. This could have
helped Kodak produce high-quality services and products with the latest technology
(Mafabi et al., 2017). Kodak management should have realized that the outdated and old
technology would be successful in the East, and there is no guarantee that it would also
be successful in the western markets. The company should start using of global
strategy, which creates the chance of utilizing the silver-halide technology and also
What can other companies facing disruptive change in their core business (for
example, Microsoft, Sony, Walt Disney) learn from the experience of Eastman
Kodak?
Companies facing the same problems should learn that the companies have to adapt to
the market requirements even if it requires competing with themselves. Technology can
be disruptive to companies and markets, and even it benefits consumers. The strategy
Kodak Case Study13
is not the strategy in the market place today (Shih, 2016). The marketers have to strive
for innovation and entrepreneurial greatness, not only determining preferences on the
existing options. Marketing is not a good art that can be used when selling the products
like the way Kodak was thinking, and it is all about satisfying the customers. In fact, it is
all about keeping the company relevant to the needs of the customers (Yazdipour,
2009). Where the consumers are in charge and approach the market using the
engage. Basing on the engineer who participated in the invention of the digital camera
of Kodak, he reacted by saying, "that's cute kid, don't tell anyone about it." The
company did not pursue that there would be a new technology that would displace it
(Matuku, 2019). Therefore, using the perspective of Kodak, the alternative of developing
a film would lead to taking away the resources since it was the big moneymaker. This is
not a good visionary way of approaching certain issues in the business (Egan, 1978). It
is always important for the company to keep hold and capture the big market. The
companies have to ensure that they look to the changes in the behaviors of the
consumers and the future trends. Kodak Company had an assumption that everybody
would continue using the film, and they never realized the advantages of digital
photography.
offerings brand. Surprisingly, Kodak forgot what exactly brought them, the limelight at
first. They were giving easy-to-use cameras to customers, and they had the slogan of
"you press the button, we do the rest." (Seddio,1993). After some time, the company
Kodak Case Study14
started scrambling to compete with other organizations for digital. Disruption always
wants to make CEOs of companies to start panicking and reinvesting when there is
change (Yazdipour, 2009). The brands have to return to the original core offerings. If
The companies have to put their focus on value instead of focusing on the
products. There is anticipation that technology may continue to advance and evolve, but
it does not mean the value may shift, and because of this, it should not shift (Lim, and
Kim,2014). Kodak Company made a brave mistake when it focused on the products that
are investing in the film instead of concentrating on the value, which was the ability to
capture the precious moments of life (MacKnight, 1995). In other words, disruption is
not considered to be a new element concerning the external factors which erase the
advantages. Kodak's main advantage was that it had superior technology. When
introducing new technology like digital cameras, they changed the focus and started
Theoretically, Kodak Company could have used some of the resources in responding to
emergencies and the threats the company could meet (Reneé, and Malan, 2011). This
was not done, and they were dominated by the small manufactures of Asia (Li, 2015).
There is ever-changing success amidst the changing of the market place, and this
Kodak Case Study15
While previous centuries managed to reward the businesses that had excellence in
terms of techniques, this century is likely to give rewards to the organizations that can
Conclusion
Kodak Company, which was regarded to be a market leader, became bankrupt in 2012
changes,customer needs,competition, and the future trends. Kodak was the digital
revolution leader but did not keep the pace because of the drastic changing market. The
company has to use diversify strategy and be able to offer innovative products and
targeting niche markets. It should aim at retaining and attaining its economies of scale.
Diversification does not necessarily mean there will be high performance and that the
company will be successful. Still, it heavily depends on the potential to respond and
identify chance and the research made. Kodak management made many mistakes
when running the business, which involved utterly relying on the organization's internal
competencies for some good time. They then abruptly changed the strategy and
Kodak Case Study16
merged with many organizations, which showed a negative picture to the investors.
Even if the company is faced with many problemscaused by its rival organizations, if the
company uses the management strategies to change the policies of the organization
that would be in line with the benchmarks of the industry and there would be a chance
that the Kodak can get back to its feet. In addition to the above, there are lessons that
other companies like Nokia, Microsoft and other that they can learn from the decline of
the products. The companies have to be agile in whatever business they do not like
what Kodak did. Companies have to be considering the point of remembering of their
brand core offering which will help them dominate the market not like the way Kodak
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