1st post (1)
In the early 20th century, Kodak was consider a titan in the photography industry, it turned a
professional only craft to a common craft with their slogan “you push the button, we will do the rest”
(Grant, 2016). However, by the end of the 20th century, the photography industry has evolved with new competition and innovation breakthroughs, some of these evolutions in the phtography industry were film advancement and digital revolution. in terms of film advancement, Kodak failed to adapt to the new cameras that involved smaller cameras, faster processing time, which led to better ways to capture images. A few years later, the digital revolution began with the invention of digital sensors and
memory cards which offered significant advantages (Lucan et al. 2009). Digital cameras allowed for instant image preview, eliminated film costs, and enabled easier sharing and editing. This fundamentally changed how pictures were taken, viewed, and stored. Kodak failed to adapt to the
new evolving market, they have made bets by focusing on films and missed the opportunity to become a leader in the digital photography, by the time Kodak entered the market, the competition was way a head of them. Kodak’s struggle to transition to digital photography aligns with a period of maturity or stagnation in the traditional film photography industry life cycle. Kodak recognized the digital revolution but
remained heavily invested in film, their core business. They didn’t fully commit to digital development early enough, fearing it would cannibalize their film profits (Yuzawa, 2018). This hesitation allowed competitors to dominate the digital market during a crucial stage the growth phase of digital
photography. In essence, Kodak was stuck in a mature film market while the future of photography was blossoming in the growth stage of digital technology. Their inability to adapt to this external disruption ultimately led to their decline.
The strategies employed by Kodak to the changing environment are based on incremental approach, which is a step-by-step approach to transition the company from analogue to digtal technologies,along with focusing on rapid prototyping, flexible manufacturing processes, and puting value based on
solutions. In the beginning of the 21st century Kodak focused on emphasizing simplicity and ease of use to consumers, calling back to their founding slogan “you push the button, we do the rest”, Kodak
produced the EasyShare gallary which is a one stop shop for all consumer photography needs which proved successful (Vinokurova, 2022). However, by the end of the 2000s, the competition has innovated new products which made the EasyShare obsolete. The strategy worked for the early 2000s, but failed to evolve with the chaning needs of consumers in the late 2000s.
In my opinion, Kodak should have evolved their incremental approach strategy to meet the needs of their customers, with a focus on new and emerging technologies, such as cloud computing and services, calling back their slogan “you push the button, we will do the rest”, which would have been
perfect for this industry. However, I recognize that this big of a shift in core business would cause major changes, but with the incremental approach strategy, which proved successful before, the shift
is possible in my opinion.
Kodak’s lack of organizational ambidexterity significantly hampered its ability to manage strategic change and respond to disruptive technologies. Organizational ambidexterity refers to a company’s ability to excel at both exploration, developing new products, technologies, exploitation, and optimizing existing products and processes (Gershon, 2013). This allows them to balance short-term profitability with long-term innovation. Kodak’s lack of ambidexterity meant they were stuck in a cycle
of exploiting a mature technology. They failed to explore and develop digital technology effectively,ultimately leading to their decline in the face of disruption.
References:
Grant, S. (2016). Case 8 Eastman Kodak’s Quest for a Digital Future. In book. Contemporary
Strategy Analysis. Wiley.
Lucas Jr, H. C., & Goh, J. M. (2009). Disruptive technology: How Kodak missed the digital photography revolution. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 18(1), 46-55.
Yuzawa, T. (2018). The digital revolution and business behaviour: the case of Kodak versus Fujifilm. Entreprises et histoire, (1), 37-50.
Vinokurova, N., & Kapoor, R. (2022). Kodaks Surprisingly Long Journey Towards Strategic Renewal:
A Half Century of Exploring Digital Transformation in the Face of Uncertainty and Inertia.
Gershon, R. A. (2013). Innovation Failure: A Case Study Analysis of Eastman Kodak and Blockbuster
Inc. In Media management and economics research in a transmedia environment (pp. 62-84).
Routledge.
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2nd post ( 2 )
ndustry evolution and change
Eastman Kodak is a multinational technology company offering high-quality products and
services for entertainment, manufacturing, publishing, and packaging. However, the company is
mainly known for photography. Eastman Kodak experienced challenges like any other business. At some point, the company almost collapsed due to failure to adapt to the changing market environment
but concentrated on protecting the business’ existence. Hence, other key players in the photography industry gained a competitive advantage over the company by adopting digital technology.
Bankruptcy was also among the challenges faced by the company. However, George Eastman later recognized the need for effective strategic plans to ensure business survival amidst stiff competition
and overall business success.
Factors supporting the evolution of the Kodak photography industry Kodak’s photography industry transitioned from traditional photography to digital imaging for various reasons. First, there was a change in consumer needs and demands. The tested success of digital imaging resulted in significant success for the company. For instance, the new adoption resulted in
Kodak being among the US market leaders after Canon and Sony. The company’s decline in performance witnessed between 1991 and 2011 triggered the need to adopt change for the company’s survival. The emergence of new imaging technologies and increased competition motivated Kodak to change its operational strategy by introducing data storage products like floppy
disks, the leading megapixel electronic image sensor, computer-assisted image storage and retrieval systems, and many more (Grant, 2021). As a result, Kodak had to invest in research and design and forego the traditional photography approaches.
Industry lifecycle of Kodak
Kodak was in the decline phase in its quest for a digital transformation. For instance, the company was ranked top in the global photography market. Besides, the performance in terms of revenue also
qualified the company to be among the best performing. However, within a few years, the company recorded a massive decline in revenue, overall performance, and employee loss. The leading cause
of the performance decline is the failure to adapt to the changing market conditions and consumer needs (Almansoori, 2020). The company was almost becoming irrelevant in the market until it embraced digital transformation like other competitors, reassuring Kodak of improved market
performance. According to Grant (2021), some of the changes that supported the survival and awakening of the company were reliance on value-based solutions, flexible manufacturing processes, rapid prototyping, and digital technology.
New Kodaks’s strategies for its survival
Initially, Kodak relied on analog technology, high margins, heavy infrastructure, mass production and extensive inventories, significant manufacturing processes, and value-based physical products
(Grant, 2021). However, it was necessary and urgent for the company to embrace rapid change that would increase its survival rates, such as through replacing the old strategies with digital technology,
rapid prototyping, reliance on lower margins and lean organization, just-in-time production, flexible
manufacturing process, and embracing value based on solutions. Despite the changes, there was no
rapid positive success. Hence, Kodak embraced a hybrid model while researching and redesigning its
process, enhancing its success. Based on Suarez et al. (1995), positive responses to change help
businesses survive even when at the decline stage of growth.
The most appropriate strategy
The most appropriate strategy for the Kodak photography industry to embrace while at the
decline stage of the industry life cycle would be digital technology. For instance, the leading cause of
declined performance was the inability to adapt to the digital transformation in the photography world.
Hence, other companies succeeded because of rapidly embracing digital technology.
Kodaks management of strategic change
Kodak identified some of the loopholes that resulted in its downfall. Hence, the company
responded by embracing multiple approaches to fight for its survival. Though it took some time before
fully resurfacing its initial market position, the company regained its competitive advantage. Still, it
was forced to implement the changes rapidly because of the existing stiff competition.
Conclusion
In conclusion, strategic planning is essential for any business performance. Change management is
part of strategic planning that companies should embrace to overcome competition. Kodak
Photography is an example of a company that lost its competitive edge because of its failure to
respond to change and adapt to new market trends. Despite being in the decline phase, embracing
digital technology, among other strategies, helped the company survive.
References
Almansoori, S. H. (2020). Strategic change management: A transformative approach for sustaining
change in UAE law enforcement. Police Thought, 29(113), 279
310. https://doi.org/10.12816/0055779
Grant, R. M. (2021). Contemporary strategy analysis. John Wiley & Sons.
Suárez, F. F., & Utterback, J. M. (1995). Dominant designs and the survival of firms. Strategic
Management Journal, 16(6), 415430.
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