Phillips v/s Matsushita harvard Case
Case Synopses
Philips versus Matsushita:
The Competitive Battle Continues
10/01/13
Philips and Matsushita add together more than two hundred years of history in the high technology consumer electronics industry. During this period both companies followed contrasting strategies and experienced disruptive changes in its environment forcing them to review, adapt and implement new corporate strategies. The following case synopsis focus on how these companies developed different organizational capabilities, and how the quality of implementation and control affected their performance in the long run.
Which strategic management concepts are useful in the analysis of this case?
Organizational Structure and Capabilities
The world has changed dramatically over the last century and companies need to develop a profound understanding of its environment to adapt and perform over time. This is especially true for companies with long history and heritage such as Philips and Matsushita. The sales graph (last page) shows strong growth of both companies between 1970 and 1990 but from this point evidences differences in performance. Matsushita accomplishes important growth regardless of economic downturns but Philips sales stagnate as a consequence of difficulties to implement strategic decisions.
Between 1919 and 1970 Philips and Matsushita were able to develop and implement its corporate strategies that allowed each company to develop different capabilities.
Philips
Matsushita
High focus on R&D
Low focus on R&D
Local production facilities
Global production / Economies of scale
Decentralized:
Local National Organizations (NO’s)
Country-Specific oriented
Product Divisions (PD’s) located in Eindhoven
8 independent laboratories
Geographic/Product matrix
Centralized:
Divisional Structures per product
Internal competition
Central research laboratory
Manufacture all key components
Product engineering only in headquarters
Philips was strongly
Philips versus Matsushita:
The Competitive Battle Continues
10/01/13
Philips and Matsushita add together more than two hundred years of history in the high technology consumer electronics industry. During this period both companies followed contrasting strategies and experienced disruptive changes in its environment forcing them to review, adapt and implement new corporate strategies. The following case synopsis focus on how these companies developed different organizational capabilities, and how the quality of implementation and control affected their performance in the long run.
Which strategic management concepts are useful in the analysis of this case?
Organizational Structure and Capabilities
The world has changed dramatically over the last century and companies need to develop a profound understanding of its environment to adapt and perform over time. This is especially true for companies with long history and heritage such as Philips and Matsushita. The sales graph (last page) shows strong growth of both companies between 1970 and 1990 but from this point evidences differences in performance. Matsushita accomplishes important growth regardless of economic downturns but Philips sales stagnate as a consequence of difficulties to implement strategic decisions.
Between 1919 and 1970 Philips and Matsushita were able to develop and implement its corporate strategies that allowed each company to develop different capabilities.
Philips
Matsushita
High focus on R&D
Low focus on R&D
Local production facilities
Global production / Economies of scale
Decentralized:
Local National Organizations (NO’s)
Country-Specific oriented
Product Divisions (PD’s) located in Eindhoven
8 independent laboratories
Geographic/Product matrix
Centralized:
Divisional Structures per product
Internal competition
Central research laboratory
Manufacture all key components
Product engineering only in headquarters
Philips was strongly