Microsoft: is the creative Sparke burning Out? Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Problem Statement

Microsoft case study discusses regarding its sales decline due to its non-diversified products in its portfolio. Critics have this opinion regarding Microsoft’s innovation loss that they had not taken the right decision at that time when the market was full of opportunities. Microsoft possesses a huge employee pool of bright and talented engineers, but it did not utilize their creativity and skills, as it has seen by its competitors. Whether it is Apple’s iPod or iPad products, Google's search engine, Nintendo's Wii, Amazon's Kindle online purchasing website or social networking assistances such as Facebook and Twitter all of them has sustain their positions through continuous improvements. The software market has become highly saturated with heavy competitors, whereas Microsoft has been seeking opportunities for its market survival.

Innovation

Though the term innovation, from which we normally extract a high-quality definition which states that innovation is the conversion of market trends into more effective processes, products, and ideas, which can escalate the probability of business success. For companies, innovation is simply the implementation of new ideas that creates diversification in its products and also helps them to improve their existing services. Surely, innovation can be used as a facilitator for the growth and success of a business, and it can also help the business to grow in the marketplace.

Big Picture analysis with little start-up

It is recommended to always start with a niche market or select a small group from the targeted population, so that the impact would be manageable. No matter the impact being positive or negative, either ways the company would be able to sustain its reputation.

Continuous improvement in innovation process

Customers’ feedback is always playing a vital role in the development as well as in the improvement of the product on a timely base.

Emphasis on complete market research

Always have a continuous exploration of the market environment that tells you about your customers wants and needs and competitor’s strategic move. The organization must remain a learning organization that is always ready to adopt new ideas and stay adaptive to change.

Collect ideas from everywhere

Company should gather advises and ideas regardless of the source they are coming from. Utilize all the accessible resources, industry advisors, knowledgeable contributions and help to drive innovation in your business. This process of taking suggestions may include seeking an Intellectual Property (IP) protection for profitable ideas.

Take 360 participation from company employees

Innovation should not only be the concern of the top management; the workers should also contribute towards the unique ways of running operations. The cognitive skills of each and every employee will play a vital role in performing a gap analysis related to marketing.

Be persistent

If the company goes unsuccessful in its first attempt than the company should invest more time and efforts to make its unique idea more effectively. The company must be persistent, so that it can enjoy the first mover advantage in the market.

Large Firms Hesitate To Invest In Disruptive Technologies

Disruptive technology is a term used for the copied products that are generated through technological disrupts. Some companies makes copied versions of the original product, which they sell at an incomparable low price. These companies are always at stake, due to the quality level of their products which are not up to mark as compared to the original products.

However, companies operating in the conventional market are facing failure in retaining their market share hence, they end up moving towards economic failure. That happens because of the emergence of the companies that uses disruptive technology. These companies offer products that are typically simpler, cheaper, lower in performance and more convenient to use and are appealing to customers in a niche market.

Possible factors in Microsoft no longer being the leader

Microsoft no longer possesses a leadership position in the market. Although, Microsoft was highly in a position to get a sustainable market leadership. In spite of Microsoft’s strong appearance, it has lost its market share rapidly to companies such as, Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, Facebook and others, people look towards these companies as the leaders of the industry. The deteriorating reputation of MS and sales brought up a decline in the customers demand for Microsoft products....................

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