SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

University of College Dublin

Bachelor of Business Studies

(Singapore)

Management of Organizations (BMGT2002S)

Assignment 2

SONY – Evolution of Leadership

Name: Abigail Catherine Yang Wenjie

UCD Student ID: 14208093

Class/Batch: FT BBS 22C

Submission Date: 10th July 2015

Lecturer: Dr Emily Chua

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Executive Summary

This short paper is commissioned to examine the hybrid leadership style used by

Sony current CEO by analysing strengths and weakness as well as evaluating its

influence and effectiveness towards the future of Sony Corporation.

The research draws attention to the fact Sony has been making losses since 1995 till

to date caused by a change of leadership style that does not leverage on its core

competency of innovation and technology, does not align with the organization vision

and mission and conflicts with the Japanese culture massive restructuring through

laying off employees, selling away their profitable businesses and reducing

production line. Over the past 10 years Sony has lose its market share to

competitors like Samsung, LG and Toshiba and lose its competitive advantage in the

electronics goods industry, where they used to be called a company that was once

the premier creator and manufacturer of electronic products. Further Investigations

reveal response from media and members of the public over current leadership style

in Sony remains neutral, some who are supportive in his new strategic direction of

unifying various divisions as “One Sony” without changing its DNA whereas some

remain sceptical on its feasibility.

The strategy considered for implementation is to apply a transformational leadership

style, creating new organizational goals, new vision and mission in order to create a

new direction and new competitive advantage whereby employees are motivated

and convicted to follow. The real challenge of enforcing transformational leadership

in a Japanese organization that is deeply rooted in its culture is for the current CEO

to convince the entire organization that they truly need to evolve.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Table of Contents

Page No. 1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of Sony 1 1.2 The Vision 1 1.3 The Mission 2

2.0 Industries

2.1 Industry Portfolio 2 2.2 Current Businesses 2 2.3 Current Competitors 3

3.0 Current Leadership

3.1 Background of Kazuo Hirai 3 3.2 The “Transitional” Phase 4 3.3 Evaluating its Effectiveness 5

4.0 Assess the Strengths and Weakness of Current Leadership

4.1 Motivation 4.1.1 A Positive Working Environment 5 4.1.2 Establishing Relationships 6 4.1.3 Developing Talents 7

4.2 Team Dynamics 4.2.1 Current Organization Form 7 4.2.2 Organizational Culture 8 4.2.3 Influence of Attitudes and Behaviours 9

4.3 Planning and Management 4.3.1 The Importance of Planning and Management 9 4.3.2 Sony’s Current Planning and Management 10 4.3.3 Effectiveness of Current Leadership 10

4.4 Strategy and Decision Making 4.4.1 Hirai’s Strategy and Decision Making Process 11

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

4.4.2 Evaluation on Its Effectiveness 11 5.0 Effectiveness of Current Leadership towards Sony’s Future

5.1 Comparison of Financial Ratios 12 5.2 The Cause of Inefficient Leadership 13

6.0 Recommendations

6.1 The Solution – Transformation 14 6.2 A New Beginning 14 6.3 The 5 I’s of Transformational Aspect 15

7.0 Conclusion 16 8.0 Reference List and Bibliography 17-22 9.0 Appendixes

8.1 Appendix A - Market Share Analysis 23 8.2 Appendix B - Competitor Financials 24-26 8.3 Appendix C - Board of Directors and Key Employees 27-31 8.4 Appendix D - Current Organization Structure 32 8.5 Appendix E - Consolidated Statement of Income 33-39

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of Sony

Peter F. Drucker once said that “Management is doing things right whereas

leadership is doing the right things.” In 1946, when Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita set

up Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation (currently known as Sony

Corporation) and became one of the pioneers in the industry, it also marked the

beginning of their leadership success. The company got on track with high

aspirations and great confidence in the 20 technologically capable engineers they

had, and became one of the most reputable mega technological giants in Japan. In

1958 the company name was changed to Sony Corporation. Over the years several

candidates had been elected as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and in 1st April 2012,

the current CEO Kazuo Hirai their took over the leadership role of the conglomerate.

(Sony, 2015)

1.2 The Vision

First founders Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita knew that they had a team of dedicated

and motivated engineers who shared the same aspirations. They thought of ways to

unite each of them, encouraging them to embrace a firm cooperative spirit and

unleash their technological capabilities without any reserve. They were clear of the

vision they had for Sony, to "Become the leading global provider of networked

consumer electronics, entertainment and services”. To them, nothing was more

important than being a company that inspires with their technological spirit. (Sony,

2015)

1.3 The Mission

The corporate culture of Sony was very different from other typical Japanese

organizations. Rather than establishing a system of control, Ibuka created a pleasant

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

working atmosphere, turning it into a dynamic workplace with an open-minded

corporate culture. He created Sony’s mission statement, that is “to become a leading

global provider of networked consumer electronics, entertainment and services”. For

many years, Sony retained their vision and mission until Kazuo Hirai, the current

CEO tried to change the company direction by shifting its focus to new businesses

and unifying the company under his “One Sony” plan. This marked the beginning of

his transactional leadership moves in Sony. (Wakabayashi, 2012)

2.0 Industries

2.1 Industry Portfolio

Sony has a diverse industry portfolio. They are involved in electronics, games,

music, movies and financial services. With a passion to create new markets, Sony

was an early creator and dominator of consumer electronics and became famous for

being the creator of “Walkman” and “Discman” in 1979 and the world’s first portable

TV in 1960. Sony’s breakthrough in technology and innovation became their platform

to enter the international markets. According to Forbes, (2015) although Sony faces

challenges from competitors, its strong brand equity and corporate image remains in

the hearts of their loyal supporters.

2.2 Current Businesses

Sony only focuses on 3 main industries; entertainment, games and electronics at

present. Warmen, (2014) commented that ever since the previous CEO Nobuyuki

Idei took over the leadership role in 1997, he changed the entire structure of Sony’s

operations, deviating from the original organization vision and mission which was set

by the early founders, that is to pursue innovation and creativity, and to develop new

technologies and products. Thereafter, his style of leadership was adopted by the

CEOs who succeeded him. According to Adelstein and Stucky (2012), it was evident

that this change caused Sony to lose its competitiveness which resulted in the

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

company making huge losses. Having lost millions over the years, the current CEO

Hirai decided to focus on manufacturing products instead of pioneering new markets

as reliable products of quality used to be their core competence, and that is what

consumers still seek for.

2.3 Current Competitors

In today’s competitive business environment, organizations without a competitive

advantage and strong leadership will lag behind in the industry. (Khan and Adnan,

2014) Sony faces strong competitors in every sector of their business. Big players

like Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, Toshiba, Samsung and LG already hold bigger

market shares than Sony. Countries like Korea, Taiwan and US have also outshone

Sony in terms of technology and innovation. With respect to the games industry,

Microsoft and Nintendo are the 2 other major players that are competing with Sony’s

Playstation. As Maznevski, and Chudoba (2000) have mentioned, organizations face

multiple challenges in today’s market. As such, survival in the present competitive

environment requires prudent and well planned strategies that help to improve

operational performance and create its competitive advantage. (Please refer to

APPENDIX A and APPENDIX B for current market share and competitor financials)

3.0 Current Leadership

3.1 Background of Kazuo Hirai

Current Sony Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kazuo Hirai who took over the reins

since 2012 was 24 years old when he first joined Sony. Born in Tokyo in the 1960s,

he studied in an American university in Japan and graduated with a bachelor’s

degree in Liberal Arts. His father was a banker who worked in U.S and his family

lives in Canada therefore since young had the opportunity to travel too and fro these

places, allowing him to pick up fluent English language skills. According to

Bloomberg, (2015) he began his career with Sony Inc. (previously CBS) in 1984. His

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

strategic and intellectual competency in his work performance helped him rose

through the ranks and moved to Sony Music Japan’s New York office, where he led

the Sony Computer Entertainment Japan’s international business affairs. His years

of hard work and perseverance paid off when he was appointed as the president and

CEO of Sony in 2012. According to Alabaster, (2012) he was known as a charismatic

veteran who has been groom to lead Sony. The fact that Hirai’s bilingual and

bicultural background, and training under Howard Stringer has shaped him to

become who he is today. Like previous CEO Howard Stringer, he also felt that Sony

needs to go through restructuring and cut down its loss but the “DNA” of Sony will

remain.

3.2 The “Transitional” Phase

Sony has been making losses since 1995 during ex-CEO Nobuyuki Idei’s era and

ex-CEO Howard Stringer’s era. When Hirai was made CEO, he was tasked with the

mission of reviving Sony and it back to its competitiveness in its products. In an

interview with Wall Street Journal, (2015) Hirai affirmed Sony’s commitment to

innovation, commitment to bringing out new products whether it’s software or

hardware contents or services, and their commitment to touch the emotions of

consumers will not change, however at the same time, he was challenged with

conflicting thoughts. He knew that to achieve corporate objectives, he would have to

implement huge changes to Sony by adopting his own leadership style but at the

same time, he was faced with the same issue like the 2 CEOs before him, and that is

to retain Sony’s culture (Sanchez-Runde et al., 2011)

In the case of Sony’s current leadership, it is likely that Hirai has adopted a mixture

of leadership styles. During the time of his leadership, Patel, (2015) mentioned that

Sony was no longer an electronics company because Hirai sold away the company’s

VIAOs personal computer unit and announced he would spin off the TV and Audio

businesses into a wholly owned subsidiary. Hirai further comment he may consider

to sell off Sony’s Smartphone and TV businesses entirely and focus more on the

media and gaming units because he hopes to achieve his plans of reducing loss and

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

regaining profits. The rationale behind his actions reminds us of what ex-CEO

Howard Stringer had in mind, and that was to reduce loss.

3.3 Evaluating Its Effectiveness

Things may be looking up for Sony at the moment under Kazuo Hirai’s leadership

but in the long run, the future of Sony is still highly uncertain. Since its establishment,

Sony successfully created an incredible brand name, however, its legend seem to

fall apart ever since the past CEOs restructured the company as prior to that,

strategic issues arose, and caused the company to experience declining profits.

According to Bloomberg, (2012) since Hirai took over the leadership role, he started

executing his restructuring plan by closing down several factories, laying off

employees, reducing the production of TVs and selling away VIAOs personal

computer unit. It was because he had in mind his “One Sony” concept thus he

believes that he should cut down on the operating cost of products that weren’t

making profits, sell away products that weren’t making profit and accumulate funds

to focuses on the 3 main industries; entertainment, games and electronics. On top of

that, Hussain, (2012) said, that Hirai spent millions of dollars to acquisit cloud

gaming venture, medical equipment manufacturers and bailout of Olympus, claiming

that these were part of his plans to revive Sony. Hirai’s acquisition strategy appears

to be different from the previous CEO however it still did not leverage on the core

competency of Sony. Although the changes in practices were suppose to help steer

Sony towards growth but somehow there isn’t enough evidence to justify whether

these changes are successful or not.

4.0 Assess The Strengths and Weaknesses of Current Leadership

4.1 Motivation

4.1.1 A Positive Working Environment

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Like what Khan and Adnan, (2014) mentioned, leadership style does matter

and contribute towards overall performance of any organization. It also plays

a significant role in motivating and enhancing individuals and organizational

performance. For the case of Sony, Smith, (2011) identified how Hirai

managed to keep his employees motivated by providing a positive working

environment. As the CEO, he abides by human rights which involves the

safety, healthy and efficient working environment. To prevent discrimination

among their diverse group of employees, he established the Diversity

committee which reports directly to him, and formulated the Diversity Policy as

a common diversity statement for Sony Group. (Sony, 2015) and established a

rewards system whereby employees’ gets rewarded based on their individual

performance and implemented the “Flexi Hours Scheme” so that employees

get to spend time with their families, for he knew that having such schemes

allows employees to satisfy their physiological and safety needs. (Lee et al,

2014)

4.1.2 Establishing Relationships

Apart from having a good working environment, Lee et al, (2014) also note

that under current leadership, employees could be assigned to higher level of

the company based on their performance. Communication among employees

is enhanced through team-based working environment as Hirai believes in

engaging everyone to establish relationships. Through engagement,

employees are highly motivated as they are shaped to believe they are valued

by the company, satisfying the belonging, self esteem and self actualization

needs. Like what Warman, (2014) mentioned, the current leadership strategy

of unifying the different divisions through the “One Sony” concept had

somehow created a positive drive in employees and led them to generate

more ideas.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

However, all these mentioned will only occur if the higher management

acknowledges the efforts of the employee, for under the current leadership

“laying off employees” that are deem as incompetent is still inevitable.

4.1.3 Developing Talents

To react to ongoing loss, Hirai tried to salvage the situation by laying off

workers. This decision caused many employees to feel insecure and greatly

damaged their morale. As such it prevents Sony from retaining good

employees and attracting new talents for culturally, Japanese are known to be

loyal to their company and will work till retirement. In certain aspect,

Wakabayashi, (2012) commented, that the current leadership style and

change in corporate culture caused some employees to go through

psychological distress which may affect their work performance.

Despite so, Hirai also understands the importance of retaining Sony’s “human

assets” and emphasized the career development scheme for those

employees who displayed outstanding performance. Lee et al, (2014)

mentioned, under current leadership, Sony provides training and career

development which can give employees a chance to get higher level of

position at work. Selected candidates will be sent to Sony University where

they train and develop skills of the managers and senior executives, for Hirai

believed by investing on their managers and equipping them with additional

set of skills enables them to create a better and efficient working environment.

4.2 Team Dynamics

4.2.1 Current Organization Structure

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

According to Chatterji et al, (2012) Hirai announced a new management

structure with effect on the day he officially took over the CEO position. He

mentioned these changes were intended to drive revitalization and growth

across Sony’s core electronics business, deliver compelling user experiences

through convergence of the unique assets in place throughout the Sony

Group. To achieve that, he reorganized Sony into three primary divisions

namely Sony Electronics, Sony Entertainment, Sony Financial Services and

unite the Global Sales & Marketing, Corporate R&D, Manufacturing,

Logistics, Procurement & Quality, into common platforms, retaining the old

reporting style. Ultimately, he believes these changes will help to establish

rapid and optimized decision making process as “One Sony”, which will

significantly reinforce and accelerate Sony’s overall business management.

(Sony, 2012)

Despite implementing all these changes, the hierarchical functional structure

of typical Japanese companies remained. Kimura, (2012) commented,

Japanese firms widely exhibit political behaviours especially factional disputes

and slow decision making process all because of the tall hierarchy in the

organization therefore to complement the new management structure, the tall

hierarchy have to be eliminated. (Please see Appendix B for

.

4.2.2 Organization Culture

It has been noticed by Chatterji et al, (2012) that the new management team

is made up of key executives who were responsible for the past successes of

Sony therefore it showed evidence that Sony’s culture places a high premium

on consensus building and longevity. As Hirai personally advocates culture

diversity thus the Sony board of directors not only comprised of selected

members of the executive management committee and non-employee

veterans where among them, some of them were from different nationality.

The current management team has broad industry experience, whereas the

board of directors also have vast industry experience and seemed to be a

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

power top management team but the mid to lower level employees thought

otherwise. As the traditional Japanese culture values were deeply rooted in

the minds of the veterans, many continued to oppose the changes that Hirai

had made.

4.2.3 Influence of Attitudes and Behaviours

According to Alabaster, (2012) Hirai was classified as a charismatic leader

and enjoys building rapport with his employees. Although he knew that not

everyone in Sony approved of the changes he had done to the organization,

he maintained his cool and continued his employer-to-staff interaction. His

positive attitude somehow paid off sometime in January 2015, when derailed

launch of “The Interview” movie in United States was hacked by cyber

hackers and caused a great hassle. Graaf, (2015) said that in the entire

incident Hirai took his stand and commented his employees were the victims

of ‘a vicious and malicious cyber-attack. Despite facing various speculations

from media and public that the hacker could be someone from Sony, Hirai

stood firm on his stand and said that he was proud of his employees for

standing against this hacker incident.

4.3 Planning and Management

4.3.1 The Importance of Planning and Management

With the increase in innovation and competitors all over the world in the

recent years, this has led to an erosion of Sony’s hold on the television and

electronics industry. This coupled with the change in leadership over the

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

years has resulted in Sony losing its competitiveness and creating massive

losses. (Adelstein and Stucky, 2012)

As such, planning and management is extremely crucial in the future of Sony

as it creates direction and ensures that Sony is well prepared to deal with the

current crisis as well as future events. (DeWitt and Meyer, 2004)

4.3.2 Sony’s Current Planning and Management

According to Chatterji et al, (2012) Kazuo Hirai who is the current CEO of

Sony has attempted to take ownership of the situation and implement

changes in Sony that he believes will bring Sony the old glory it once had.

Kazuo Hirai’s main goals are to minimize losses and increase profitability in

the long run. To achieve those goals, he has attempted to restructure how the

company functions as a whole by reorganizing the top management

employees.

4.3.3 Effectiveness of Current Leadership

Kazuo Hirai first began his career selling music for Sony’s record label, and it

is known widely that he is not extremely knowledgeable about the technical

aspect of products. However Alabaster, (2012) argued that does not imply

that he would be unable to lead Sony to a better position in the industry. As

mentioned earlier, the previous CEOs of Sony found it challenging to make

tough decisions as they were afraid of the backlash that the changes could

potentially bring.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

With respect to Kazuo Hirai’s leadership of Sony since 2012, things have

been looking up. He has been able to make radical changes like shifting away

from the traditional consumer electronics businesses. His ability to plan and

manage Sony as a whole has been a commendable effort. However, in order

to stay in line with Sony’s vision and mission which focuses on innovation and

quality products, which is also one of the few ways to be the industry leaders,

Kazuo has to shift his focus from cost cutting to increased innovation. In

Inagaki, (2015) opinion, it is only with increased innovation that Sony might

possibly achieve success once again.

4.4 Strategy and Decision Making Process

4.4.1 Hirai’s Strategy and Decision Making Process

36 years ago, when the concept of portable music devices was absolutely

foreign to the world, Sony introduced the iconic Walkman. A company once

known for its innovation has now been reduced to a company that is barely

surviving and producing run of the mill products. (Hartung, 2012)

Hitt, et al, (2014) emphasized that each company’s strategy and decision

making process should be moulded by the mission and the vision of the

company. In the case of Sony, this would be the aim to "become the company

most known for changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese

products", and “to become a leading global provider of networked consumer

electronics, entertainment and services”. (Sony, 2015)

Apparently it is observed by Hussain, (2012) that Sony’s strategy under the

leadership of Kazuo Hirai is to sell off assets and restructure loss-making

units such as its TV business as it tries to get back to profitability.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

4.4.2 Evaluation on Its Effectiveness

Strategy and decision making is an ongoing process that involves the

assessment of Sony’s observed outcomes and implementing changes that

aim to rectify and improve its current situation. In the case of Sony, where

their short term goal is to reduce net loss, they have been very successful

thus far. Ando, R. (2015) commented, in February 2015, Sony forecasted an

operating profit instead of a loss for the financial year ending March 31. But it

still expects to book a net loss in 2014/15, albeit a smaller amount than

previously estimated.

To do so, Sony has made the decision to sell off its personal computer

division and spin off the TV business. It has also axed thousands of jobs. It

was reported by Reuters, (2015) that Kazuo’s strategy to cut costs and focus

on the sales of camera sensors and video games won him the support of 88%

of Sony’s shareholders, despite the low returns on equity.

However, as much as Sony may be doing well currently in the sales of

camera sensors and video games, success will be limited. Factors like

increased competition as well as volatility in the industry may potentially

worsen Sony’s losses. Diversification and innovation are two strategies that

Kazuo could implement, both of which are in line with Sony’s mission and

vision statements. (McDonald, 2013)

5.0 Effectiveness of Current Leadership Towards Sony’s Future

5.1 Comparison Of Financial Ratios

To determine the effectiveness of current leadership, Hitt et al, (2014) suggests

using four types of financial ratios to compute the financial statistics and evaluate the

organization’s performance. To test the effectiveness of Sony’s current leadership, a

comparison has been done based on financial data from past CEO Norio Ohga and

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

current CEO Kazuo Hirai. Through this assessment we will be able to justify whether

the current leadership is effective towards the future of the organization.

Ratio Formula Year

March 31, 1994 (JPY ￥in Millions)

March 31, 2014 (JPY ￥ in millions)

Profit Return on

Investment

Net profit before

taxes/Total Assets

102,162 / 4,269,885=

0.024

25,741 /

15,333,720= 0.002

Liquidity

Current Ratio

Current

Assets/Current

Liabilities

2,023,728 /

1,407,639= 1.44

4,204,886 /

4,783,614= 0.88

Leverage

Debt to Asset

Total Liabilities/Total

Assets

1,436,561

/4,269,885= 0.34

12,546,464

/15,333,720 =0.82

Activity

Inventory

Turnover

Sales/ Inventory

3,733,721/

671,992=5.56

6,682,274 / 733,943

=9.11

Above table shows the financial ratios under the two different leadership: Norio Ohga

(1994) versus Kazuo Hirai (2014)

It is evident from the table that the current leadership style which Kazuo Hirai used to

manage Sony is inefficient. Based on the above ratios, we can see the difference in

every aspect.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

5.2 The Cause of Inefficient Leadership

The fact that Kazuo Hirai sold away Sony’s profitable businesses such as VAIO

computers, “Spiderman” copyrights and attempts to reduce its production of TVs

impacted most of the employees. According to Hartung, (2012) these decisions

stirred up employees emotions causing them to fear losing their jobs and resulted in

them losing interest towards their work. To them, they felt the change in company

culture very much overwhelming, causing them to feel conflicted in their beliefs,

especially those senior employees whom had worked in Sony since its early years.

Many of them whom had pioneered with Sony could not adapt to the drastic change

of leadership because they felt that the leader of Sony had lost sight of its original

vision and mission, and the direction which it’s supposed to be heading.

6.0 Recommendations

6.1 The Solution - Transformation

Sony needs a complete transformation in their leadership practice if they wish to

survive in the industry. Although it has been identified that current CEO Kazuo Hirai

uses a hybrid of leadership styles however it is seems not effective. Kimura, (2012)

mentioned, several of Sony’s previous employees commented the recent slump of

Sony was caused by the spreading of an introvert attitude and a decline in market

orientation due to organizational politics. In order to revive Sony and resume its

former glory, Hirai needs to be a transformational leader. Lowe et al. (1996)

mentioned that a successful transformational leader is capable of articulating a vision

of the future that can be shared with peers and subordinates, intellectually stimulates

subordinates and pays high attention to individual differences among people. Most

importantly, they do not merely react to environmental circumstances; instead they

will attempt to shape and turn them into favourable outcomes.

6.2 A New Beginning

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

For the case of Sony, the CEO first needs to introduce change by creating a new

“DNA” through establishing new organizational structure, goals and objectives.

According to Khan and Adnan, (2014) studies show the leadership style of the leader

in the organization has a strong impact on the performance of the organization thus

every strategic plan for Sony should be directed towards long-terms aspects and

aligns with a new organization vision and mission. While Ejere and Abasilim (2013)

defines transformational leadership as the process of influencing major changes in

attitudes and assumptions of organisational members and building commitment for

the organisation's mission and objectives, it is also essential for a transformational

leader to raise follower’s consciousness levels about the importance and value of

designated outcomes and ways to achieve them. The transformational leader should

constantly motivate followers to transcend their own immediate self-interest for the

sake of the mission and vision of the organisation.

6.3 The 5 I’s of Transformational Aspect

As part of the “change” process, Ejere and Abasilim, (2013) suggested that the

transformational leader should include these five variables that forms the essential

aspects of the leadership. They are namely the idealised attribute, idealised

influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised

consideration.

To further illustrate Ejere and Abasilim, (2013) explained; idealised attribute are

noticeable when followers report that their leader is charismatic. Idealised influence

allows a leader to instil pride, faith, and respect in followers causing them to connect

and imitate their leaders. Inspirational motivation represents behaviour that provides

symbols and simplified emotional appeals and these help to raise expectations and

optimism amongst followers. Intellectual stimulation triggers followers on new ways

of problem solving through proactive thinking. Individualised consideration is present

when a leader delegates assignments, stimulates and coaches followers on an

individual basis.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Like what Lowe et al, (1996) quoted, transformational leadership augments

transactional management to achieve higher levels of subordinate performance with

the primary difference residing in the process by which the leader motivates

subordinates and in the types of goals set. Therefore it is believed that the above

mentioned will help Sony in its full revival.

7.0 Conclusion

Based on the various research, it is evident that Sony has not been doing well since

the change of CEO in 1995, when Nobuyuki Idei took over and the situation worsen

after Howard Stringer took over in 2005. Although Hirai has proven to lead Sony with

a much efficient way as compared to the 2 ex-CEOs, however whether will his hybrid

style of leadership succeed? No one knows. But the fact that he was bold enough to

implement a completely new “One Sony” concept in a Japanese firm that is deeply

rooted to its strong culture values shows that he really advocates what he said when

he replied in the interview with The Wall Street Journal, (2015) saying Sony must

evolve. Although there are reports commenting, ever since Hirai took over the

leadership role, there was an improvement in the profits. But many also criticised him

for selling away Sony’s valuable assets to create those profits which are only short-

term measures, for they believed that if Sony doesn’t ride on its core competency of

utilising their innovations and technological strength to strengthen their competitive

edge over competitors, it would be useless to execute any strategy.

Therefore in the case of Sony, it is suggested for Hirai to be decisive and decide on

a full transformational leadership style rather than adopting a mixture of leadership

styles. Sony’s brand equity still holds weight in many consumers’ heart but the

negative impact caused by inappropriate leadership over the past 10 years still

lingers around. Through a transformational leadership whereby a new organization

goal, new vision and new mission is set and carried out by a charismatic leader

nominee Hirai, chances are high that he will be able to wield positive influences not

only to his staff but also to consumers that grew along with Sony. If Hirai succeeds in

doing that, Sony will truly experience a breakthrough. …………………………………

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Reference List and Bibliography

Adelstein, J. and Stucky, N.K. (2012) The Ghost of SONY. Available at:

http://www.japansubculture.com/the-ghosts-of-sony/ (Accessed on 12 June 2015)

Alabaster, J. (2012) Computer World: Sony’s Hirai, exec who led playstation

turnaround, promoted to CEO. Available at:

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2500769/it-leadership/sony-s-hirai--exec-who-

led-playstation-turnaround--promoted-to-ceo.html (Accessed on 4 Jule 2015)

Ando, R. (2015) Reuters: Sony sees 25-fold profit jump by 2018; could exit TVs,

phones. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/18/us-sony-strategy-

idUSKBN0LM05X20150218 (Accessed on 4 July 2015)

Bakacsi, G. (1999) ‘Culture Specific And Cross-Culturally Generalizable Implicit

Leadership Theories: Are Attributes of Charismatic/Transformational Leadership

Universally Endorsed?’, The Leadership Quarterly, 10 (2), pp. 220-256. Available at:

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gyula_Bakacsi2/publication/249960601_CULTU

RE_SPECIFIC_AND_CROSS-

_CULTURALLY_GENERALIZABLE_IMPLICIT_LEADERSHIP_THEORIES_ARE_A

TTRIBUTES_OF_CHARISMATICTRANSFORMATIONAL_LEADERSHIP_UNIVERS

ALLY_ENDORSED_1/links/0c96051e6d7642cd94000000.pdf (Accessed on 20 June

2015)

Biner, A.J. (2015) How To Improve Innovations Practice Through The Rise Of Job

Satisfaction. Bachelor Thesis. Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

Available at:

http://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/96448/Metropolia_Thesis_AJoshBiner.

pdf?sequence=1 (Accessed on 20 June 2015)

Bloomberg (2015) Sony-Corp Sponsored Adr (SNE: New York). Available at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=2535638&t

icker=SNE (Accessed on 1 July 2015)

Chatterji, D, Schildwachter, H, and Harrison, J.S. (2012) ‘Sony Corporation:

Reinventing Itself To Rediscover The Technological Edge’, University of Richmond-

Robins School of Business, November. Available at:

http://robins.richmond.edu/documents/cases/Sony.pdf (Accessed on 5 July 2015)

DeWitt, B. and Meyer, R. (2004) Strategy: Process, Content, Context”,3rd Edition.

London:Thomson International Business Press.

Ejere, E.I. and Abasilim, U.D. (2013) ‘Impact of Transactional and Transformational

Leadership Styles on Organizational Performance: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria’,

The Journal of Commerce, 5 (1), pp. 30-41. Available at:

http://joc.hcc.edu.pk/articlepdf/5_5_1_30_41.pdf (Accessed on 20 June 2015)

Forbes. (2015) The World’s Most Valuable Brands #79 Sony. Available at:

http://www.forbes.com/companies/sony/ (Accessed on 18 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Graaf, M.D. (2015) ‘Sony chief executive praises his staff for standing up to

extortionist 'criminals' as he condemns 'vicious and malicious cyber-attack’, Daily

Mail, 6 Jan. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2898295/Sony-

chief-executive-breaks-silence-vicious-malicious-cyber-attack.html (Accesed on 6

July 2015)

Hartung, A. (2012) Sayonara Sony: How Industrial, MBA-Style Leadership Killed a

Once Great Company. Available at:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/04/20/sayonara-sony-how-industrial-

mba-style-leadership-killed-once-great-company/ (Accessed on 13 June 2015)

Hitt, M., Black, S. and Porter, L.W. (2014) Management 3rd Edition. England:

Pearson

Hoovers Inc. (2015) Audio & Video Equipment Manufacturing Overview. Availlable

at: http://www.hoovers.com/industry-facts.audio-video-equipment-

manufacturing.1812.html (Accessed on 18 June 2015)

Hoovers Inc. (2015) SONY CORPORATION Corporate Information. Available at:

http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-

profile.SONY_CORPORATION.1ea4f109cc465528.html (Accessed on 18 June

2015)

Hussain, S. (2012) Gadge Hit: Analysts: Sony In Trouble Due To Hirai’s Acquisition.

Available at: http://www.gadgehit.com/2012/10/04/analysts-sony-in-trouble-due-to-

hirais-acquisitions/ (Accessed on 5 July 2015)

IBISWorld. (2015). Global Consumer Electronics Manufacturing: Market Research

Report. Available at: http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/global/global-consumer-

electronics-manufacturing.html. (Accessed on 12 June 15).

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Inagaki, K. (2015) Former Sony CFO attacks Kazuo Hirai over strategy. Available at:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/123628c6-ece1-11e4-b82f-

00144feab7de.html#axzz3ejgVS5qC (Accessed on 2 July 2015)

Karsten, L., Keulen, S., Kroeze, R., and Peters, R. (2009) ‘Leadership Style and

Entrepreneurial Change: The Centurion Operations at Philips Electronics’, Journal of

Organizational Change Management, 29 (1), pp. 73-91. Available at:

http://www.pogc.ir/Portals/0/maghalat/890724-7.pdf (Accessed on 20 June 2015)

Kelly, T and Murai, R. (2012) Reuters: Special Report: The Sony Schism. Available

at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/27/us-sony-idUSBRE82O0HV20120327

(Accessed on 5 July 2015)

Khan, A.Z. and Adnan, N. (2014) ‘Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational

Performance’, International Journal of Management Sciences, 2 (11), pp. 501-515.

Available at: http://www.rassweb.com/wp-content/uploads/PDF/IJMS/Vol-2/Issue-

11/Paper%202.pdf (Accessed on 20 June 2015)

Kimura, T. (2012) ‘Transformational Leadership and Job Satisfaction: The Mediating

Effects of Perceptions of Politics and Market Orientation in The Japanese Context’,

International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 7 (1), pp. 30-

42. Available at:

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Takuma_Kimura/publication/266410382_Transfo

rmational_leadership_and_job_satisfaction_The_mediating_effects_of_perceptions_

of_politics_and_market_orientation_in_the_Japanese_context/links/54f2caac0cf24e

b8794945f7.pdf (Accessed on 20 June 2015)

Kivipold, K, and Vadi, M. (2010) ‘a Measurement Tool For The Evaluation of

Organizational Leadership’, Baltic Journal of Management, 5 (1), pp. 118-136.

Available at:

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kurmet_Kivipld/publication/243973560_A_measu

rement_tool_for_the_evaluation_of_organizational_leadership_capability/links/0deec

520339867594d000000.pdf (Accessed on 20 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Kumar, S. (2015) Voice from senior. Available at:

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/Careers/jphq/seniors/seniors_01.html (Accessed on 23

June 2015)

Lee, D., Him, L.L., Pu, J.X. and Jin, P.Y. (2014) ‘Sony: Application of Management

Concept Theory’, Wordpress, 7 May. Available at:

https://sony1020.wordpress.com/about/ (Accessed on 29 June 2015)

Lowe, K.B, Kroeck, K.G, and Sivasubramaniam, N. (1996) ‘Effectiveness Correlates

of Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Review of The

MLQ Literature’, The Leadership Quarterly, 7 (3), pp.385-415. Available at:

http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/K_Lowe_Effectiveness_1996.pdf (Accessed on 24

June 2015)

Maznevski, M.L, and Chudoba, K.M. (2000) ‘Bridging Space Over Time: Global

Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness’,Organization Science, 11 (5), pp. 473-

492. Available at:

http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=mis_facpub

s (Accessed on 23 June 2015)

McDonald, D. (2013) Can SONY Be Saved? Bad Decisions Stifle Onetime Innovator:

Ganjin Howard Stringer Fails Spectacularly. Available at:

http://observer.com/2013/06/can-sony-be-saved-bad-decisions-stifle-one-time-

innovator/ (Accessed on 12 June 2015)

Patel, N. (2015) The Verge: Sony Is No Longer An Electronics Company. Available

at: http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8063269/sony-electronics-future-selling-off-

pc-smartphone-tv (Accessed on 24 June 2015)

Reuters, T. (2015) NDTV Gadgets: Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai Reportedly Faces Attack

From Activist 'Old Boys'. Available at: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/sony-

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

ceo-kazuo-hirai-reportedly-faces-attack-from-activist-old-boys-685170 (Accessed on

18 June 2015)

Reuters, T. (2015) The Times of India: Shareholder re-elect Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai.

Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Shareholders-re-

elect-Sony-CEO-Kazuo-Hirai/articleshow/47825593.cms (Accessed on 4 July 2015)

Sanchez-Runde, C.R, Nardon, L, and Steers, R.M. (2011) ‘Looking Beyond Western

Leadership Models: Implications For Global Managers’, Organizational Dynamics,

40, pp. 207-213. Available at:

https://www.academia.edu/5255121/Looking_beyond_Western_leadership_models_I

mplications_for_global_managers (Accessed on 25 June 2015)

Smith, G.P. (2011) Profiles in Diversity Journals: How to Attract, Retain and Motivate

Today’s Workforce. Available at: http://www.diversityjournal.com/5026-how-to-

attract-retain-and-motivate-todays-workforce/ (Accessed on 18 June 2015)

Sony Corporation (2012). Sony Establishes New Management Structure

- To Drive Revitalization and Growth of Electronics Businesses and Deliver

Compelling User Experiences as “One Sony”. Available from:

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201203/12-043E/ (Accessed on 6 July

2015)

Sony Corporation (2014). CSR Reporting: Human Resources. Available from:

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/employees/ (Accessed on 28 June 2015)

Sony Corporation (2015). About Sony. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/

(Accessed on 18 June 2015)

Sue, J. (2003) Asian Week: Profile: Kazuo Hirai. Available at:

http://www.asianweek.com/2003/12/19/profile-kazuo-hirai/ (Accessed on 4 July

2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

The Wall Street Journal. (2015) Japan Realtime: Q&A: Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai Says

Company Must Evolve. Available at:

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/04/29/qa-sony-ceo-kazuo-hirai-says-

company-must-evolve/ (Accessed on 4 July 2015)

Wakabayashi, D. (2012) The Wall Street Journal: New Sony Chief Executive

Reveals Fast-Forward Plans. Available at:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204740904577196214261871258

(Accessed on 18 June 2015)

Warmen, M. (2014) The Telegraph: Kazuo Hirai: Sony is looking beyond the

smartphone for the future. Available at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/110

79256/Kazuo-Hirai-Sony-is-looking-beyond-the-smartphone-for-the-future.html

(Accessed on 18 June 2015)

Yu, H.H. (2013) ‘Decoding Leadership: How Steve Jobs Transformed Apple to

Spearhead A Technological Informal Economy’, Journal of Business and

Management, 19 (1), pp. 33-44. Available at:

https://192.77.116.204/business/_files/journals-and-essays/jbm-editions/13-0399-

JBM-Journal-Special-Issue-Vol%2019_FINAL.pdf#page=35 (Accessed on 20 June

2015)

8.0 APPENDIX

APPENDIX A: MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Statista. (2015) Global market share held by LCD TV manufacturers from 2008 to 2014. Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/267095/global-market-share-of-lcd-tv-manufacturers/ (Accessed on 18 June 2015)

APPENDIX B: COMPETITOR’S FINANCIALS

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Hoovers Inc (2015). LG Electronics Inc. Revenue and Financial Data. Available from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.LG_Electronics_Inc.70e242f293f08235.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

Source: Hoovers Inc (2015). Panasonic Corporation Revenue and Financial Data. Available from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.PANASONIC_CORPORATION.d06ee749b8495923.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Hoovers Inc (2015). Koninklijke Philips N.V. Revenue and Financial Data. Available from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.Koninklijke_Philips_NV.e365f2b0ec2860c6.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Hoovers Inc (2015). Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Revenue and Financial Data. Available from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.Samsung_Electronics_Co_Ltd.a166cb2c88a2e408.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

Source: Hoovers Inc (2015). Sharp Corporation Revenue and Financial Data. Available from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.SHARP_CORPORATION.08be94e9230b9527.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Hoovers Inc (2015). Toshiba Corporation Revenue and Financial Data. Available from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.TOSHIBA_CORPORATION.ebe2542309947e1d.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

APPENDIX C: BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND KEY EMPLOYEES

Board Of Directors (As of 19 June 2014)

Chairman Of The Board:

Chairman of the Board Osamu Nagayama

Members of the Board:

Kazuo Hirai Representative Corporate Executive Officer,

President and Chief Executive Officer

Kenichiro Yoshida Representative Corporate Executive Officer, EVP and CFO

Kanemitsu Anraku Director, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.

Osamu Nagayama Representative Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd

Takaaki Nimura Certified Public Accountant

Eikoh Harada Chairman, Director,

Macdonald's Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd

Macdonald’s Company (Japan), Ltd

Joichi Ito Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab

Tim Schaaff Retired President, Sony Network Entertainment International LLC

Independent Start-up Advisor

Kazuo Matsunaga Retired Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Koichi Miyatai President, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc

John V Roos Former United States Ambassador to Japan

Eriko Sakurai Chairman and CEO, Dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation (2014) Sony Corporation Executive Appointments. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201406/14-061E/index.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

Corporate Executive Officers (As of 23 June 2015) Representative Corporate Executive Officers:

Kazuo Hirai President and Chief Executive Officer

Kenichiro Yoshida Executive Deputy President and Chief Financial Office

Corporate Executive Officers:

Tomoyuki Suzuki Executive Deputy President

Officer in charge of Device Solutions Business and RDS Platform

President of Device Solutions Business Group

Shiro Kambe Executive Vice President

Officer in charge of Legal, Compliance, Corporate Communications

CSR and External Relations

Masashi Imamura Executive Vice President

Officer in charge of Manufacturing, Logistics, Procurement,

Quality and Environmental Platform and Engineering Platform

Shigeki Ishizuka Executive Vice President

Officer in charge of Imaging Products & Solutions Business

President of Professional Solutions Group

President of Digital Imaging Business Group

Shoji Nemoto Executive Vice President, Sony Group China Representative

In charge of Disc Manufacturing Business

Keiichiro Shimada Senior Vice President

In charge of Mid-to-Long term Technology, RDS Platform

In charge of Technology Policy and Relations

Yoshito Ezure Senior General Manager of Energy Division,

Device Solutions Business Group

Representative Director and President,

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Sony Energy Devices Corporation

Toru Katsumoto President of Medical Business Unit

Representative Director and President,

Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc

Fumiaki Sakai Chief Information Officer

Hideyuki Furumi President of UX, Marketing Group, UX Platform

Masayuki Hattori President of System R&D Group, RDS Platform

Teruo Hirayama President of Device & Material R&D Group, RDS Platform

Toshimoto Mitomo In charge of Intellectual Property

Toshihiko Ohnishi Deputy President of Imaging Products and Solutions Sector

Deputy President of Professional Solutions Group

Terushi Shimizu Deputy President of Device Solutions Business Group

Natsuko Takei Senior General Manager of Legal & Compliance Department

Hiroichi Kawahira President of Advanced Materials Laboratories,

Device & Material R&D Group, RDS Platform

Kazushi Ambe In charge of Human Resources and General Affairs

Hiroyuki Sato Deputy President of Digital Imaging Business Group,

Imaging Products and Solutions Sector

Kazuhiko Takeda In charge of Accounting

Senior General Manager of Corporate Planning & Control Department

Source: Sony Corporation (2015) Sony Corporation Executive Appointments. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201505/15-049E/index.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Group Executives (as of 23 June 2015)

Michael Lynton CEO, Sony Entertainment Inc.

Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.

CEO, Sony Corporation of America

Katsumi Ihara Executive President and Representative Director,

Sony Financial Holdings Inc.

Chairman, Director, Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

Nobuki Kurita Chairman and President, Sony (China) Co., Ltd

Doug Morris CEO, Sony Music Entertainment

Andrew House In charge of Game & Network Services Business

President and Global CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Martin Bandier Chairman & CEO, Sony / ATV Music Publishing LLC

Hiroshi Kawano President, Corporate Executive, Representative Director,

Sony Marketing of Japan Inc.

Masaru Tamagawa President, Sony Europe Ltd

Nicole Seligman President, Sony Corporation of America

President, Sony Entertainment Inc.

Senior Legal Counsel, in charge of Information Security, Sony Group

Kunimasa Suzuki Executive Vice President, Sony Entertainment Inc

Hiroki Totoki In charge of Mobile Communications Business

President & CEO, Sony Mobile Communications Inc.

Izumi Kawanishi Director, EVP, Sony Mobile Communications Inc.

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

In charge of Solutions Software Development,

Professional Solutions Group, Sony Corporation (Advisory role)

Ichiro Takagi In charge of Home Entertainment & Sound Business

In charge of Consumer AV Sales Platform

Representative Director and President, Sony Visual Products Inc.

President of Video & Sound Business Group, Sony Corporation

Yasuhiro Ueda President, Representative Director, Sony Semiconductor Corporation

Michael Fasulo President and COO, Sony Electronics Inc.

Tomoo Hagimoto President, Representative Director, Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

Michinori Mizuno Representative Director and CEO, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

Hidehiko Teshirogi SVP, Deputy Head of Product Business Group,

Sony Mobile Communications Inc.

In charge of TS Business, Sony Corporation

Source: Sony Corporation (2015) Sony Corporation Executive Appointments. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201505/15-049E/index.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

APPENDIX D: ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

Source: Sony Corporation (2015) Organization Data. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/Data/organization.html (Accessed on 6 July 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

APPENDIX E: CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 1994. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/8ido18000005flqz-att/1994-E.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 1994. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/8ido18000005flqz-att/1994-E.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 1994. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/8ido18000005flqz-att/1994-E.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 1994. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/8ido18000005flqz-att/1994-E.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 2014. Available at: Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/investors/97_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 2014. Available at: Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/investors/97_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)

SONY – Evolution of Leadership 2015

Source: Sony Corporation. (2014) Financial Report for 2014. Available at: Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/investors/97_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2015)