Sony aligns its mission statement and vision statement with its business purpose. This alignment results in a diversified but coherent business organization that succeeds in the consumer electronics, online services, and media and entertainment industries. Sony’s mission statement focuses on positive emotional effect on customers. This is similar to the company’s purpose, which focuses on emotion in using electronics and entertainment products. Also referring to emotion, Sony’s vision statement focuses on delivering excitement. The corporate mission and vision statements drive the company to compete with providers of entertainment, gaming, consumer electronics, artificial intelligence, and online services, such as Apple, Samsung, Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, LG, and Huawei, as well as Disney, Netflix, and Universal Pictures. The tough competition described in the Five Forces analysis of Sony is addressed in the company’s strategies and goals based on the corporate vision and mission statements.
Business Purpose Statement. Sony’s business purpose is to “Fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology.” The company refers to this emotion as “kando,” which is a feeling of satisfaction combined with excitement. Thus, the business purpose involves technology and creativity to satisfy customers. This purpose and its emphasis on “kando” are reflected in the company’s mission statement and vision statement. Sony includes the feeling of fulfillment in its corporate mission statement and the feeling of excitement in its corporate vision statement.
Sony’s Mission Statement
Sony’s mission statement is “A company that inspires and fulfills your curiosity.” A basic but realistic description of the technology and media business is presented in this corporate mission statement. The following are the main points of Sony’s mission statement:
- Inspiration
- Fulfillment
- Curiosity
Sony’s mission statement requires that the business inspire and fulfill customers’ curiosity. The technology and gaming company needs to be unique or remarkable to become inspiring. Also, for the corporate mission statement, Sony’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies include product innovation as a way of fulfilling customers’ curiosity. Satisfying customers usually comes with strategies and goals based on market conditions. For example, the trend of online mobile games indicated in the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis of Sony prompts the business to set goals for providing excellent games for mobile devices. These market conditions and trends are also represented in the “curiosity” detail of the mission statement. Customers’ current curiosities determine market demand for consumer electronics, entertainment, and other products. In this regard, to satisfy this corporate mission statement, Sony’s marketing mix (4P) promotes products based on their ability to inspire and fulfill the current curiosities of target customers. For example, Sony’s mission statement is embodied in how the company’s marketing strategies cater to customers’ curiosity in experiencing new video games on PlayStation consoles.
Sony’s Vision Statement
Sony’s vision statement is “Using our unlimited passion for technology, content and services to deliver groundbreaking new excitement and entertainment, as only Sony can.” This corporate vision statement refers to multiple markets for technology and related products. The following are the main points of Sony’s vision statement:
- Unlimited passion
- Technology, content, and services
- Groundbreaking new excitement and entertainment
- Uniqueness of Sony
The “unlimited passion” in Sony’s vision statement means that the company ensures that it has the drive and motivation for its business. Specifically, this unlimited passion should be for technology, content, and services. To support this corporate vision statement, Sony’s organizational culture or corporate culture motivates employees to have passion for what the business does. Also, the “technology, content, and services” detail represents the company’s product mix, which involves consumer electronics, video games, films, music, and online services. This detail of the vision statement influences the definition of Sony’s organizational structure or corporate structure, in terms of resource and process allocation for product development. Moreover, a goal of the corporate vision statement is to deliver or bring new excitement and entertainment, which are a reflection of the objective of evoking the “kando” emotional response that the company states in its business purpose. Furthermore, the “as only Sony can” phrase refers to the uniqueness of the company’s core competencies and competitive advantages, such as high brand value and product popularity, as outlined in the SWOT analysis of Sony. Thus, new technologies, content, and services are among the main strategic goals based on the company’s vision statement.
Strategic Implications of Sony’s Corporate Mission & Corporate Vision
Sony’s current strategies are based on the business purpose and goals represented in the firm’s corporate mission and vision statements. The emphasis on curiosity in the company’s mission statement means that the business aligns its strategies to current and emerging trends that reflect customers’ curiosity. For example, emerging curiosities and expectations in video games and consumer electronics are included in the company’s product development goals and marketing strategies. On the other hand, Sony’s vision statement pushes for strategies for developing groundbreaking new products that are unique. Overall, the company’s corporate vision and mission statements aim for strategies that enable the business to create an emotional bond with customers through groundbreaking unique products.
References
- Fitzsimmons, A. B., Qin, Y. S., & Heffron, E. R. (2022). Purpose vs mission vs vision: Persuasive appeals and components in corporate statements. Journal of Communication Management, 26(2), 207-219.
- Sony Group Corporation – Form 20-F.
- Sony Group Corporation – Products & Services.
- Sony’s Purpose & Values.
- U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Media and Entertainment Industry.
- U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Software and Information Technology Industry.