Innovation and New Product Development Case Study

SED Technology: Canon’s New Initiative

OR

Abstract:
In the late 1990s, Canon’s revenue declined and few of its divisions became loss- making. Fujio Mitarai, the president and CEO of the company, closed the money-losing divisions and undertook diversification strategies through technological innovations. He focused on the flat-screen TV segment with a new technology called the SED. By 2010, Fujio Mitarai wanted to post revenue of $50 billion with this new technology. The case gives an insight to Canon’s history and the challenges that it faced over the years. It gives an overview of the global flat-screen TV segment and Fujio Mitarai’s optimistic move with the SED TV.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand how Canon as a camera manufacturer had become an integrated manufacturer of precision equipments including camera, business machines and optical products
• To understand the emerging technology in the consumer electronics industry
• To understand the global flat panel TV industry
• To understand the adoption of new initiatives by Canon for its revival mode.

Keywords : Canon; SED (Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display); Toshiba; Fujio Mitarai; Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) television (TV); Plasma TV; Innovation Management Case Study; Excellent global corporation plan; Flat screen TV; Sony TV; Business strategy; Technological innovation; Consumer electronics; Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TV; Kyosei; New product development

Contents:

• Company background
• Industry overview
• Canon: facing challenges
• Fujio Mitarai – the optimistic move
• Road ahead