Entrepreneurship Mishaps For an entrepreneurial idea to remain relevant in society, and maintain market value, constant innovation to improve and enhance the idea is a must. Innovation involves adding some new features to the already existing business model. Change is inevitable, therefore, entrepreneurs have to adjust to the changes that occur in markets, and plan in anticipation of changes to come in the near future. Failure to adjust to the changes in the markets could be detrimental to the success of any brand or entrepreneurial venture. Many business organizations have crashed out of the market due to their failure to constantly innovate and add new features to match the new market demands. Also, technology has advanced so much in the current world. Any organization that forfeits an opportunity to embrace technology will probably fade out of business in the near future. Some of the great entrepreneurial giants that have failed due to lack of innovation include; Polaroid, Blackberry, Nokia, Blockbusters, and Kodak. Kodak, a giant in the photography industry, and was established in the 1880s. Kodak was the leading company in photography for many decades with its sales records surpassing ten billion dollars in 1981. However, the name has faded away from the industry with the company filing for bankruptcy in 2012. The failure of this giant can be attributed to a lack of innovation that matches the digital world demands. Despite Kodak’s management being aware of the need to embrace digital photography, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Fuji, a Japanese firm, introduced a colored camera which was cheaper than Kodak's cameras. Fuji also incorporated digital features in its devices hence attracting more customers. Kodak’s sales started dropping gradually as the market shifted from analog to digital. Due to the slow initiative to embrace digital photography Kodak finally went out of business, (Yuzawa, 2018). Blockbuster was a leading movie and film store, a giant in the entertainment industry. The company had successfully survived the shift from VHS to DVD. That was one good strategy that kept the company ahead in the film entertainment industry. More innovations such as the introduction of internet services provided an avenue through which film entertainment could be scaled up to a notch higher. Blockbuster was, however, not much embracing of internet innovation. The company turned down a partnership deal with Netflix, in which Blockbusters would promote Netflix in its stores and Netflix would air Blockbuster’s content on the internet platforms, (Ciccone, 2017). Currently, Netflix is the leading film entertainment organization on Livestream media via the internet while Blockbusters is history. Both Kodak and Blockbusters were the leading organizations in the film photography and entertainment industries respectively. The two giants failed to capitalize on the opportunity available to advance their market leadership. Kodak was not s ...

1. Entrepreneurship Mishaps
For an entrepreneurial idea to remain relevant in society, and
maintain market value, constant innovation to improve and
enhance the idea is a must. Innovation involves adding some
new features to the already existing business model. Change is
inevitable, therefore, entrepreneurs have to adjust to the
changes that occur in markets, and plan in anticipation of
changes to come in the near future. Failure to adjust to the
changes in the markets could be detrimental to the success of
any brand or entrepreneurial venture. Many business
organizations have crashed out of the market due to their failure
to constantly innovate and add new features to match the new
market demands. Also, technology has advanced so much in the
current world. Any organization that forfeits an opportunity to
embrace technology will probably fade out of business in the
near future. Some of the great entrepreneurial giants that have
failed due to lack of innovation include; Polaroid, Blackberry,
Nokia, Blockbusters, and Kodak.

2. Kodak, a giant in the photography industry, and was established
in the 1880s. Kodak was the leading company in photography
for many decades with its sales records surpassing ten billion
dollars in 1981. However, the name has faded away from the
industry with the company filing for bankruptcy in 2012. The
failure of this giant can be attributed to a lack of innovation that
matches the digital world demands. Despite Kodak’s
management being aware of the need to embrace digital
photography, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Fuji, a
Japanese firm, introduced a colored camera which was cheaper
than Kodak's cameras. Fuji also incorporated digital features in
its devices hence attracting more customers. Kodak’s sales
started dropping gradually as the market shifted from analog to
digital. Due to the slow initiative to embrace digital
photography Kodak finally went out of business, (Yuzawa,
2018).
Blockbuster was a leading movie and film store, a giant in the
entertainment industry. The company had successfully survived
the shift from VHS to DVD. That was one good strategy that
kept the company ahead in the film entertainment industry.
More innovations such as the introduction of internet services
provided an avenue through which film entertainment could be
scaled up to a notch higher. Blockbuster was, however, not
much embracing of internet innovation. The company turned
down a partnership deal with Netflix, in which Blockbusters
would promote Netflix in its stores and Netflix would air
Blockbuster’s content on the internet platforms, (Ciccone,
2017). Currently, Netflix is the leading film entertainment
organization on Livestream media via the internet while
Blockbusters is history.
Both Kodak and Blockbusters were the leading organizations in
the film photography and entertainment industries respectively.
The two giants failed to capitalize on the opportunity available
to advance their market leadership. Kodak was not swift in
introducing digital photography before their competitors. The
company also failed to revise its pricing policy to beat the

3. Fuji’s sales. While, Blockbusters was focused more on
maintaining its status quo in the rental movies business. The
company failed to capitalize on the partnership deal with
Netflix, which would have seen the two companies dominate the
market in current times, (Ciccone, 2017).
To maintain market dominance and preference among
customers, companies must adopt innovative strategies that are
appealing to the market. First, is to embrace digital technology.
The future world is expected to consume more digital
technology and cease analog consumption. Secondly, time is of
the essence in entrepreneurship. Sometimes being the first is the
best strategy to achieve greater market power, (Garud, 2018). If
both Kodak and Blockbusters had swiftly capitalized on the
opportunities presented, they would still be leading in the
markets.
References
Ciccone, E. (2017). Platform ecosystem: an analysis of the
business model evolution through Blobkbuster and Netflix case
studies.
Garud, R., Gehman, J., & Tharchen, T. (2018). Performativity
as ongoing journeys: Implications for strategy,
entrepreneurship, and innovation. Long Range Planning, 51(3),
500-509.
Yuzawa, T. (2018). The digital revolution and business
behaviour: the case of Kodak versus Fujifilm. Entreprises et
histoire, (1), 37-50.

4. Innovation and Competitive Advantage on Changing
Environments
Any business need to create ways to have competitive
advantages as this is the only way it can remain relevant and
competitive despite the strong competition in the sector of
specialization. According to Hisrich (2014), “working towards
achieving a competitive advantage should be the core goal
within the management philosophy.” The more reason is that
lack of competitive advantages exposes a business to even
slightest competition and the business can be easily locked out
of business. In the present world, there are a high number of
companies that have succeeded in boosting their competitive
advantages. As a matter of reality, such companies have
managed to be ahead of competition and competition sees them
as roles models to the point of trying to copy their operation
strategies.
One of such companies is the General Motors Company which is
the global leader in the automotive industry. Over the years,
General Motors has managed to increase its global market share
due to the enormous competitive advantages that the company
has managed to build and maintain. The main focus of this essay
shall be to explore the General Motors competitive advantages
and how the company manages to retain them. Secondly, the
essay shall review General Motors organizational leadership
philosophy on innovation applied by the company as well as
activities that the company takes an active part in to sustain its
competitive advantage. Lastly, the essay shall review the
research and development initiatives that are employed for
long-term competitive advantage.
General Motors was established in 1908 under the leadership of
Billy Durant. The company was formed as a consolidation of
several motor vehicle companies namely Buick, Oldsmobile,
Cadillac, Oakland, Ewing, Marquette, and other autos as well as
Reliance and Rapid trucks. General Motors headquarters is in
Detroit, Michigan, United States but currently, the company has

5. a lot of subsidiaries and outlets all over the world. This is to
mean that the company products are sold across the board by
different General Motors dealers and offices as they are
established in almost all countries.
Since General Motors establishment it has had different
individuals taking leadership positions. However, the initial
founders developed an innovation philosophy that is applied by
all leaders heading the company outlets in different locations
across the globe. This innovative philosophy is that the world is
an ever-changing thing and that people need quality, stylish,
and modern motor vehicles (Greer, 2012). Hence, the company
believes that for it to remain competitive in the automobile
industry, it must offer the market with the most unique, high-
quality, durable, and diverse motor vehicles. The company
embraces innovation as this is the only way that new design of
products that are unique and meets the clients’ needs can be
developed (Hisrich, 2014). The leadership also has an
innovation philosophy of supporting creative and innovative
ideas from employees and develops a complete innovative idea.
This is to mean that employees have always been encouraged to
come up with ideas that they believe can be molded and become
a great competitive product.
General Motors is aware that the environment both internal
and external is important when it comes to promoting and
maintaining the competitive advantage. The company takes an
active part in improving its internal and external environments
hence making it suitable for company operations. for instance,
the company management across the globe ensures that the
employees have good working conditions and that the
employees have the relevant tools and machinery to offer
quality results (Greer, 2012). With a good working
environment, accidents and incidences are avoided thus not
interfering with the innovative levels and becoming highly
recognized as a good employer. Moreover, the fact that
employees have what it takes to offer the market creative and
unique products makes the company to be perceived as reliable

6. and trustworthy.
Externally, the company takes part in corporate
affairs like supporting the society in different ways. Apart from
selling the products at a cost-effective price, making the
products accessible, and getting to know the needs of the
clients, the company supports different projects for instance
development projects and sports (Nieuwenhuis, 2017). This way
the company demonstrates to the public that the welfare of the
people is one of the greatest company concerns and by doing so
the company has been able to build a strong and reliable
relationship with the people (Hisrich, 2014). Additionally, the
company has an active way of interacting and engaging with the
consumers to know what they want, how they feel about the
products, and professionally deal with complaints.
From time to time, the company offers discounted products
where the clients can access the products at far much lower
price thereby making the products affordable to a much higher
number of people. Again, the products have different designs
and sizes which mean that there is a product for every client.
Lastly, the products are highly durable and this is a competitive
advantage that has made the company last as long as it has. The
reason is that the clients can feel the value for the money they
spent buying the product thereby promoting customer loyalty.
General Motors is aware that the automobile sector is an ever-
changing sector and research and development initiatives have
been highly applied to retain a company’s competitive
advantages on long-term basis (Greer, 2012). The company has
a strong and reliable research and development team that plays
the role of researching the market extensively and advising the
company on clients’ needs. This is to mean that the company is
always informed about competition and genera client’s needs at
every time. It is for this reason that the company offers the
exact products that the consumer need every time. the research
and development initiatives also guides the company on
products to reduce in production to avoid instances of dead
stock that can destabilize company’s financial stability (Hisrich,

7. 2014). The result of such, is that the company has a way of
maintaining a stable finance position. Again, the research and
development team gathers information on other vital factors in
different countries for instance political and economic stability
and surety and this information is used by the management to
make vital decisions that retains competitiveness on long-term
basis. It is also the research and development that searches and
recommends the market to venture into and how to handle
upcoming competition.
Competitive advantages are important for any business as they
keep the business afloat even in the most difficult times.
General Motors is the leading company in the automobile sector
globally. This is because the company has embraced strategies
that builds and sustains its competitive advantages thereby
making it hard for competitors to take over the market.
References
Greer, I., & Hauptmeier, M. (2012). Identity work: Sustaining
transnational collective action at General Motors Europe.
Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 51(2),
275-299.
Hisrich, R. D., & Kearney, C. (2014). Managing Innovation and
Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from
https://phoenix.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483322667/cfi/6/2
8!/4/52/[email protected]:64.1
Nieuwenhuis, P., Vergragt, P., & Wells, P. (2017). The business
of sustainable mobility: from vision to reality. Routledge.