Work

Strategic Maneuvering and Mass-Market Dynamics: The Triumph of VHS over Beta

Year: 1992

Type: article

Abstract: This article deals with the diffusion and standardization rivalry between two similar but incompatible formats for home videocassette recorders (VCRs): the Betamax, introduced in 1975 by the Sony Corporation, and the VHS (Video Home System), introduced in 1976 by the Victor Company of Japan (Japan Victor or JVC). Despite being first to the home market, the Beta format fell behind the VHS in market share during 1978 and declined thereafter. By the end of the 1980s, Sony and its partners had ceased producing Beta models. This study analyzes the history of this rivalry and examines its context—a mass consumer market with a dynamic standardization process subject to “bandwagon” effects that took years to unfold and that were largely shaped by the strategic maneuvering of the VHS producers.

Source: The Business History Review

DOI: 10.2307/3117053

Authors: Michael A. Cusumano, Yiorgos Mylonadis, Richard S. Rosenbloom

Institutions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Digital Platforms and Economics

Subfield: Strategy and Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Harvard Business School

OpenAlex ID: W2078606772