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  • November 2018 (Revised August 2020)
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The Reinvention of Kodak

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Christine Snively
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:23
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Abstract

The Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) was a name familiar to most Americans. The company had dominated the film and photography industry through most of the 20th Century and was known for making affordable cameras (and the “Kodak Moment”) and supplying the movie industry with film. At its peak in 1997, Kodak had a market value of $30 billion. Despite inventing the first digital camera, Kodak stumbled to capitalize on the new technology and by 2011 the company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In September 2013, Kodak emerged from bankruptcy as a smaller business-to-business (B2B) digital imaging company. The following March, Jeff Clarke took over as Kodak’s new CEO. The company continued to produce and sell film to moviemakers, but Clarke, who needed to reinvent Kodak, wondered if keeping that business line made sense. To some inside the company, film was a “sacred cow” and fundamental to Kodak’s identity. In January 2016, Clarke and his executive team traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where the company unveiled a prototype of its new Super 8 camera—an analog motion picture camera initially launched in 1965 to shoot home movies—with updated features. Over the course of the four-day event, media and other industry players had overwhelmed the Kodak booth, excited to catch a glimpse of the camera, asking when they could expect to see the Super 8 on shelves. While the business-to-business (B2B) side of the company appeared to be growing, the new Super 8 reflected the culture and identity of a firm originally rooted in film and consumer products. Sentiment aside, Clarke needed to decide if the new Super 8 fit into the company’s overall strategy and whether Kodak was focused on the right markets for growth. What was the optimal path to reinvention?

Keywords

CEO; Leadership; Asset Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy

Citation

Raffaelli, Ryan, and Christine Snively. "The Reinvention of Kodak." Harvard Business School Case 419-012, November 2018. (Revised August 2020.)
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About The Author

Ryan L. Raffaelli

Organizational Behavior
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    • September 2020
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    The Reinvention of Kodak Case Series

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    The Reinvention of Kodak (A) Case Supplement

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    The Reinvention of Kodak (B) Video Case Supplement

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    The Reinvention of Kodak (C) Case Supplement

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    • November 2018 (Revised August 2020)
    • Faculty Research

    The Reinvention of Kodak

    By: Ryan Raffaelli and Christine Snively
Related Work
  • The Reinvention of Kodak Case Series By: Ryan Raffaelli and Sarah Livick-Moses
  • The Reinvention of Kodak (A) Case Supplement By: Ryan Raffaelli
  • The Reinvention of Kodak (B) Video Case Supplement By: Ryan Raffaelli
  • The Reinvention of Kodak (C) Case Supplement By: Ryan Raffaelli
  • The Reinvention of Kodak By: Ryan Raffaelli and Christine Snively
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