Sony Ericsson is a global company that was established in 2001 after the merger of Sony Corporation and Ericsson Telecommunication Company. Sony Corporation was a powerhouse for consumer electronics based in Japan and enjoyed a large market share in the global electronics market.

On the other hand, Ericsson Telecommunication Company based in Sweden was the market leader in making mobile communications devices. The two corporations were performing well separately but they realized they could do better by coming together to form a merger. As noted by Gorton, Kahl, and Rosen, mergers will be more successful if the companies merging are well established in their industries (1291).

Ericsson was a mobile company that dealt more with software while Sony Corporation mainly dealt with consumer electronics and by forming a joint venture, Sony Ericsson aimed to be the best mobile solution provider. The merger had great impact in the market and the coming together of the companies changed the market share in the mobile market (Chidambaran, John, Shangguan, and Vasudevan 327).

The two companies had just finished making mobile phones on their own and after forming a joint venture, they can now make mobile phones together. The main aim of coming together was to combine the technological leadership of the Ericsson in communication sector with the global skills in marketing of the Sony Corporation. The global management of the company is now based in London though it has many research and development branches based in other regions.

After the merger, Sony Ericsson continued to grow and at the end of 2009, it was ranked the fourth largest mobile phone company in the world behind Nokia, LG, and Samsung. Currently, the corporation employs about 2500 contractors and 9400 employees worldwide. It has six different mobile phone products in the market viz. the Walkman, the cyber-shot, Bravia, UIQ, XPERIA and the Greenheart.

After the merger, Sony Ericsson started registering improved financial performance, which reached its peak in 2007 when the company registered a sale volume of 103.4 million units. However, the sale trend started to decline in the following years with a sale volume of 43.1 million units in 2010.

1. What are the main reasons behind the merger between Sony and Ericsson?

2. Explain the barriers and difficulties that faced Sony Ericsson that led to its declined?

3. From your own perspective, if were the CEO of Sony Ericsson what would be your action and plan to implement international strategy in order to keep your position in the market?