The Betamax Blunder
In a 1986 interview, Akio Morita was asked to name his worst business error. After hemming and hawing a bit, he finally replied, "Beta." Sony pioneered the videocassette recorder with the beta format and stubbornly stood by it even when the VHS format began to corner the market. As a result, Sony's highly profitable VCR sales of the 1970s and early 1980s soon dwindled and eventually became a liability.