Legacy technology reemergence: the case of the vinyl record

Eleftheriadis, Alexandros and Alexiou, Andreas (2020) Legacy technology reemergence: the case of the vinyl record. Academy of Management Proceedings. (doi:10.5465/ambpp.2020.21781abstract).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper studies the vinyl records as a cultural icon that “refuses to die” in order to enhance the existing theory about legacy technology and how instead of disappearing, got redefined by its enthusiasts, remerged and created a sustained market growth. After the appearance of CDs and Mp3s, Vinyl Records reached the lowest level of sales from their existence but in 2008 vinyl records managed to gain market share again and year by year became again an equal competitor of the other music formats. This research reveals the processes that vinyl records have gone through in order to reemerge. Furthermore, all the factors that contributed to vinyl records resurgence are analytically discussed and analysed. The vinyl record is being analysed as a cultural icon and a legacy technology and how it managed to reemerge in the digital era. Vinyl records’ enthusiasts' community following the lead of the community’s influencers increased the sales by 300% in a year redefining the meaning of vinyl records and generating word-of-mouth and online and offline mentions about vinyl records. This caused the increase in demand for vinyl records which are considered to have an alternative value rather than functionality.

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