[throwaway2048]

In the end Kodak's film processing business was way larger than the entire modern digital camera industry. It employed hundreds of thousands of people in the USA alone.

There was no replacing that, ever, even if they transitioned to the digital age, it was over for kodak.

[LeifCarrotson]

Sure, but even if the equipment and low-level employees were in film, they had the brand and engineering to be at the forefront. And if anyone could have known that digital would be the future, it was Kodak. is this institutional blindness and resistance to change a sort of sunk cost error on a massive scale?

[sogen]

It's the error of milking the (cash) cows.

[HarryHirsch]

Kodak spun out their chemical arm as Eastman in 1994. It was clear that there was going to be trouble ahead anyway, the main line of the business was polymers, and they were coming under increased pressure from Asia.