Amazon Case Study Questions
- Describe Amazon.com as of the end of the case (spring 2017). What kind of company is Amazon.com? What is Amazon’s business model?
- Assess Amazon’s resources and capabilities using the VRIO framework. Can Amazon gain and sustain a competitive advantage? Why or why not?
- What is Amazon’s core competency?
- How is Amazon using its core competency in its diversification efforts? Amazon continues to spend billions on seemingly unrelated diversification efforts. Do you believe these efforts contribute to Amazon gaining and sustain a competitive advantage? Why or why not?
- Is AWS related to Amazon’s core business? Why or why not? Some investors are pressuring Jeff Bezos to spin out AWS as a standalone company. Do you agree with this recommendation? Why or why not?
- Perform a SWOT analysis for Amazon.
- Which of its competitors does Bezos need to pay most attention to and why? How should he deal with its key competitors in terms of devising Amazon’s business strategy?
Solution Preview
Background
The company was founded by Jeff Bezos, a former employee at D. E. Shaw, in a garage located in Seattle, Washington in 1994. He started the company as an online book store for American readers, after having observed the opportunities that the Internet presented to the world. Amazon’s official website, amazon.com went live in July 1995 as an online book selling and retail site. Amazon went public on May 16, 1997 with $15.6 million in revenue.
Strategic alliances and acquisitions began in the late 1990s as the company bought several online retailers as well as tech companies to maintain a competitive advantage and honour its commitment to diversification.
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