Competitive Strategies Case Study

Leadership: The Amazon way

OR

Abstract:
Amazon.com was founded by Jeffery Bezos in 1994. Although Amazon started out as an on-line bookstore, over time it diversified into other products such as video games, furniture, CDs, MP3s, health, family products, etc. According to industry analysts, the growth and success of Amazon.com could be attributed to the leadership style of Jeffrey Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com. In the late 2000s, Bezos devised a unique strategy for the company which allowed other sellers to put up their products for sale on the Amazon.com site. However, since this move inflicted a risk on the company, of losing its customers to its competitors, most analysts viewed this as a reflection of poor strategy on the part of Bezos. Bezos, however, defended his position by saying that his strategy was aimed at giving the customer a better buying experience. According to him, the customer was more important than the competitor. While some industry experts felt that this was one of Bezos' winning customer-centric strategies, others pointed fingers towards Amazon.com's declining income and questioned the sustainability of Bezos' leadership style.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the company background and growth strategy of Amazon.com
• To analyse the leadership model of Jeffrey Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com
• To understand the role of leadership in an organisation's business strategy and legacy.
• To ascertain the success quotient of Bezos' leadership style and determine whether or not it would be successful in the long run.

Keywords : Internet; Jeffrey Bezos; Seattle; On-line bookstore; Amazon; Third party sellers; Barnes and Noble; Columbia House; eBay; Dot com crisis; Leadership style; Shareholder value; Customer insight; Low prices; Wide selection

Contents: 
Amazon.Com: Corporate Profile
The Product Range of Amazon.com
Financial performance of Amazon over the years
Leadership at Amazon: Bezos’ Success Model
Primary growth drivers at Amazon.com
Bezo’s Organisational Strategy: A Sustainable Trend?