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Date Submitted: 11/25/2014 09:23 AM
Yahoo and Amazon: Building a Competitive Advantage
Dr.
Strayer University
BUS 599 (Strategic Management)
Assignment # 1
October 29, 2014
Describe, in brief, the histories of both of Amazon.com and Yahoo.com, and determine the core business of each
Amazon and Yahoo have been seeking to have a competitive advantage for years. Since they were launched, the companies have experienced a mix of challenges and success as they strive to gain market share.
To begin with, Amazon.com is a Fortune 500 e-commerce company based in Seattle, WA. Amazon was one of the first big companies to sell goods over the Internet. The company was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, and launched in 1995. They started out as an online bookstore and then quickly diversified by adding other items such as, VHS tapes and DVDs, music CDs, software, video games, electronics, MP3s, clothing, furniture, toys and even food items. Generally, the company has witnessed substantial growth since its inception. The success of the company may be attributed to the strategic actions implemented by Jeffrey Bezos, the founder of the company (Amit, 2012).
Amazon.com has steadily grown from a burgeoning “dot-com” corporation into a multinational monster, a king in the domain of internet retail. It targets two goals: the satisfaction of a customer and efficient corporate growth. Amazon.com self-proclaimed mission statement is: “We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers.” The core segments of the company include: Customer obsession; innovation; bias for action; ownership; high hiring bar and frugality. These six core values focus Amazon.com operational strategies. It is committed to long-term growth based on consumer satisfaction.
Yahoo was founded by two Stanford PhD candidates in January 1994 named Jerry Yang and David Filo. Yahoo was incorporated as an Internet service...