The Everything Store: An Analysis of Amazon’s Business Strategy and its Impact on Free Market Competition — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

The Everything Store: An Analysis of Amazon’s Business Strategy and its Impact on Free Market Competition

Name: Rachael Felton
Major: Accounting and Marketing
Hometown: Aurora, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Amazon.com has emerged as a market leader in almost every industry. From retailing to entertainment production Amazon is everywhere and its reach is continuously expanding. Consumers love the convenience, investors love the growth, and suppliers love the sales. Although Amazon has made shopping more efficient, its business model and activities threaten the existing structure of free market competition. Its ruthless approach to business includes exploitation of its suppliers’ sales data, creating direct-to-consumer distribution channels, and predatory pricing, all funded by loyal investors who love the prospect of future payout (despite subpar financial performance). The implementation of these tactics are creating an environment for Amazon to become the sole distributor of products across the globe. The purpose of this thesis is to bring awareness to the dangers of Amazon’s business strategy as it threatens to eradicate competition. Various news sources, scholarly articles, law journals, documentaries, and financial statements were utilized in analyzing Amazon’s strategy and its potential impact on the free market. In conclusion, this thesis will communicate detailed information about the flaws in current antitrust legislation and provide suggestions for revisions, discuss the possibility of tax reform, and will study the free market’s ability to self-correct in order to limit Amazon’s power and influence.

Poster file