From Book Seller to Book Inventor
Overview: Write an in-depth case study on Amazon.com®. The study will explore the evolution of this company as it used business information systems to: implement its original business model, expand its business to remain competitive, and innovate to retain competitive advantage. The case study deliverable is expected to be a high quality paper having three parts, which will be turned in at different times during the
course. In this way, the paper will build on itself during subsequent weeks.
Structure: The paper will have three parts. Each part will have a thesis paragraph followed by three subsections of detailed argument/discussion, followed by a conclusion section. The latter will go back to the thesis and explain how the arguments/discussions support the thesis. On the final submission, both an abstract section and an overall Summary/Conclusion section will be provided. References will be added at the end of the paper as each part is added to the document.

Part 1: This section will cover the early years of Amazon.com®, including its business model, expansion
and road to profitability. This part of the paper must answer the following
questions:
Thesis: Was Amazon’s business model, implementation strategy, and early expansion wise?
Section 1.1: What is Amazon’s business model, and how were technological and physical systems used
to implement it?
Section 1.2: How did Amazon.com® expand in its early years, and how were technological and
physical systems used to do this?
Section 1.3: What was the road to Amazon’s profitability, and was the early expansion a wise strategy?
Conclusion: How do the arguments and discussions given in the above three sections support the thesis?

Part 2: This section will cover the Amazon.com® sales channel strategy and implementation, including its
business model, its expansion, and its road to profitability. This part of the paper must answer the following questions:
Thesis: What drivers motivated Amazon to alter is sales channel strategy and implementation?
Section 2.1: Distinguish mass market from niche market. How can technology enable a business to
profitably access niche markets?
Section 2.2: How has Amazon’s access to niche markets changed over time? How was technology used to
do this?
Section 2.3: Describe “shopbots” and the fully automated sales channel. Did Amazon.com® do
well in its utilization of this technology?
Conclusion: How do the arguments and discussions given in the above three sections support the thesis?

Part 3: This section will cover the Amazon.com® innovation called “Kindle,” and both the service and
social impacts of this technology on its customers and its competitors. This part of the paper must answer the following questions:

Thesis: What are the potential consumer and competitor impacts of the Kindle innovation?
Section 3.1: What was the innovation context that enabled Amazon.com® to invent the Kindle
technology?
Section3.2: What is Amazon’s vision and strategy for growth? How is Amazon.com® learning
from its customers so it can grow?
Section 3.3: What are the implications of the Kindle technology for book buyers and book readers?

Conclusion: How do the arguments and discussions given in the above three sections support the thesis?
Final Version: A one paragraph abstract at the beginning of the paper will be added that briefly covers the paper’s theses, main points, and conclusions. A roughly three paragraph Summary/Conclusions section will be added at the end of the paper that covers (in-depth) the paper’s theses, main points, and conclusions.