chapter 3 video case study

How did Amazon initially try to help customers find titles in its large catalog of books?

1. with lists posted on its website

Why were Amazon’s initial recommendation efforts unable to secure a sustained competitive advantage?

1. The same information was available to competitors.

Amazon realized it could achieve a competitive advantage by addressing a key problem before its competitors. How did Amazon recognize it needed recommendations?

1. Many site visitors searched for titles but didn’t buy any.

Why didn’t the major brick and mortar booksellers negate Amazon’s competitive advantage by just copying Amazon’s website and recommender system?

1. They believed it would reduce sales from their physical stores.

Why didn’t other online booksellers negate Amazon’s competitive advantage by just copying Amazon’s recommender system?

1. They lacked the necessary IT resources.

2. They lacked the necessary technical expertise.

3. They couldn’t catch up to Amazon’s sales data.

Amazon obtained a competitive advantage in part by gathering and using data unavailable to its brick and mortar competitors, such as

1. tracking products viewed but not purchased.