Abstract
This case study contrasts the business strategies of two Internet-based retailers: Amazon.com, a young Internet start-up, and Bertelsmann Online (BOL), a subsidiary of a traditional mass-media firm. It presents the global marketing approach followed by each firm for Internet-based book sales, with a particular emphasis on their operations in Germany. It analyzes how Amazon.com and BOL go about building customer relationships and loyalty and, more broadly, the strengths and weaknesses of their competitive strategy. The case concludes by highlighting the future outlook of each firm and some critical success factors in launching an Internetbased venture. Lessons learned from this comparative study are also presented.
Recommended Citation
Jelassi, Tawfik and Enders, Albrecht, "Battling Over Books (and More): The Internet Based Competition Between Berelsmann Online and Amazon.com" (2000). ECIS 2000 Proceedings. 164.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2000/164