Amazon: Unwelcome Giant?! : a case study on competitive dynamics developed from Amazon's entry into the Swedish market

Abstract: For the last months, the Swedish e-commerce market has experienced impacted competitive dynamics followed by the entrance of the US giant, Amazon. This thesis investigated the competitive dynamics that developed after the entrance of Amazon on the Swedish e-commerce market. The research aimed to accentuate how the competitive dynamics developed, how Amazon was perceived on the Swedish market, and whether it was in fact unwelcome by Swedish firms. Suspicion of the unfamiliar giant resulted in various reactions from the Swedish players. The thesis conducted a case study of the competitive dynamics that developed from Amazon’s entrance into the Swedish market. A conceptual framework based on previous research was constructed to connect essential theories within competitive dynamics. The framework represents an industry’s competitive environment when an actor enters a new market. The empirical data was collected through qualitative research interviews with five Swedish firms operating within the book industry, children product industry, and marketplace industry. Findings showed that competitive dynamics is evidently impacted. The Swedish players are less threatened than expected, and many preparations were in store before the entrance. Findings additionally found that Amazon could help to drive customer consciousness of marketplaces. This thesis has contributed to additional insight in competitive dynamics from a firm perspective.