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By introducing disposable-razor innovations such as lubrication strips, Gillette seized the initiative and essentially redefined the market, writes Costas Markides. When the assault comes, companies can take a lesson from Gillette, which dealt with a similar threat from Bic’s cheap disposable razors in the 1990s. Tata Motors, for example, is expected to launch a full-scale attack on American markets with its ultra-cheap cars. How will established companies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan respond when companies from emerging markets invade developed economies with “good-enough” substitutes for what the incumbents have been successfully selling in the homeland? It’s going to happen sooner or later. In particular, what happens when Stone tracks down Bezos’s biological father is astonishing.īarbarians at the Gate Making the Leap Into Developed Markets London Business School

This is a huge jump from the 1990s, however, when “Bezos refused to give employees city bus passes because he didn’t want to give them any reason to rush out of the office to catch the last bus of the day.”Īs for my second and third questions, you’re going to have to read the article. Amazon’s culture is “notoriously confrontational,” with Bezos regularly embarking on what employees call “nutters,” which largely consist of him shooting off phrases like “Are you lazy or incompetent?” “I’m sorry, did I take my stupid pills today?” and “If I hear that idea again, I’m gonna have to kill myself.” And yet many people who work there thrive in this environment and generally find that Bezos is right on target when he flippantly dismisses an idea or prioritizes a customer complaint over being civil to his underlings.Īnd unlike many top companies that offer employees flexible working arrangements and other perks, Amazon gives new employees “a backpack with a power adapter, a laptop dock, and orientation materials,” and reimburses only part of their public-transit passes. On my first question, Bezos isn’t a particularly nice boss. Ever wondered what it’s like to work at Amazon? Or to be one of its competitors or potential acquisitions? Or even to be related to founder Jeff Bezos? Look no further than this lengthy piece by Brad Stone, whose book on Bezos and his company comes out in later this month (natch, that’s an Amazon link).