Entrepreneurial Strategies: Business Models of Top Global Companies

This report delves into the entrepreneurial strategies employed by three global giants: Amazon, Starbucks, and McDonald's. It summarizes interviews with key figures, including Jeff Bezos, Steve Easterbrook, and Howard Schultz, highlighting their distinct approaches to business. Amazon focuses on cost leadership and technological capabilities, Starbucks emphasizes strategic positioning and product differentiation, and McDonald's leverages Porter's Five Forces for competitive advantage. The report reflects on the interviewer's learning, emphasizing the importance of vision, customer-centric strategies, and the integration of theory and practice in successful entrepreneurship. It concludes that while each company adopts unique strategies, they all prioritize customer expectations and adapt theories to their specific needs, leading to significant international success. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and past papers for students.

Running head: ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGIES
ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGIES
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Executive summary
The aim of this report was to discuss the conversation of the three renowned companies,
Amazon, Starbucks and MacDonald’s. This report discussed the models and theories applied
in their business to gain profitability. However, all the leaders have followed different kinds
of business models according to the market as well as business requirements. The report
ended with the reflection of learning and self-reflection that denotes what can be learnt from
these entrepreneurs and how personal learning can be improved.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Description of companies:..........................................................................................................3
Summary of the interview:.........................................................................................................4
Reflection of learning:................................................................................................................5
Self-reflection:............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................6
References:.................................................................................................................................7
Appendix:...................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
The report aims to discuss the interview taken to three famous entrepreneurs of the
world and discover their strategies. It describes the companies and their products and services
in brief. The report summarises chief findings of the operations of the companies and
compares as well as contrasts with one another. It also discusses most influencing factors for
these companies and how the chiefs implement their strategies to overcome the limitations.
Finally, the report concludes with a reflection that analyses the effect of this interview on the
interviewer.
Description of companies:
In this interview, a lengthy conversation has been conducted with Jeff Bezos,the
founder and CEO of the world’s largest online retailer Amazon, Steve Easterbrook the
President and Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s andexecutive chairman of Starbucks
Howard Schultz.The interviews have been conducted through the Business Link Meetup in
2nd February of 2018, as well as skype meeting.
Amazon.comis an American electronic commerce and cloud computingcompany
based in Washingtonthat was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 (Amazon.com, 2018). This tech
giant is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured bymarket capitalization and
revenue. It operates in more than 120 countries globally and is the most valuable
retailer surpassing Walmart.
Starbucks Corporation is an eminent coffee chain in America now operating
internationally (Starbucks.in, 2018). This company has been considered to be the chief
representation of the second wave coffee by discriminating itself from all other coffee serving
brands in the USA. This brand is characterised to be different from others by quality of
service and taste as well asproviding a unique customer experience.

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McDonald's is a fast food company established by Ray Kroc. It is the world's
largest restaurant chain by revenue that serves over 69 million consumers everydayover
100 countries (Corporate.mcdonalds.com, 2018). Its revenues come from royalties, rentand
fees paid by its franchisees and sales in direct company-operated restaurants.
Summary of the interview:
Amazon follows generic corporate strategy that can be described as the concentric
diversification.It is based on proper utilization of technological capabilities for their business
success as well as following the cost leadership policy. It aims at proposing maximum value
for the customers at lowest price. Starbucks use positioning strategy that makes sure that the
company chooses right as well as convenient location for target audience. This is the reason
why one can find Starbucks on each corner of some crossroads. Another strategy is to product
line along with differentiation that talks of the innovative strategy of entrepreneurship.
Macdonald’s use porter’s five forces in value chain analysis to gain more competitive
advantage. It uses its brand name ad strength of its suppliers to penetrate international
markets.
Amazon wraps its business round the consumers wherein they find Amazon to be the
go-to portal for their online shopping needs. The company is greatly influenced by
technological environment therefore takes specific measures to implement their strategy by
providing steep discounts for their regular members through Amazon Prime program, by
ensuring in time and express delivery including other support to their customers as they
strategies focusing the customer satisfaction. By creating new drinks Starbucks wants to
bombard their customers with choices as well as different flavours. They implement their
strategies by strategic pricing. McDonald competes in the foreign market as well as internal
forces which are inside the business in order to gain the maximum profitability. It implements
its strategies through best products which has made the company not only the biggest but also

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the finest food chain industry globally. These processes of each of the companies are formal
enough to meet the goals of the company.
Despite these companies feel limitations in their internal resources sometimes yet
their profit shows their success.
Amazon believes that an important measure of their successful strategy will be the
value of shareholders that they create over a long term. On the other hand, Starbucks
measures it strategic success in employee accomplishments and customer satisfaction.
Moreover, the success of McDonalds could be measured through its growth.
Reflection of learning:
Before interviewing these three eminent entrepreneurs who have transformed their
business from a very small initiative, I used to think they must have analysed the strategies to
support growth, finance and innovation. These would have created scope for their
competitive advantage hence they have flourished. After I had a lengthy conversation with
these entrepreneurs, I have come to know that for an entrepreneur, it is essential to have a
vision that help them to create loyal network, proper harvesting in the markets and strategies
to fulfil their mission.
Despite the fact that different entrepreneurs followdifferentstrategies to progress their
business yet all of these three entrepreneurs focused on the strategies of internationalisation
of their firms as they were had a complete belief in themselves. All the strategies of these
three firms revolve round the customer expectations as well as satisfaction. However, each of
them has different focal point for example, the strategies that Amazon follows are largely
driven by its sources of competitive advantage by progressing the technology, objectifying
the advantages of economies of scale and utilising the competencies from synergies between
the external and internal drivers. For MacDonald’s plan is to make their food available to the

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customers at the lowest competitive price nevertheless to gain profit by reducing cost of the
products as well as expanding the trade internationally.
However, I was amazed to find out that all these three companies have a
magnificentbrand value as well as loyalty world-wide yet all of them followapproaches such
as porter’s generic theories of competitive advantage, cost leadership,resource based and
opportunity based theories of entrepreneurship.
Self-reflection:
This interview with these three entrepreneurs has proved to be very useful for me
because in this process I have learnt that in order to start and run the business successfully
one needs to amalgamate theories and practicalities perfectly. This time I was quite stuck
with the preparedquestions but next time I will prepare myself to ask about the negative
issues that the entrepreneurs faced in their business and how they overcome those hurdles. I
have to be confident to ask them how they manage all types of customer as well as employee
feedback to enhance the product and service quality.
Conclusion:
Therefore, it can be concluded that all these companies started from a small initiative
but have reached the pinnacle of success. Thus it can be said that all of them have followed
some approaches of successfulentrepreneurship. Each of the companies have centred round
the customer expectations. Hence, used different theories according to theirrequirements.

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References:
Amazon.com. (2018). About Amazon. Amazon.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018, from
https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/rzekmvyjojcp6uc
Corporate.mcdonalds.com. (2018). Company Overview |
McDonald's. Corporate.mcdonalds.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018, from
http://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/investors-relations/company-profile.html
Starbucks.in. (2018). About Us | Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks Coffee Company.
Retrieved 21 February 2018, from http://www.starbucks.in/about-us

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Appendix:
Question 1.
What makes the company different from others?
Question 2.
What are the main strategies that you follow?
Question 3.
What is more important customer satisfaction or profit?
Question 4.
How often do you change your strategies?
Question 5.
How do you implement them?
Question 6.
What is more important situation or theories?