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  • February 2018 (Revised August 2019)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Amazon's HQ2 (A)

By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:14
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Abstract

In September 2017, the Internet giant Amazon announced that it aimed to open a second headquarters in some city other than Seattle, its current home base. By 2032, the company projected, this “HQ2” would be home to as many as 50,000 high-paying tech jobs and up to $5 billion of investment. The company invited North American cities to submit proposals to be the site of HQ2. The announcement set off a flurry of activity across the continent as civic leaders scrambled to prepare proposals by Amazon’s deadline. The case allows students to debate what companies should ask of cities and what cities should ask of companies.

Keywords

Economic Development; Headquarters; Local Government; Incentives; Business Headquarters; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics

Citation

Mills, Karen, and Jan W. Rivkin. "Amazon's HQ2 (A)." Harvard Business School Case 718-494, February 2018. (Revised August 2019.)
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About The Authors

Karen Mills

General Management
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Jan W. Rivkin

Strategy
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Related Work

    • March 2018
    • Faculty Research

    Amazon's HQ2 (B): Utah

    By: Karen Mills, Manjari Raman and Jan W. Rivkin
    • May 2018
    • Faculty Research

    Amazon's HQ2

    By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
    • May 2019
    • Faculty Research

    Amazon's HQ2 (C): Choices

    By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
    • February 2018 (Revised August 2019)
    • Faculty Research

    Amazon's HQ2 (A)

    By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
Related Work
  • Amazon's HQ2 (B): Utah By: Karen Mills, Manjari Raman and Jan W. Rivkin
  • Amazon's HQ2 By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
  • Amazon's HQ2 (C): Choices By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
  • Amazon's HQ2 (A) By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin
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