A Tale of Two Cities: Urban Competition for Amazon’s Second Headquarters (HQ2)
Open AccessThis thesis analyzes Amazon’s search for a second headquarters (HQ2) in North America to understand the conditions and process of selection that led to locating its headquarters in Arlington, VA, and withdrawing from New York’s Long Island City. The research is grounded in three sets of literature: increasing competition among cities, use of place branding in cities, and corporations within the urban context. The development of these urban phenomena has led many cities to actively seek ways to attract the private sector, and large corporations such as Amazon. Deploying a mixed methods approach, from the company perspective, the research investigates the need for a second headquarters, the ways in which Amazon selected its sites, and finally the significance of ‘incentives’ in site location decision-making.Through an urban perspective, this thesis analyzes the city's proposals and place branding tactics, the use and implications of incentives in attracting Amazon, and the contributing factors that led Amazon to withdraw from New York’s Long Island City and what components led to the ‘success’ for Arlington, Virginia.Emerging from the competition, the thesis presents two different models for success in cities bidding for, and companies deciding, a headquarters site location. This research aims to add to the literature on site location decision making, incentivization of companies from both State and local Government, and the uneven power relations that are pitting cities against one another.
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Collinson_gwu_0075M_15107.pdf | 2020-08-04 | Open Access |
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