Case 23: What Have You Done for Me Lately? The Case of Amazon in South Carolina
1. Who is helped and who gets hurt in the use of tax incentives? Draw a stakeholder map for
Amazon and the governments involved. Who was excluded or who could have been included?
2. Did Amazon, the South Carolina State Legislature, and the county of Lexington, S.C., manage
to create shared value for the greatest number of stakeholders?
3. What is the nature of the various stakeholder stakes? Are they owners or community
members? Analyze their legitimacy, power, and urgency characteristics.
The stakeholders are: the government of South Carolina, the individual taxpayers of South
Carolina, business owners in South Carolina, and Amazon.
4. Was Amazon abusing its power when it canceled procurement contracts and job postings if it
did not get its way?
5. Could the state of South Carolina, or Lexington County, have asked for more, or were they
fortunate to get what they got?
6.
businesses that do not receive tax breaks? What are the ethical issues involved in this decision?
7. What updates can you find about this tax break issue in South Carolina or in other states?