HomeResearch & Knowledgeback to HomeStrategyback to Research & KnowledgeAlibaba vs. eBay (D)back to Strategy

Case Study

Alibaba vs. eBay (D)

2 pages

December 2010

Reference: IMD-3-2187

This four-part case series follows Taobao, part of the Alibaba Group – the leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company in China – from 2003 to 2006. The A-case begins in April 2003 as Jack Ma, the 39-year-old CEO of Alibaba, worries. According to the latest market data, eBay, the global leader in online auctions had reached almost total dominance of the local consumer-to-consumer (C2C) market – only about a year after its entry into China. While Alibaba was not active in the Chinese C2C market, and eBay’s expansion did not impact its current business, looking forward, there was cause for concern. What if eBay decided to use its C2C power to attack Alibaba in its traditional B2B domain? Jack wondered if anything could be done to prevent this from happening? The B-case documents how Taobao competes with eBay in China’s C2C market. It describes Taobao’s strategy to increase its market share. The C-case discusses Taobao’s business model. Although they gained market share at the expense of eBay, the question remains—what business model should they adopt so they can make money in the future? The D-case is an update on the competitors’ strategies and the events that took place between 2006 and 2010.

Learning Objective

How to compete in China’s B2C and C2C internet market; how local Chinese companies can compete with multinational corporations; how to build a unique organizational culture.

Keywords

Corporate Culture, Business to Consumer, Consumer to Consumer, Business Model, Online Business, Online Marketplace, Internet Portal, eBusiness, eRetailing, Internet

Settings

China
Taobao, Alibaba Group
2006-2010

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

This case study is part of a series

Alibaba vs. eBay (D)
Alibaba vs. eBay: Competing in the Chinese C2C market (A)
Alibaba vs. eBay: Competing in the Chinese C2C market (B)
Alibaba vs. eBay: Competing in the Chinese C2C market (C)

This case study is part of a series

Alibaba vs. eBay (D)
Alibaba vs. eBay: Competing in the Chinese C2C market (A)
Alibaba vs. eBay: Competing in the Chinese C2C market (B)
Alibaba vs. eBay: Competing in the Chinese C2C market (C)

Keep reading

Article

Strategic planning in volatility: The dance between agility and core strengths

Understanding your organizational capacity for agility and responding to events accordingly is the key to success in the new business environment, ...

Strategy Agility

By Michael Yaziji

in I by IMD

26 June 2024

Article

How to navigate our future world order

In a post-pandemic era shaped by wars, climate change, and new technologies, Maha Hosain Aziz outlines the main risks and shock events that could d...

Geopolitics Strategy

By Maha Hosain Aziz

in I by IMD

24 June 2024

Case Study

How Boeing lost altitude

The case study examines recent aviation safety concerns at Boeing, focusing on manufacturing issues, leadership decisions and regulatory oversight....

Board Corporate Governance Leadership Strategy

By Goutam Challagalla, Patrick Reinmoeller and Samaja Penumaka

Article

Ringing the changes: Vodafone ‘insider' makes some tough calls as CEO [Video]

Margherita Della Valle tells IMD President Jean-François Manzoni how she is delivering radical change to reenergize Vodafone and paving the way for...

Leadership Strategy

By Jean-François Manzoni

in I by IMD

18 June 2024

Case Study

Metalshub: A steely approach to launching a B2B metal trading platform

Few Business to Business (B2B) marketplaces have succeeded. Metalshub has successfully combined a software platform as a service, with a marketplac...

Business to Business Digital Disruption Economics Operations Strategy

By Didier Bonnet, Geoffrey G. Parker, Charles E. Hutchinson and Lisa Simone Duke

Case Study

Contabilizei: Freeing entrepreneurs from Brazil’s tax complexity

The case focuses on Contabilizei, a Brazilian startup providing online accounting services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The case ...

Entrepreneurship Business to Business Digital Strategy

By Benoit F. Leleux, Diego Dias, Ariella Pfenninger, Daniel Töller and Thomas Villiger

Article

Ipsen: Leveraging an encompassing strategy to accelerate growth in pharma

IMD's Niccolò Pisani examines how a combination of clear-eyed analysis and a strong sense of purpose allowed the French biopharma to change course.

Leadership Strategy Decision Making

By Niccolò Pisani

in I by IMD

11 June 2024

Article

Engineer your own luck

Companies that modularize and externalize their best capabilities are in a strong position to seize unexpected opportunities. Prediction is hard. T...

Organizational Change Disruption Strategy Innovation

By Mark J. Greeven, Howard H. Yu and Jialu Shan

in MIT Sloan Management Review

Summer 2024, vol. 65, no. 4

Article

Why Chinese companies are betting big on the Euro 24 tournament

Leading Chinese companies are preparing to take advantage of exposure and opportunities as top sponsors and suppliers to the UEFA EURO 2024 Men’s S...

Competitiveness Innovation Strategy China Future Readiness Marketing

By Mark J. Greeven and Howard H. Yu

in I by IMD

5 June 2024

How Boeing lost altitude

By Goutam Challagalla Patrick Reinmoeller and Samaja Penumaka
Case reference: IMD-7-2588 ©2024

Summary

The case study examines recent aviation safety concerns at Boeing, focusing on manufacturing issues, leadership decisions and regulatory oversight. It traces Boeing’s trajectory since the McDonnell Douglas merger in 1997, highlighting the changes in the engineering culture and outsourcing strategy that affected the production quality of the 787 Dreamliner and the 737 MAX aircraft. The case also explores how leadership decisions prioritized cost-cutting over quality, leading to inconsistencies and delays. Then the case discusses the 737 MAX, which was grounded after two major crashes in 2018 and 2019. Investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Justice and a Senate Committee found defects in the MCAS flight control system and flaws in the safety certification. The case study explores the leadership actions of CEOs McNerney, Muilenburg and Calhoun, who decisively shaped the nature of the company.

Reference IMD-7-2588

Organization Boeing

Industry Travel and Leisure, Airlines and Aviation

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Board

Corporate Governance

Leadership

Strategy

Browse all topics

UrbanLuxe Cosmetics: Embracing S&OP/IBP

By Ralf W. Seifert and Richard Markoff
Case reference: IMD-7-2572 ©2024

Summary

The case is seen through the eyes of the newly appointed supply chain director at a cosmetics company based in Berlin. The general manager has tasked the new supply chain director to provide bold process recommendations to improve the poor service, high inventory and rampant use of overtime. To understand the issues at play, the supply chain director meets with the CFO, the factory manager, the chief procurement officer and chief revenue officer and their feedback constitutes the body of the case. Each individual offers a different perspective, though none take any responsibility. The CFO is unhappy with the high inventory levels. The factory manager feels helpless in the situation. The chief procurement officer is proud of the savings he has generated by shifting to Asia. The chief revenue officer appears altogether disinterested and not concerned by the problem. The supply chain director must integrate this feedback and propose a new process that will address the performance shortcomings, define the roles and responsibilities of each, along with KPIs to monitor progress.

Reference IMD-7-2572

Organization UrbanLuxe Cosmetics (Invented name)

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Operations

Strategy

Browse all topics

Metalshub: A steely approach to launching a B2B metal trading platform

By Didier Bonnet Geoffrey G. Parker Charles E. Hutchinson and Lisa Simone Duke
Case reference: IMD-7-2457 ©2024

Summary

Few Business to Business (B2B) marketplaces have succeeded. Metalshub has successfully combined a software platform as a service, with a marketplace matching supply and demand for raw materials used in the Metals and Mining industries. Through innovative pricing and business models, the company has managed to scale its operations in a short timeframe.

Reference IMD-7-2457

Organization Metalshub

Industry Materials, Metals and Mining

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Business to Business

Digital

Disruption

Economics

Operations

Strategy

Browse all topics

Contabilizei: Freeing entrepreneurs from Brazil’s tax complexity

By Benoit F. Leleux Diego Dias Ariella Pfenninger Daniel Töller and Thomas Villiger
Case reference: IMD-7-2546 ©2024

Summary

The case focuses on Contabilizei, a Brazilian startup providing online accounting services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The case study delves into the challenges faced by the company’s founder and CEO, Vitor Torres, as he navigated Brazil’s complex social and economic landscape. Issues such as Brazil’s byzantine tax system, disparate educational quality and accessibility, and the high cost of doing business in the country are explored. Despite these barriers, Contabilizei demonstrated impressive growth, transforming digital innovation into standardized services. However, the rise of competitors and persistent profitability concerns prompt Torres to thoroughly explore future strategies to maintain market leadership and improve financial performance. The case provides an in-depth analysis of Brazil’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, examining its business, educational, legal and infrastructural realities and their implications for startups as well as the difficult step for startups to become established companies.

Reference IMD-7-2546

Organization Contabilizei

Industry Finance and Insurance, Financial Services

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Entrepreneurship

Business to Business

Digital

Strategy

Browse all topics

Ipsen: Leveraging an encompassing strategy to accelerate growth in pharma

By Niccolò Pisani
in I by IMD 11 June 2024

Summary

IMD's Niccolò Pisani examines how a combination of clear-eyed analysis and a strong sense of purpose allowed the French biopharma to change course.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Leadership

Strategy

Decision Making

Browse all topics

Engineer your own luck

By Mark J. Greeven Howard H. Yu and Jialu Shan
in MIT Sloan Management Review Summer 2024, vol. 65, no. 4

Summary

Companies that modularize and externalize their best capabilities are in a strong position to seize unexpected opportunities. Prediction is hard. T...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Organizational Change

Disruption

Strategy

Innovation

Browse all topics

Why Chinese companies are betting big on the Euro 24 tournament

By Mark J. Greeven and Howard H. Yu
in I by IMD 5 June 2024

Summary

Leading Chinese companies are preparing to take advantage of exposure and opportunities as top sponsors and suppliers to the UEFA EURO 2024 Men’s S...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Competitiveness

Innovation

Strategy

China

Future Readiness

Marketing

Browse all topics