Industry Analysis Case Study

Alibaba.com- Will it win China’s search Engine Market?

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Abstract:

Established in 1999, Alibaba.com had become the biggest online business-to-business (B2B) player in China. Its foray into other ecommerce activities like online auctions and online payments were also highly successful although they were in competition with world leaders like eBay. In October 2005, Alibaba and Yahoo! China signed a deal under which Alibaba would market the Yahoo! China brand in China. By this deal, Alibaba sought to establish itself in the search engine market and further consolidate its position in the ecommerce scene in China. The search engine market in China was dominated by a number of local and international players

The case provides scope for discussion on whether Alibaba would emerge a winner in China’s search engine market. It also provides scope to discuss if it could sustain its success or if its growth was only due to the inherent advantages of an emerging market

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss strategies of a B2B company
• To discuss whether Alibaba would emerge a winner in China’s search engine market.

Keywords : Alibaba; B2B; Chinese Internet market; Search market; Yahoo! China; ecommerce; Baidu; Google; Industry Analysis Case Study; Jack Ma; value addition; subscription; revenue model; entrepreneurship