eBay’s Globalization Strategy Essay

Dembosky, A. (2012). Ebay moves beyond its dotcom roots. Available:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/df3723ca-1773-11e2-8cbe-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2EbzDqb5Y. Last accessed 10th Dec 2012

EBay hosts an online marketplace where consumers and merchants can come together to trade goods in a variety of ways. One way this can occur is through Auction-type listings. This process consist of listing an item that is available for others to bid on for a specified amount of time; the person to bid the highest wins at the end of the allotted time. There is also a “buy-it-now” option where an individual can immediately purchase the desired item directly from the seller. There is an array of categories you can shop from and consist

eBay first entered the Chinese market in 2002 by acquiring a 33% stake in its local counterpart, EachNet, followed by a full acquisition a year later in 2003. Critically assess eBay.s choice of market entry strategy for China (use Key Country Matrix), listing both the advantages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy (use Drivers (YIP) -CAGE Matrix). 30%

Read the case carefully and answer the following questions: 1.Till 2005, eBay EachNet was the leader in the Chinese e-commerce market, controlling more than half of it. But eBay EachNet soon lost its market leadership position to Taobao.com (Taobao). In this context, analyze the reasons that can be attributed to Taobao’s edge over eBay. 2.a. To enable people to trade with each other, Pierre Omidyar created a marketplace in September 1995 which was later called eBay. By mid 1997, eBay received one million page hits per

As George Soros, the Chairman of Soros Fund Management said: "I think there 's a lot of merit in an international economy and global markets, but they 're not sufficient because markets don 't look after social needs" (2000). Globalization allows businesses to grow due to the elimination of stringent trade restrictions and tariffs. Globalization also allows undeveloped nations the opportunity to flourish by creating jobs that were previously unavailable. As Lechner states in his Globalization Debates - Good vs. Bad, those in opposition believe that globalization is dangerous due to the “...inequities of oppressive global capitalism” (2000-2001). So, what are the upsides and downsides to globalization?

eBay was founded in 1995 and gained the first mover advantage establishing itself as the first major online auction site. The firm started out offering its' services as an intermediary, facilitating the auction of goods by providing a common platform to be used by buyers and sellers. Today the firm has evolved significantly, operating across the globe with more than 97 million different active users registered (eBay, 2012). In total, the organization facilitates the sale of more than US $2,000 every second of every day (eBay, 2012). The growth of the auction service has died classified the development as well as acquisition strategies to provide services and products that complement the core operations. For example, the acquisition of PayPal, the online payment provider has complimented the ability for consumers to pay for goods

eBay Incorporated is an American multinational e-commerce company with a presence across the world. It engages in b2b as well as c2c model of business. The company rose during the dot com bubble in the mid-1990s and is now one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world along with Amazon and Alibaba. Pierre Omidyar founded the company in 1995 in San Jose, California.

In the era of globalization, understanding of international business culture is the key in expanding ones job prospects and it also equips with the required skill set to face the challenges of the intricate global settings. Amazon is a perfect example to learn from as it ventured from national to international stage and went through all the challenges faced during global expansion in terms of politics, governance, taxation, international policy and laws. Marketing and sales strategies coupled with innovation has been the driving force behind Amazon’s growth and success. This paper reflects on some of Amazon’s strengths after a brief overview of company’s history and background. Through shifting business models, its competitors have been trying to catch up with Amazon and could provide stiff competition in future. In face of the challenges ahead, Amazon weaknesses are discussed in regards to international business issues. In the end recommendations are provided for Amazon’s growth and sustainability as an international leader in innovation and technology.

The name “eBay” (http://www.ebay.com) is synonymous with “online auctions”. Founded in September 1995, the company qualifies as a genuine cultural and economic phenomenon (Bunnell, 2000, p.vii). The site can be credited with creating and defining an entire industry and has remained the dominant force in the online auction world, with anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of the person-to-person online auction market. eBay is also the 15th most visited site (http://www.MediaMetrix.com) on the web. In the face of large competitors such as eBay, internet powerhouse, Amazon.com Auctions (http://www.amazon.com/auctions), is battling for online auction dominance over eBay. Amazon is not just a bookseller but also a genuine e-commerce platform for

By the year of 2006, eBay’s combined international investments in Latin American, Europe and Asia Pacific has totaled revenues of 2.1 billion, representing 49% of aggregate revenues of the company at the time. Seeing the great potential of the Chinese C2C online auction market which back then comprised of 250 million customers, eBay has launched various attempts majoring the acquisition of EachNet in 2003 and the later joint venture with TOM

eBay’s competitive strategy is to provide an online auction platform, which, without holding inventory or providing after sale services, connects buyers and sellers in the sale of “collectibles” and unique products and not just commodities. eBay is asset light and by holding no inventory, it has the competitive advantage of being able to scale fast and enter new markets with little capital expenditure. Since eBay is primarily known for its auction services (as opposed to its “Buy-it-now” feature, which is also available), buyers gravitate towards eBay in order to be able to negotiate in a dynamic pricing system. eBay establishes its customer base from a consumer’s desire to make a steal on purchases that they would not find on other websites where goods are offered at a fixed price. This works very well specifically in a lot of the collectible transactions as it is inherently implied that negotiation will be a part of the buying and selling process. In the after sale services realm, the fact that eBay clearly does not get involved shows the strategic thought behind not wanting to get involved in the seller’s end of the transaction. This implies that eBay ends up saving a lot of capital because of not having to come up with shipping and warehousing of goods. eBay’s strategy is coherent because all competitive strategic decisions are heavily based on the online bidding model of providing a platform that

The company I will talk about for this paper is eBay. eBay is the world 's online marketplace; a place for buyers and sellers to come together and trade almost anything. With more than 97 million active users globally, eBay is the world 's largest online marketplace, where practically anyone can buy and sell practically anything. Founded in 1995, eBay connects a diverse and passionate community of individual buyers and sellers, as well as small businesses. Their collective impact on ecommerce is staggering: In 2010, the total value of goods sold on eBay was $62 billion -- more than $2,000 every second. I have been interested in eBay since I got first debit card and was able to shop online. eBay’s stock is currently valued at $28.23. It has

EBay’s business strategy originally used a two-sided platform, founder, Pierre Omidyar (1995), developed the firm out of, what he saw as a, ‘need’ or ‘niche’ in the market that needed accommodating. This niche was to develop lower search costs and find a way to determine a fair price in the industry. (I.e. a working price mechanism) Due to high search costs the ‘used goods and collectables’ market had suffered a stifled growth. Whereas the lack of a price mechanism in the market meant products were sold primarily through bilateral negotiation, through buyer and seller. This was an issue as it didn’t reveal the true prices in the market as little or no competition prevented competitive pricing strategies from emerging. However, the emergence of eBay’s auctions feature transformed Bi-Lateral trades into Multi-Lateral trades, facilitating efficient price discoveries. (R.Salehnejad, 2012, Note 3) In 2003 eBay introduced fixed prices using the ‘buy it now’ function in which eBay still benefited from a listing and commission fee. This effectively ensured that the merchant always got the price they wanted for a good, not necessarily the market price it deserved. Furthermore, in 2001 eBay introduced ‘eBay Stores’ allowing firms to offer its products at fixed prices through the eBay site, such as the Home Depot in the USA. Here it is clear that eBay was moving into Amazon’s territory as an online retailer and merchant platform. Although eBay

The company eBay Inc. is an American multinational Internet consumer-to-consumer corporation. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar in San Jose, California, it is now a multi-billion dollar business with operations localized in over thirty countries including China and India. It’s main enterprise is eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website that allows people and businesses to buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services internationally. Millions of collectibles, décor, appliances, computers, furnishings, equipment, domain names, vehicles, services, intangibles and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, or sold daily on eBay. Anything can be auctioned on the site as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the eBay’s Prohibited and Restricted Items policy.

The fact that eBay does have some successful competition means that its strategic capability has become less unique. There is a hint in their competitor profile that innovation and perhaps adaptability to different cultures as they innovate is not core to eBay and something which has been developed more successfully by others working within their own national culture. Indeed, eBay rules in its own territory of North America and in Europe. The search capability of eBay also means that niche players do not really make sense, whereas the consumer trust that comes from being a big player is worth everything when trading on-line, as is the notion that whatever you want it will be on eBay because of its size. Thus, the so-called network effects of eBay (the bigger the company, the more successful it will be) and its first mover advantage that has led to this level are key to its success.