Abstract

The case highlights the entrepreneurship skills of Jack Ma (Ma) and explains how he transformed Alibaba.com Corporation to one of the largest e-commerce companies in China. The case discusses in detail why Ma started Alibaba.com’s website and the efforts made by him to grow the company’s busi-nesses. It examines how Ma successfully competed with foreign e-commerce comp-anies like eBay by establishing Taobao.com. Finally, the case presents some challenges faced by Alibaba.com and analysts comments on the future of the company.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Study the entrepreneurship and leadership qualities of internet age entrepreneurs like Jack Ma
• Understand how e-commerce companies operate in emerging markets
• Analyze the business model of Alibaba.com
• and Examine the challenges faced in establishing and growing an online business in China.

Keywords

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, Kerry Packer, Channel Nine, World Series Cricket, Broadcasting Industry, Media Industry, Family-owned Business, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, International Cricket Council, Entrepreneurship, Leader