INT 700 Module Five Case Study: Alibaba.com: A Born-Again “Born Global” Firm? Jack Ma had reached the pinnacle of a decade of entrepreneurial success when his firm, Alibaba.com, tripled its 2007 IPO price on the first day listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Alibaba.com had become the world’s fifth and Southeast Asia’s largest internet firm. Alibaba’s performance continued to skyrocket until 2011, when the company faced success and failure, both of its own creation. On the one hand, Alibaba had amassed over 50 million registered users ranging from entrepreneurs to SMEs, small e-tailers to retail giants. Serving over 240 countries and regions, it operated through 70 offices located in greater China, India, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the United States. On the other hand, new challenges struck at the heart of its mission to “last 102 years.” China’s SMEs struggled with rising raw material, foreign exchange, and labor costs at home, whereas Eurozone debt and slow U.S. economic recovery led to weak overseas demand. Additionally, broad-scale supplier integrity issues led to the resignation of CEO David Wei and COO Elvis Lee who had led the previous five year’s success. In January 2012, Jack Ma, chairman of the board and returning CEO, launched a new initiative to reprivatize the company that could cost billions as it buys out investors such as U.S.-based internet portal Yahoo, which holds a minority 23% stake. Many industry analysts asserted that Ma and Alibaba Holdings did not have the capital to make such an aggressive move. However, as of May 2013, 15 banks including the Chinese government's policy-oriented China Development Bank (CDB) had agreed to lend Alibaba a combined US$ 6 billion toward a US$ 6.3 billion price tag for Yahoo's stake with the rest of the money coming from Alibaba's cash reserves. Alibaba.com now has over 69 million users. It may be that Jack Ma is back in the entrepreneur’s game after all. INT 700 Case Study Guidelines and Rubric Guidelines Case studies form an integral part of this course. Careful analysis relevant to each case study and its questions is required. Ensure that you succinctly address the critical elements. Guidelines for Submission: Short paper assignments must follow these formatting guidelines: double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA-format citations. Page length requirements: 4–6 pages. Rubric Critical Elements Multinational Enterprise (MNE) Overview & Strategic Background Targeted Analysis using the Strategy Tripod Exemplary (100%) Provides a concise overview of the case, including a brief analysis of the MNE’s international operations and strategic goals and its context in its industry sector, considering domestic and international rivals Provides a succinct analysis of the MNE using the applicable components of the strategy tripod. Explores strategic issues relevant to the key questions in the assignment through collection and in-depth analysis of firm and sector evidence to make well-informed conclusions. Cleverly applies course concepts, depicting sustainable competitiveness in an international environment Proficient (90%) Provides an appropriate overview of the case, including a brief analysis of the MNE’s international operations and strategic goals and its context in its industry sector, considering domestic and international rivals Provides a clear analysis of the MNE using the applicable components of the strategy tripod. Explores strategic issues relevant to the key questions in the assignment through collection and analysis of firm and sector evidence to make informed conclusions. Applies course concepts, depicting sustainable competitiveness in an international environment Needs Improvement (70%) Attempts to provide an overview of the case and apply business strategy concepts to analyze the MNE’s international operations and goals; however, significant factors are not considered Not Evident (0%) Does not provide an overview of the case and does not apply business strategy concepts, or the analysis is significantly flawed Value 25 Provides an inadequate analysis of the MNE competitiveness using the applicable components of strategy tripod. Explores some strategic issues relevant to the key questions in the assignment; however, the application of strategy concepts demonstrates incomplete understanding Does not provide a strategic analysis of the MNE using the applicable components of strategy tripod. Demonstrates an inadequate understanding of course concepts 25 Critical Analysis of MNE Internationalization Critiques all relevant aspects of the MNE’s entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies and effectively analyzes its strategies and performance with respect to the key themes of the case study Critiques almost all relevant aspects of the MNE’s entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies and analyzes its strategies and performance with respect to the key themes of the case study Competitive Intelligence/Resource Effectiveness Incorporates thoughtful, selective use of scholarly, primary, and secondary intelligence resources highly relevant to the case; provides superior depth to the MNE strategic analysis. Demonstrates superior research skill and uses relevant industry data to support answers Effectively uses an engaging, fluent style appropriate for a business professional. Has no errors related to organization, grammar, or use of APA citation formatting Incorporates scholarly, primary, and secondary intelligence resources relevant to the case. Demonstrates research skill and uses relevant industry data to support answers Writing Mechanics Uses a fluent style appropriate for a business professional. Has minimal errors related to organization, grammar, or use of APA citation formatting Critiques some relevant aspects of the MNE’s entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies and provides a partial analysis of its strategies and performance with respect to the key themes of the case study Incorporates few or irrelevant scholarly, primary, and secondary intelligence resources. Demonstrates some research skills; however, does not employ relevant industry data to support answers Does not critique relevant aspects of the MNE’s entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies and/or struggles to analyze its strategies and performance with respect to the key themes of the case study 15 Does not incorporate relevant scholarly, primary, and secondary intelligence resources or demonstrates poor research skills 25 Uses an informal style inappropriate for a business professional. Has errors related to organization, grammar, or use of APA citation formatting Uses an informal or incoherent style inappropriate for a business professional. Major errors related to organization, grammar, or use of APA citation formatting Total 10 100%
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