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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