While Alibaba's growth from an apartment-sized company in 1999 to a company with the largest IPO value in American history in 2014 can only be high-velocity, founder Jack Ma's taste for speed is relentless. Since early 2012 Alibaba Group has shifted gears and moved from organic growth and partnerships to high-speed growth by M&As in complementary technology fields. It has been expanding in finance, healthcare, travel and even movie making. Is it necessary for Alibaba to expand so aggressively? Is this seemingly “reckless" expansion really a lack of focus? What growth strategies work well for companies in emerging economies? How to compare the relative advantages of the different growth models – organic, collaboration and M&A? How does the business environment influence possible growth strategies – growing by diversification or focus on the core business? What are the key challenges for such high-speed growth? How do M&As lead to value creation for Alibaba?
| Original language | English |
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| Number of pages | 18 |
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| Project No. | 316-0195-1 |
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| Finished | 7/12/16 |
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| Publication status | Published - 7 Dec 2016 |
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| Series | RSM Case Development Centre |
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| Number | 316-0195-1 |
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Based on field research; 18 pages. Follow the 'handle' link to access the Case Study on RePub. For EUR staff members: the Teaching Note is available on request, you can contact us at rsm.nl/cdc/contact/ For external users: follow the link to purchase the Case Study and the Teaching Note.
- RSM Case Development Centre