1.) Evaluate the pros and cons of eBay’s playbook strategy.
The Pros of eBay’s playbook strategy are:
eBay becomes part of the country’s internet because of the playbook. Develops suggestions as to how to drive traffic to the local eBay site through ads at the country’s most popular web sites and search engines. Dictates the products information, and chat groups are created by buyers and sellers in a certain country. Avoids problems with the cookie-cutter approach or the look-alike sites. Avoids cultural and language problem. Playbook is understood throughout different countries to show them how to work the site, alleviating communication problems.
The Cons of eBay’s playbook strategy:
Tailoring sites to each region or country is time consuming and costly. Timing is critical in any Web-based business. The playbook slows down the entire process.
2.) Comment on the choice of Germany as eBay’s first international market.
Having Germany as eBay’s first international market was a good decision. Since eBay uses internet as its channel towards the market, internet users are its major target market. As eBay went international, it needed countries which were densely populated with internet users. Having 40 million Internet users, Germany was a good choice. If eBay wanted to enter Germany successfully, considering its culture must be done. And as for being careful, purchasing Alando.de gave more benefit for eBay. Alando was still a young company; eBay bought it on a cheaper price compared to its other purchased firms. Buying Alando did not only remove German competitors but also made its connections with the German market closer.
The Term Paper on Internet Market Segmentation
Internet Uses More in US are Online: · Approximately 38 % of all U.S. homes now have access to the Internet. · Approximately 100 million people (39 % of U.S. population) have been online at home. · A total of 60 million (23%) access the Internet at least once a month and are classified as active users. · Twenty-one of the top 35 local Internet markets have more than half of their population ...
3.) Describe the pros and cons of eBay’s entering an international market by purchasing a foreign firm rather than building an operation from scratch.
4.) Comment on this statement: “eBay has succeeded abroad because its global strategy is flexible enough to adapt to countries with different cultures, while retaining the core elements of its online business model.”
