Analysis on China’s E-commerce Strategy: A Case Study of Alibaba

Purpose: This study examines the development process of China’s e-commerce and the reasons for its rapid development since the late 1990s. This study aims to explore the direction of China's e-commerce development by analyzing its current problems. Composition/Logic: This paper is structured as follows: The first section provides the introduction. The second section considers the development of China’s e-commerce and the reasons of it. The third section discusses the present situation and characteristics of China’s E-commerce. The fourth section analyzes the problems for China’s e-commerce development, and explores the direction and policies or measures for this development. The final section concludes. Findings: Some problems exist in China’s e-commerce, ① imperfect business laws and regulations, ② homogenization of goods and services and a lack of user identification, ③ an increase of disputes regarding internet transactions, and ④ most e-commerce dealers’ low sustainable development ability. Therefore, the following policies or measures are recommended: ① creating a specific marketing platform focusing on “small and excellent”; ② extending in rural and international directions; ③ improving e-commerce supervision and management systems and regulating the e-commerce competitive behavior; and ④ striving to improve the construction of e-commerce infrastructure. Originality/Value: As some problems exist in China’s e-commerce industry, this study examines China’s development of e-commerce using Alibaba as a case study to propose a future direction for China’s e-commerce.