Different Business Options of Alibaba Group

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is a form of leadership that is based on the pillars of innovation, creativity, evaluation, and a clear and concise vision of future demands. This report highlights the innovative abilities and Entrepreneurship style of one of the largest e-commerce business tycoons of this era, Jack Ma, the founder and head of Alibaba Group (Clark, 2016). The hospitality industry is one of the largest and most profound industries to use and implement technologies such as cloud computing, operating system, data management, and another digital advancement that Ma is known for. The cloud computing of Alibaba Group, known as allyun.com, operating systems known as Yunos and Taobao travel that helps book travel and airline tickets such as Orbitz and many other innovations of Jack Ma are highly popular in the hospitality industry (Liu and Avery, 2021). The report critically highlights these innovations of the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship style

Alibaba is known to connect the east with the west with the most profound globalisation strategy of Jack Ma. The kinetic leader has surprisingly blended the two polar styles of China and the West in terms of technologies, culture, management and business through different e-commerce services. From naming the company to making it one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, Jack Ma has an extraordinary quality of being simple and having a clear vision of things (Hoffmann). He does not unnecessarily complicate matters. The former English teacher who used to be known as 'crazy Ma' for his unorthodox and whimsical management style has built the largest business empire in China in just 15 years (Hoffmann). His clear vision of the growing impact of technologies on business and the significance of globalization has made this possible. Ma has predicted well the need for a global platform for businesspersons across the world to communicate and collaborate: one single platform that will connect all without making them physically travel across the world. Ma has introduced the world with the dropship model that connects the suppliers directly with the customers and with the sellers which helps to develop the hospitality industry through direct communication and engagement with the suppliers.

The dropship model of the Alibaba Group

The three key platforms of his innovation include Taobao (a consumer-to-consumer company and platform such as eBay) Tmall (a business-to-consumer firm such as Amazon) and Alibaba.com (a business-to-business platform) (Ejet Sourcing. 2022). The other key innovation of Ma includes electronic payments through AliPay, cloud computing through allyun.com, streaming entertainment, Strong SCM infrastructure across the globe and investment funds that are all used to develop the hospitality industry of China and other parts of the world. He does this impossible by being one of the simplest men in the world. His motors are:

To be like Forrest Gump: Ma's favourite film, Forrest Gump, inspires him never to get down by obstacles. His journey from nothing to becoming the richest man in China has been full of obstacles which could never let him down and made him a successful entrepreneur (Kim, Zhang and Zhang, 2016).

Innovation against the most successful innovation: Ma has never feared the Americans and the successful technological advancement of America. He has rather challenged the most established things rather than innovating something completely new. eBay was already one of the largest consumer-to-consumer e-commerce companies when Ma launched Taobao. The way Steve Jobs did not invent the digital music player and Bill Gates did not innovate computer operating systems and yet they become the largest faces in these fields, Jack Ma has become a successful entrepreneur by enriching things that were already busy by his ancestors. Therefore, for him, there is no pure innovation that starts from him and ends with him. Innovation is in the form of a legacy that must be carried forward with innovative approaches and styles.

Communication: One of Ma's most impactful strengths is his communication and simplicity through which he has befriended powerful people such as Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo, and Masayoshi Son, chairman of Softbank, a Japanese telecom giant, who have invested in Alibaba and helped the company to grow at the global platform. Thus, the entrepreneurship style Ma teaches one not to let ego come in between the business and operations but rather let the powerful have control of the system (Kim, Zhang and Zhang, 2016). Jack Ma believes that strength respects strength. To have that strength, one must succumb to the powerful at the initial stage.

Participation and inclusion: Unlike the stubborn and headstrong Chinese culture, Ma has an open and inclusive style of management. He encourages participation and inclusion by shedding discrimination of any sort (Wulf, 2010). To become a successful entrepreneur, one must take the business seriously and make the best choice for the growth of the business, leaving the personal attachment side.

Type of entrepreneur

There are several types of entrepreneurship. First, the ladder must decide its platform of operation. For example, there are small and large business entrepreneurship, small and large start-up entrepreneurship, initiator entrepreneurship, innovative entrepreneurship, and researcher and buyer entrepreneurship styles (Jung, Ugboma and Liow, 2015). Based on the business practice and model, the leader must choose their field. For Jack Ma, it can be said that he both an innovative and an initiative entrepreneur who has imitated the business strategies of past leaders and made the strategies impactful with his innovative style of operation and communication.

Creation & Development of the company

Jack Ma's creation Alibaba Group was founded in 1999 and is currently working with 251,462 employees globally (Forbes. 2022). With Jack Ma's most comprehensive globalisation plan, Alibaba is renowned for bridging east and west. Through various e-commerce services, the dynamic leader has surprisingly merged the two opposing polarities of China and the West in terms of technologies, culture, management, and business. Jack Ma has the extraordinary attribute of being straightforward and having a clear vision for the future, which has helped him do everything from name the firm to make it one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in the world (Wulf, 2010). He doesn't needlessly make things more difficult. Because of his unconventional and whimsical management style, the former English teacher known as "crazy Ma" amassed the largest business empire in China in just 15 years. Starting as a small entity with just $70,000, the company has a net worth of $500 billion, as of August 2022 (Forbes. 2022).

Financing solutions

Alibaba has a revenue of $129.8B, Assets of $276.2B and Profits of $10.2B as of 2022 (Forbes. 2022). Ma's ability to communicate and be approachable has helped him make friends with influential people like Jerry Yang and Masayoshi Son who have invested in Alibaba and assisted the business in expanding on a worldwide scale. Jack Ma is of the opinion that power respects power. One must initially give in to the powerful in order to develop that strength. Therefore, Ma's approach to entrepreneurship encourages one to let the powerful govern the system rather than letting one's ego get in the way of business and operations (Kim, Zhang and Zhang, 2016). Ma has further invested in the market and made the company listed in the IPO to raise funds for the company (Wulf, 2010). Besides, it has investment options for consumers. This system is easy and flexible, unlike the stock market investment operations. Therefore, many people start with a small budget investment in their group. Thus, to raise funds, an entrepreneur like Jack Ma must be open to different investment options and proper financial management of the budget.

Predicaments of failure & Conclusion

One of the key predicaments of failure for entrepreneurs is the lack of funding. Ma initially struggled with funds. However, his communication and oration skills and charismatic personality have helped him to gather the trust of the billionaires who have put their money in Alibaba. Another predicate of failure for entrepreneurs is that they underestimate their competitors. However, Ma has a clear vision and perspective of his operations and activities that lead him to increase his market analysis as well (Jung, Ugboma and Liow, 2015). He has successfully increased the group of Alibaba services based on the market analysis. Hence, he has become one of the most impactful entrepreneurs of all time. In 1999, with a team of 18 members, Ma started the company and established it as one of the largest international organizations (Melnik, 2019). Ma has found the huge market gap where there is a limited market for the Chinese companies in the e-commerce marketplace. He started a website on China commerce. Chinese investors have approached Ma who then started a Far East-based ecommerce company (Lina, 2020). Ma went to approach large businessmen, investors and partners with his innovative ideas and with an amount of $35 million in venture, Ma has initiated his business. Ma has understood that the beginning of a new century will enhance the beginning of a new era in the technological and digital field. Hence, the opportune timing of opening this market has been incessantly influenced by the perfect timing, vision, market research and investment. With the most simplistic nature, he has further developed an entire empire out of it.

Entrepreneurship is a style of leadership built on the tenets of creativity, innovation, evaluation, and a clear and precise vision of what the future will require. This article focuses on Jack Ma, the founder and CEO of the Alibaba Group, one of the most powerful e-commerce businessmen of this generation, and his entrepreneurial style (Clark, 2016). One of the biggest and most significant industries to use and implement technologies like cloud computing, operating systems, data management, and other Ma-recognized digital advancements is the hospitality sector. The Alibaba Group's allyun.com cloud computing platform, Yunos and Taobao Travel operating systems, which facilitate the purchase of travel and airline tickets, as well as many other innovations by Jack Ma, are very well-liked in the hospitality and other industries across the world. The report critically highlights these aspects.