Analyzing this CVC, we spot a clear pattern: in principle, customers could perform each of the relevant activities with one of Alibaba’s multiple companies (see Figure 8.2). Meizu produced the phone, and Aliyun the operating system. Customers embarking on their purchasing journey could begin using a content site such as Yahoo China, owned by Alibaba, and move into the eTao search engine. Customers could then choose one of Alibaba’s online stores—Alibaba itself, Taobao, or Tmall—and communicate with the seller via Aliwangwang. Finally, consumers could pay with Alipay and receive their goods via
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