# Strategies for Underdogs: How Alibaba’s Taobao Beat eBay in China | Cold Call

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/harvard-business-review-7777387/strategies-for-underdogs-how-alibaba-s-taobao-beat-ebay-in-china-cold-call.md
Podcast: [Harvard Business Review](https://stenobird.com/podcast/harvard-business-review-7777387)
Published: 2026-05-15T00:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG8570905230.mp3?updated=1778670376
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG8570905230.mp3?updated=1778670376
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Duration seconds: 2128

## Resource

Strategies for Underdogs: How Alibaba’s Taobao Beat eBay in China | Cold Call 21 Jun 2023 --- In 2007, Alibaba’s Taobao became China’s leading consumer e-commerce marketplace, displacing the once dominant eBay. How did underdog Taobao do it? And will it be able to find a way to monetize its marketplace and ensure future success? Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses his case, “Alibaba’s Taobao,” (https://store.hbr.org/product/alibaba-s-taobao-a/709456?sku=709456-PDF-ENG) and related strategy lessons from his new book, Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance. This episode originally aired on Cold Call on July 13, 2021. You can also listen to this episode on HBR.org, and wherever you listen to podcasts: - HBR.org (transcript available here): https://hbr.org/podcast/2021/07/strategies-for-underdogs-how-alibabas-taobao-beat-ebay-in-china - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategies-for-underdogs-how-alibabas-taobao-beat-ebay/id1156646189?i=1000528732591 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Nqto2Ht84orCG8tWWB3Lb?si=6c64dd3d99fb4c72 - Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/cold-call/episode/strategies-for-underdogs-how-alibabas-taobao-beat-ebay-in-china-85390546 - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLmhhcnZhcmRidXNpbmVzcy5vcmcvaGFydmFyZGJ1c2luZXNzL2NvbGQtY2FsbA/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvLmhici5vcmcsMjAxNi0wOS0xNjpjb2xkLWNhbGwuMDE1Mg?sa=X&ved=0CAIQuIEEahcKEwi4yMi53dL_AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA Series Description: Harvard Business School’s legendary case studies, distilled into podcast form. About Harvard Business Review: Harvard Business Review is the leading destination for smart management thinking. Through its flagship magazine, books, and digital content and tool…

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