A Case Study of Online Retail Innovation System on Alibaba Taobao

Online retailing contains enterprises with highly innovative characteristics. In this paper, taking the online retail business of Alibaba China as the case study sample, the global value chain (GVC) innovation theory is used to research the innovative practices of Alibaba´s online retail business based on the literature research regarding the online retail business innovation theory. Through selection of major innovation events about online retail business of Alibaba Taobao, we carry out content analysis according to the GVC innovation theory, and deeply analyze the innovation system of Taobao from five perspectives which includes innovation goals, process innovation, product innovation, functional innovation and chain innovation.