Textual Speaking On The eBay Global Market Platform
1. Textual Speaking OnThe eBay Global Market Platform:
A Cultural Study of International Small Business Listings
byTom Mitchell
2. Introduction
Lead Researcher
• Tom Mitchell, Senior
• English MajorTrack G: Professional andTechnical Writing
• Global Career In the Water Industry
Research Assistant
• Sicong Jiang, Junior
• Engineering Student
• Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
3. Primary Source
• ZhuYan, School of Economics,Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
• National and Cultural Differences in the C2C Electronic Market: An
Investigation intoTransactional Behaviors of Chinese, American and French
Consumers on eBay (2009)
4. Purpose of Report
1. Analyze listings on the eBay andTaobao websites
2. Identify any cultural-communications problems
3. Identify textual language translation problems
5. History of eBay
• eBay, Inc.
• 1995 by Pierre Omiydar
• 1998 MegWhitman, President & CEO
• eBay China
• 1999 Purchased shares in China Eachnet
• 2003 eBay Eachnet
• 2006Withdrew from China’sC2C OnlineAuction Market
6. History ofTaobao
• Taobao
• 2003 Found by Alibaba’s Jack Ma
• 2005 Controlled China’s online auction market
• 2006 Most frequented website in China
• 2007 83.9% of online C2C market shares
7. Online Auction Platforms and Research
• TaobaoOnlineAuction Platform
• eBay GlobalOnlineAuction Platform
8. Online Cultural Shopping Behaviors
• Online Collectivism and Individualism Research Comparison
• Consumer from different nationalities have different shopping behaviors (Yan)
• Equal risk-taking results for U.S. and China
• U.S. – Individualistic society
• China – Collectivistic society
• Guanxi
10. Analysis of eBay.com Listings
• Analysis of China based listings for cultural information
11. Analysis of eBay.com
• Cross-cultural communication problems
• English language
• Oral vs written skills
• Translation programs
• Feedback Ratings
• eBay Messaging
12. Conclusions
• China sellers using same techniques fromTaobao
• Guanxi business relationship practices
• English Language translation problems
• Use of translation programs
• We love GoogleTranslator!
13. Recommedations
• Online pop-up window notification system
• Provide the buyer and seller with cross-cultural information
• Utilize Professional andTechnicalWriting and Communications services
• Further research
• Larger sample size of listings research
• Additional communication research on eBay’s message system
14. Sources
• William Bennett, Professor, Stanford University -Taobao vs. eBay China Case Study (2010)
• Bruce Einhorn, Bloomberg Business Report - How eBay Found a Secret Way into China
(2011)
• Small Business Administration, Frequently Asked Questions. (2014)
• Dawn Gregg, Professor, University of Colorado - ATypology of Complaints about eBay Sellers
(2008)
• Tat Koon Koh, Professor, University of Hong Kong -Trust across borders: Buyer-supplier trust
in global business-to-business Ecommerce (2012)
• M. Paul Lewis, Ph.D. SIL International - Ethnologue: Languages of theWorld, Eighteenth
edition (2015)
• Reference for Business - Background Information on eBay Inc. (2005)
• Li Qinfang, Professor,Tongji University - Research on Chinese C2C Ebusiness institutional
trust mechanism: Case study onTaobao and eBay(cn). (2007)
• IrisVarner & Linda Beamer Culture and Communication. Intercultural communication in the
global workplace (5th ed.) (2011)
• Carol Xiaojuan Ou, Professor, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong -Why eBay lost toTaobao
in china:The global advantage (2009)
• ZhuYan, Professor,Tsinghua University - National and cultural differences in the C2C
electronic marketplace: An investigation into transactional behaviors of Chinese, American,
and French consumers on eBay (2009)
