An approach to evaluating business models - a case study of Taobao

Strategy is the choice of business models and thus to canvass well whether business models are identical with strategic goals of firms becomes significantly important. In this paper, we propose a 4-step approach based on Michael E. Porter´s business trade-off approach to evaluate the consistency of the business model of a firm with its strategic goals and apply it to Taobao´s business models and strategies. And we draw the conclusion that this approach can be widely applicable to evaluate business models of different companies.