Introduction:
Aim of this report is to critically analyse EBay’s strategic decision on the acquisition of PayPal before it occurred. The report will analyse the company and its operating environment, this analysis will discuss the external and internal factors, of EBay and the implications of their environment in relation to the factors analysed. This in-depth analysis will be aided with analytical tools such as PESTLE, SWOT, and the use of rich picture. Subsequently with the analytical findings, suggested strategic options will be discussed which EBay may have opted to choose.
EBay’s History:
EBay was established in September 1995 by Pierre Omidyar as an online auction website in the United States; by 1997 the site posted two million auctions creating the name EBay rather than AuctionWeb and branched out from collectibles into different goods within the market. EBay is now becoming the biggest online marketplace providing a facility for buyers and sellers to communicate, consequently generating millions of customers in foreign markets as well as the United States (eBay Inc).
EBay’s Internal and external environment
When a company is faced with its external environment changing within its industry it provides the company with opportunities to reconsider its strategies to help maintain its competitiveness (Giesen et al 2010). Therefore analysing EBay’s environment before the acquisition of PayPal will help aid the understanding of this decision implemented, exploring and discussing both internal and external factors which may have had an influence upon EBay’s strategic decision. The analytical tools of PESTLE and SWOT are going to be used as these methods helps decision making, planning, evaluating and the development of products or services due to the exploration of a company’s environment (Gorgenlander 2001). PESTLE analysis examines a company’s environment and helps identify possible market