Marketplace 3.0: Rewriting the Rules of Borderless Business
Author(s): Hiroshi Mikitani
The CEO behind Rakuten and Kobo reveals how his unique approach to empowerment and collaboration defy conventional wisdom, and are the future of growth and globalization strategy.
If Web 2.0 described the shift from static to interactive life on the Web, then 3.0 is the next sea change -- driven by personalization, intelligent search, and user behavior. And that evolution has huge implications for everything we see, buy and do online. Rejecting the zero-sum, vending-machine model of ecommerce practiced by other leading internet retailers, who view the Internet purely as a facilitator of speed and profit, Hiroshi Mikitani argues for an alternate model that benefits merchants, consumers, and communities alike by empowering players at every step in the process. He envisions retail "ecosystems," where small and mid-sized brick-and-mortar businesses around the world partner with online marketplaces to maximize their customer bases and service capabilities, and he shows why emphasizing collaboration over competition, customization over top-down control, and long-term growth over short-term revenue is by far the best use of the Internet's power, and will define the 3.0 era.
Rakuten has already pioneered this new model, and "Marketplace 3.0" offers colorful examples of its success in Japan and around the world. Mikitani reveals how the company enforces a global mindset (including the requirement that all its employees speak English, even in Tokyo); how it incorporates new acquisitions rather than seeking to completely remake or sell them for a quick profit; and how it competes with other retailers on speed and quality, without sacrificing the public good. "Marketplace 3.0" is an exciting new vision for global commerce, from a company that's challenging all the accepted wisdom.
Product Information
"A Japanese e-commerce guru tells how to succeed in online business by breaking all the rules... In this upbeat debut, [Mikitani] describes his maverick business philosophy, aimed at challenging conventional wisdom and empowering sellers to create lasting relationships with customers."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Mikitani shares the secrets, beliefs, and drive that fueled Rakuten's meteoric rise to success... [he] weaves an inspiring entrepreneurial story and presents a thought-provoking case for breaking rules."--"Publishers Weekly"
"For anybody seeking to understand how to build and scale a company in the new global economy, Hiroshi Mikitani's "Marketplace 3.0" provides a compelling guide to Rakuten's success. From Rakuten's early days as an Internet Mall to detailed insights on leveraging social media and providing a path for managers, Mikitani takes you inside the CEO's office with this thorough breakdown of what goes into today's successful global business."--Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter
"Mikitani is one of the world's great Internet entrepreneurs. He possesses one-of-a-kind insights on the intersection of e-commerce and globalization. In Marketplace 3.0, he describes his vision of the future in compelling fashion and shares his unconventional but hugely effective strategies for competing in a 'borderless business' environment. Highly recommended!"-- Reid Hoffman, co-founder & chairman of LinkedIn and co-author The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
"Hiroshi Mikitani provides exactly the right advice at the right time. His fascinating story of building Rakuten into a global e-commerce giant offers profound and practical lessons for any leader who wants to master the new rules of global competition while also improving the state of the world."--Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor and author of "Confidence" and "SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth and Social G
HIROSHI MIKITANI is the founder and chief executive of Rakuten, a leading player in the global e-commerce market, which recently purchased Kobo and Buy.com, as well as acquisitions in France, Germany, and Brazil. He appeared on the Forbes 400 list for the first time in 2006, and today is ranked at No. 182 with a net worth of $5.6 billion. An Internet evangelist, he has more than 350,000 followers of his Twitter feed. Mikitani has been featured in national and international broadcast and print media, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Globe and Mail, The Economist, and the Financial Times, among others. Mikitani received an MBA from Harvard Business School, USA and today lives in Tokyo, Japan.
General Fields
- :
- : Palgrave Macmillan
- : Palgrave Macmillan
- : 0.001
- : 01 February 2013
- : 240mm X 159mm X 28mm
- : United Kingdom
- : 01 April 2013
- : books
Special Fields
- : 256
- : 658.872
- : Hardback
- : Hiroshi Mikitani