Although the focus on marketing strategies and the development of effective public relations techniques is discussed as important for companies, modern consumers are inclined to pay more attention to the social activities of the organization (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2013).
Therefore, companies usually try to address the highest expectations of the public regarding their ethical behaviors and activities. Alibaba Group also pays attention to the development of such two fields as the marketing and corporate social responsibility or the corporate citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the approaches used by Alibaba Group in order to promote the services to consumers globally, analyze the policies and strategies to address the concept of the social responsibility, and provide recommendations to improve the mentioned approaches with the focus on the idea of diversity.
Alibaba Group’s Approaches to Promote Services Globally
Marketing and public relations are the fields that are actively developed in the organization because it needs to address the interests and expectations of consumers globally while keeping the position of a leader in the e-commerce sphere. The key principle that guides the public relations and promotion strategies in Alibaba Group is the proposition of the wide choice of products and services, the availability of products, and the delivery without delays (Alibaba Group, 2016).
These easy principles are important to be followed in the sphere of e-commerce. However, in spite of respecting the diversity among employees and consumers, the company lacks focusing on it while developing the promotion strategies. Thus, the company’s success in terms of promotion and public relations depends on the company’s global reputation rather than on aspects of diversity and an individual approach (Pomeranz, 2009). According to Milne, Rohm, and Bahl (2009), it is typical of large companies to gain the support and consumer loyalty because they are well-known and often reputable. However, Alibaba Group requires the more innovative approach to marketing and public relations.
Alibaba Group and Corporate Citizenship
The activities performed by Alibaba Group in order to promote the social responsibility are rather numerous. Thus, the company initiated the environmental protection project, the disaster relief project, and the community support project in order to guarantee the sustainable development and demonstrate the corporate responsibility in relation to the community’s needs (Alibaba Group, 2016).
It is possible to discuss the attempts of the company to promote the principles of the ethical and responsible behaviors as effective because Alibaba Group succeeded in developing projects to support the community services, protect the interests of disadvantaged people, and address the needs of the vulnerable populations. In addition, the principle of the corporate citizenship is realized through the active support of non-governmental organizations, sponsoring social initiatives, and providing donations to protect the environment and support the victims of ecological catastrophes.
While supporting the Chinese community directly, Alibaba Group has implemented principles of the ethical marketing according to which the selling and purchasing of ivory and other environmentally protected components are banned (Alibaba Group, 2016). Furthermore, the company follows the policy prohibiting the overuse of energy resources for the organization’s operations.
The sustainable and responsible policies and behaviors of Alibaba Group can be viewed as effective in order to draw the attention of stakeholders and address the community’s needs. Still, according to Sison (2009), the idea of the corporate citizenship is rather complex, and companies need to focus more on the approaches to achieve sustainability and develop the effective corporate policies and norms to follow in the organization. The variety of aspects that should be addressed by companies in terms of the corporate citizenship is great, and large companies have the higher level of responsibility to the society (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012). As a result, there are gaps that should be covered in the Alibaba Group’s approach to responding to the community’s needs and expectations
Recommendations to Enhance Alibaba Group’s Activities
While focusing on the idea of diversity, it is important to improve Alibaba Group’s marketing and public relations strategies and practices with the help of initiating the campaign during which individual needs of consumers from all over the globe will be addressed. This approach can lead to positive marketing results and financial outcomes. According to Pomeranz (2009), it is necessary to see a big picture and carefully use all available resources for the company’s development.
Furthermore, following Kleasen (2007), it is significant to accentuate the necessity of improving the company’s processes and human resources at each stage of the organization’s development. Thus, the aspect of diversity can be reflected in Alibaba Group’s marketing and public relations strategies in spite of possible barriers associated with addressing the customers globally
However, Alibaba Group also needs to improve the policies regarding the corporate citizenship. Sison (2009) notes that the approaches to the corporate social diversity need to be various in different contexts. The author refers to the example of the US and European contexts, and this aspect is important to be taken into account while discussing the ways to enhance Alibaba Group’s strategies with the focus on the diversity idea. It is necessary to recommend the close examination of the consumers’ interests and expectations regarding the corporate citizenship in different regions of the world and use this advantage in order to develop and improve the corporate social responsibility approaches that are currently used in Alibaba Group.
Conclusion
In spite of the fact that Alibaba Group pays much attention to developing its marketing strategies to gain more recognition among the public, its approaches can be improved while referring to the idea of diversity in its general meaning. In addition, the company’s corporate citizenship policies and practices can also be improved in order to achieve the higher results. Alibaba Group has the potential for the development of the effective strategy connected with the notion of the corporate social responsibility because its current sustainability practices are rather successful but they can be further improved in order to guarantee that the company meets the demands and interests of its consumers from all over the world.
From this point, more attention can be paid to improving the strategies to address not only the Chinese public but also the US and European consumers among other potential users of services provided by Alibaba Group.
References
Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2012). What we know and don’t know about corporate social responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 38(4), 932-968. Web.
Alibaba Group. (2016). Sustainability. Web.
Kleasen, K. (2007). Building human resources strategic planning, process and measurement capability: Using Six Sigma as a foundation. Organization Development Journal, Chesterland, 25(2), P37-P41. Web.
Milne, G., Rohm, A., & Bahl, S. (2009). If it’s legal, is it acceptable?: Consumer reactions to online covert marketing. Journal of Advertising, 38(4), 107-122. Web.
Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2013). Understanding business. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Web.
Pomeranz, R. (2009). The evolution of human resources directors’ responsibilities. The CPA Journal, 79(7), 12-13. Web.
Sison, A. (2009). From CSR to corporate citizenship: Anglo-American and continental European perspectives. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(1), 235-246. Web.