Educational Alternatives, Volume 17, 2019

Abstract: As a best practice teaching case, “The rise of Ali Baba” (see Appendix) contains a new approach to teaching globalisation by focussing on how international companies enter the local markets instead of offering examples of local companies entering international markets, as it is common. What makes the case of Alibaba stand out amongst other case studies, is the multitude of teaching subjects it can be adapted to. Although initially used to teach global business, it can be modified to teach corporate social responsibility, supply chain management, as well as business ethics. The following article shows how teaching this case study leads students to a new understanding of how global companies act and interact, thus gaining up to date competences through proactively applying a more sophisticated knowledge about globalisation. This teaching note further explores a combination of didactic methods within the case and the sample questions. The case study, as described, was tested in a variety of teaching frames during five years, from November 2013 to December 2018 with an identical timeline. Feedback forms, written assignments and discussions were assessed using content analysis. Ninety-eight per cent of the students reported good learning results, a positive impact on their grasp of global issues and a deeper understanding of global economics and markets in their feedback forms.