Objectives of knowledge management

Mission 
eBay describes its purpose as to ‘pioneer new commu‑
nities around the world built on commerce, sustained by 
trust, and inspired by opportunity’. 
At the time of writing eBay comprises three major 
businesses: 
1 
The eBay marketplaces (approximately 50% of net 
revenues in 2012). Originally only offering auctions, 
by 2012, the fi xed‑ price listing format accounted 
for approximately 66% of eBay’s gross merchan‑
dise volume, or GMV, with the auction‑ style for‑
mat accounting for the remaining 34% of GMV. 
Marketplaces also include other sites like compari‑
son site Shopping.com and StubHub (event tickets).
The mission for the core eBay business is to ‘cre‑
ate the world’s online marketplace’. eBay has also 
created vertical formats, such as Classifi eds, Daily 
Deals, Fashion, Motors (vehicles, parts and acces‑
sories) and Electronics. 
 
The marketplace platforms had more than 112 mil‑
lion active users at the end of 2012, compared to 
Barriers to consumer Internet adoption 
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100 million at the end of 2011. In 2012, nearly $13 bil‑
lion was transacted on mobile platforms, more than 
double the mobile commerce volume from the previ‑
ous year, and expected to increase to $20 billion. In 
2007, eBay’s SEC filing noted the success factors for 
this business, for which eBay sought to manage the 
functionality, safety, ease of use, and reliability of the 
trading platform. In 2010 the strategic priorities had 
changed to trust, value, selection and convenience.
2 
PayPal (approximately 43% of net revenues in 2012). 
The mission is to ‘create the new global standard 
for online payments’. This company was acquired 
in 2003 and is now a significant contributor to eBay 
revenue, with the service incorporated in many other 
e‑commerce sites.
3 
GSI (accounting for 7% of revenues in 2012) was 
acquired by eBay in June 2011. GSI is a provider 
of e‑commerce and interactive marketing services, 
including websites and fulfilment centres, to enter‑
prise clients that include some of the world’s leading 
brands and retailers covering merchandise catego‑
ries including apparel, sporting goods, toys & baby, 
health & beauty and home.