Uber in China: Platform Strategy and Lean Innovation

Since its founding in 2009, Uber Technologies Inc., relying on its disruptive business model, had in six years swept across over 300 cities in more than 60 countries worldwide. However, this ride-hailing platform aimed at optimizing “information, people and resources” had been plagued by regulatory hurdles and resistance by the taxi industry and governments in many destination countries in the process of rapid expansion. China was one of the markets that fueled Uber’s ambitions. In the wake of its entry into the Chinese market in August 2013, Uber fought a costly battle with local ride-hailing service rivals Didi Kuaidi, Yidao, and Shenzhou. To affirm its long-term commitment to China, on October 8, 2015, it officially moved into the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free-Trade Zone, establishing the Shanghai Wu Bo Information Technology Company Limited. It was the very first time that Uber had founded an independent operational entity in China aiming at becoming a real local company. However, could Uber China’s strategies enable it to take root and thrive in China?