The Emergence of Self-organizing E-commerce Ecosystems in Remote Villages of China: A Tale of...

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The Emergence of Self-organizing E-commerce Ecosystems in Remote Villages of China: A Tale of Digital Empowerment for Rural DevelopmentCarmen LeongUNSW Business School, University of New South Walescarmen.leong@unsw.edu.au

Shan L PanUNSW Business School, University of New South Walesshan.pan@unsw.edu.au

Sue NewellSchool of Business, Management and Economics, University of SussexSue.Newell@sussex.ac.uk

Lili CuiResearch Center for Management Science and Information AnalyticsShanghai University of Finance & Economicscui.lili@mail.shufe.edu.cn

Ye is a 38-year-old farmer from a rural village in Zhejiang Province, China. In 2004, he left for a better paid job in Guangzhou, which is 1240km away from home. “I couldn’t take care of my family. My wife was having a hard time taking care of our parents and the children. I missed them dearly,” said Ye.

is a story about China’s migrant workers…

THE STORY BEHIND OUR RESEARCH

Societal challenges persist (United Nations 2013): Rural hollowing: small

young workforce for rural development

Left-behind elderly: 40 million with many suffering physical and psychological issues

Left-behind children: 61 million children (1/5 of youth in China)

RURAL POVERTY IN CHINA

Photography by Jie, Liu, Rural hollowing, 2011, Sina.com, http://slide.news.sina.com.cn/c/slide_1_815_19147.html#p=3

Taobao is an online marketplace nearly equivalent to eBay, operated by Alibaba Group (a China’s e-commerce giant)

Taobao Village a village in which at least 10% of its

residents operate an online store, generating at least an annual sale of RMB10 million (USD 1.6 million)

211 Taobao villages in China (as of 2014), selling agricultural products, consumer goods, traditional arts and crafts products

Create ~60,000 (2013) and ~280,000 (2014) job opportunities in rural China

TAOBAO E-COMMERCE VILLAGES

VISITS TO TAOBAO VILLAGES

Beijing

Zhejiang

Suichang (遂昌 )Villages& Jinyun (缙云 ) Villages

ShanghaiCHINA

Research Question: “How does ICT create and empower critical actors in a marginalized community?”

FINDINGS: A SELF-ORGANIZING E-COMMERCE ECOSYSTEM

Rural E-commerce Ecosyste

m

Grassroots

leaders

E-tailer

E-Supply chain

partners

Third-party E-

commerce service

providers

Institutional supporters

Digital Platform Sponsor

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Suichang

Online Shop Association

Pioneer e-tailer of Jinyun Village

Grassroots leaders initiate, lead, and shape the development of an e-commerce ecosystem. They are key actors who provide initial support for the emergence of e-tailers (e.g., training, product supplies).

THANK YOU FOR READING

More findings are available in the paper