Rural E-Commerce and Emerging Paths Toward Product Renewal: Evidence from Taobao Villages in Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract

The role of extraregional linkages established by e-commerce in stimulating industrial renewal has yet to be sufficiently explored. We propose a framework that specifies the renewal of product as improvement in quality and the increase in the types of products, and understands product renewal as conditioned by the strength of extraregional linkages and the local capacity. Drawing on the original survey data on 241 Taobao villages in Zhejiang Province, a multinomial logit model is used to explore the factors influencing product renewal. We find that the improvement to production processes and merchants’ management capabilities significantly contributes to product renewal, whereas the development of logistic industries and the establishment of e-commerce associations accomplishes the opposite. The authors argue that more attention should be paid to improve institutionalization of the Taobao business model to support the upgrading and renewal of local industries, such as improving local government recognition of e-commerce and popularizing e-commerce associations to a wider area.

跨域电子商务联络在工业振兴中的作用, 尚未得到充分探讨。我们的框架, 将产品更新定义为产品质量的提高和产品类型的增加, 产品更新取决于跨域联络力度和本地能力。利用中国浙江省241个淘宝村的原始调查数据和Multinomial Logit模型, 探讨了产品更新的影响因素。我们发现, 改善生产流程和商户管理能力, 对产品更新有显著贡献, 而物流业的发展和电子商务协会的成立则起到相反作用。我们认为, 应更加重视淘宝商业模式的制度化提升, 支持地方产业的升级和更新换代；例如, 提高地方政府对电子商务的认识、大范围推广电子商务协会。

El rol de los vínculos extrarregionales establecidos por el comercio electrónico (e-commerce) para estimular la renovación industrial, demanda todavía mucha exploración. Proponemos un marco que especifica la renovación del producto, como su mejora en calidad y el incremento en los tipos de productos, y que entiende la renovación del producto como condicionada por la fortaleza de los vínculos extrarregionales y la capacidad local. Con base en datos de la encuesta original sobre 241 aldeas de Taobao, en la Provincia de Zhejiang, se usó un modelo logit multinomial para explorar los factores que influyen sobre la renovación del producto. Descubrimos que la mejora en los procesos de producción y las capacidades de manejo de los comerciantes contribuyen significativamente a la renovación del producto, mientras que el desarrollo de las industrias logísticas y el establecimiento de asociaciones de e-commerce generan lo contrario. Los autores piensan que se debería prestar más atención a mejorar la institucionalización del modelo comercial de Taobao para contribuir a la actualización y renovación de las industrias locales, como a mejorar el reconocimiento del gobierno local del e-commerce y popularizar las asociaciones del e-commerce en un área más amplia.

Key Words:

• e-commerce
• extraregional linkages
• product renewal
• regional industrial change
• rural vitalization

关键词:

• 电子商务
• 跨域联络
• 产品更新
• 区域工业变革
• 农村振兴。

Palabras clave:

• cambio industrial regional
• e-commerce
• renovación del producto
• vínculos extrarregionales
• vitalización rural

Acknowledgments

We are especially grateful to our interviewees for providing us with effective information.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41871106).

Notes on contributors

Jia Zhang

JIA ZHANG is a PhD Student in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 3010. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include the platform economy and regional development, and economic geography.

Cassandra C. Wang

CASSANDRA C. WANG is Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, China 310027. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include industrial development and innovation, regional entrepreneurship, and e-commerce and rural development in China.

Nicholas A. Phelps

NICHOLAS A. PHELPS is a Professor and Chair of Urban Planning in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 3010. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the planning and politics of suburbanization, the geography of urban economic agglomeration, and the economic geography of multinational enterprises.

Julie T. Miao

JULIE T. MIAO is an associate professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 3010. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include the geography, real estate dynamics, and planning of innovation spaces such as science parks and innovation districts, as well as aspects of public entrepreneurship.