The number of people buying and selling products online in China has grown from practically zero in 2000 to more than 400 million by 2015. Most of this growth has occurred in cities. In this context, the Chinese government recently announced the expansion of e-commerce to the countryside as a policy priority with the objective to close the rural-urban economic divide. As part of this agenda, the government entered a partnership with a large Chinese e-commerce firm. The program invests in the necessary logistics to ship products to and sell products from tens of thousands of villages that were largely unconnected to e-commerce trading. The firm also installs an e-commerce terminal at a central village location, where a terminal manager assists households in buying and selling products through the firm's e-commerce platform. This paper combines a new collection of survey and administrative microdata with a randomized control trial (RCT) that we implement across villages in collaboration with the e-commerce firm. We use this empirical setting to provide evidence on the potential of e-commerce integration to foster economic development in the countryside, the underlying channels and the distribution of the gains from e-commerce across households and villages.

High Internet penetration in regions such as North America, Australia, and Europe, has proven the World Wide Web as an important medium for e-commerce transaction. Despite the soaring adoption statistics for those already developed societies, diffusion rates still remain low for the less developed countries, with e-commerce in its infancy. Emerging Markets and E-Commerce in Developing Economies enhances understanding of e-commerce models and practices in less developed countries, and extends the growing literature on e-commerce. An essential addition to worldwide library collections in technology, commerce, social sciences, and related fields, this essential contribution expands the body of knowledge in the field with relevant theoretical foundations, methodologies, and frameworks, to the benefit of the international academic, research, governmental, and industrial communities.

Business managers in developing countries would find in this volume a solid background to e-commerce at large, and to its significance within a wider framework of a resource-based view of their business and of the national economic settings within which they operate. The book is of special importance to the academic community of Internet students, as well as for those interested in economic development, by providing a pioneering insight into the issue of e-commerce in developing countries which may emerge strongly in the upcoming years. Aharon Kellerman, Growth and Change Undoubtedly an important contribution. E-commerce is a technology which holds the possibility of levelling the global trading playing field. This book provides a necessary review of current issues in e-commerce in developing economies, and a useful collection of good practice and solid theory for scholars, policymakers and professionals. John Peters, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, UK This is a road map of some of the challenges governments and companies face, in terms of physical and human infrastructure, as countries wrestle with a rapidly changing commercial environment. As the virtual world conquers ever more of the material world, countries that adapt and adopt to a cyber reality will likely do better. If you are doing business or setting policy in a developing country, you want to understand and address the issues raised in this book. Juan Enriquez, CEO, Biotechonomy, US and author of The Untied States of America and As the Future Catches You The authors of this unique volume provide a timely and valuable perspective on how technology and the Internet revolution are changing business and spurring development across the world, especially in emerging countries. Utilizing a framework grounded in rigorous theory, they provide a fine-grained understanding of electronic commerce adoption processes by public and private sector entities in developing countries. In so doing, they consider how each exchange encounter is shaped by, and in turn shapes, relational characteristics that form the basis for growth and development. Using a resource-based view of economies, the authors hypothesize that differences in the adoption of electronic commerce technologies in developing economies can be attributed to a sense-and-respond capability of governments with respect to new technologies, which they term technological opportunism . One of their main objectives is to establish the distinctiveness of technology opportunities from related constructs, such as innovativeness, and show that it offers a significantly better explanation of technology adoption and diffusion than do existing constructs. The book examines a number of developing countries experiences with electronic government, bringing real life experience to the adoption of an e-government model by looking at the issue from strategic as well as operational perspectives. The volume s ground-breaking research and conclusions will be of great interest to professionals, researchers and students in the areas of e-commerce and economic development; government officials of developing and newly industrialized countries contemplating e-government initiatives; and information technology managers.

This report is part of a broader work program on shaping a more positive narrative on regional integration in South Asia. It is a follow-up to a recent flagship report published by the South Asia Region of the World Bank, A Glass Half Full: The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia. E-commerce is dramatically changing the way goods and services are transacted nationally, regionally, and globally. It facilitates international trade by reducing the cost of distance and remoteness and can be more inclusive of underrepresented groups such as women, small businesses, and rural entrepreneurs. Intraregional trade in South Asia is still below its potential, and the region lags behind other parts of the world in activating the potential benefits from e-commerce. Adopting a novel yet practical approach, this report explores how e-commerce can be boosted to deepen intraregional trade in South Asia. It examines the main transacting models in the digital space and the channels through which e-commerce helps reduce transactions costs for firms and consumers. It considers the regulations, as well as the regulatory gaps, affecting private sector participation in e-commerce, focusing on data privacy, consumer protection, delivery, cybersecurity, market-access regulations, and digital payments. Finally, the report presents recommendations for regulatory reforms that could enhance e-trade, especially in a regional context and as a possible platform for greater global engagement by South Asian firms. The scale of these recommendations ranges from the modest, such as allowing cross-border payments and streamlining the customs regime, to the more ambitious, such as allowing the operation of regional e-commerce platforms and liberalizing related cross-border logistics services.

How small businesses can use the Internet and e-commerce to succeed in the global marketplace. Small companies account for a surprising one-third of U.S. exports, and their market share is growing. The Internet has played a major role in helping these companies develop an increasingly powerful international presence. Global E-Commerce Strategies for Small Businesses describes the export opportunities e-commerce holds for small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs) all over the world. The book is organized in two parts. The first uses examples and case studies of small exporting companies from six countries to show how SMEs and new entrepreneurs are not only successful but also often responsible for job creation, innovation, and economic growth in their regions. It also examines common obstacles to exports such as local and international laws, cultural differences, trade barriers, taxation, and transport infrastructure. The second part covers the steps in setting up a global business: researching business opportunities, identifying and reaching out to customers, building and keeping an online image, closing the deal, and maintaining customer support. Written in a casual, accessible style, the book offers an overview of the tools and services available to help smaller companies flourish in the global marketplace.

"This research book is a repository for academicians, researchers, and industry practitioners to share and exchange their research ideas, theories, and practical experiences, discuss challenges and opportunities, and present tools and techniques in all aspects of e-business development and management in the digital economy"--Provided by publisher.

Electronic commerce has the potential to radically alter some economic activities and the surrounding social environment. It changes the business environment, accelerates changes under way, increases interactivity, encourages openness, and alters the notion of time.This book examines such issues as the potential for growth of electronic commerce, its impact on the efficiency of the economy, its effects on how business is organized, and on markets, on jobs, and on society. It points out that countries will dismantle barriers to global electronic commerce at different rates, and that this may raise competitive concerns. It also discusses the electronic commerce's impacts on the costs of owning a "store," carrying inventory, conducting sales, placing and processing orders, customer support, and product distribution.