Abstract
The purpose of this article is to define the concept of digital shadow economy and identify its determinants and channels from consumers’ position. In order to fulfil the defined purpose, the method of snowball sampling was employed. The results of the research revealed that consumers interpret digital shadow economy as an illegal operation in the Internet space, which generates illegal money flows for commodity/service providers or purchasers, and deprives legal traders/service providers from the revenue that could be officially accounted, calculated and declared. E-shops, social networks and websites are the channels, most commonly engaged for acquisition of goods/services in digital space; the categories of goods/services acquired by these channels include clothing and footwear, trips and entertainment, cosmetics and perfume. Purification of the concept of digital shadow economy from consumers’ position allowed to define the concept of digital shadow economy, which is a significant contribution to the evolution of the theory of digital shadow economy, and can enable to develop an instrument for measuring the scopes of digital shadow economy in further research.
Highlights
With an attraction of opportunities, including easy accessibility and use of technologies, variety of goods and services on sale, and convenient delivery terms, more and more consumers start preferring online shopping to traditional one
– Digital shadow economy is an illegal operation in the Internet space, which generates illegal money flows for commodity/service providers or purchasers, and deprives legal traders/service providers from the revenue that could be officially accounted, calculated and declared;
Summarizing, it could be concluded that consumers are inclined to distinguish the digital shadow economy from cybercrime, and treat it as an illegal operation in the Internet space, which generates illegal money flows for commodity/service providers or purchasers, and deprives legal traders/service providers from the revenue that could be officially accounted, calculated and declared
Summary
With an attraction of opportunities, including easy accessibility and use of technologies, variety of goods and services on sale, and convenient delivery terms, more and more consumers start preferring online shopping to traditional one. In order to develop efficient measures of digital shadow economy prevention, first of all, it is purposeful to research how the consumers, who purchase goods/services online, perceive the phenomenon of digital shadow economy, what determinants generate the demand for acquisition of goods/services from digital shadow markets, and what channels are employed for the order and delivery of goods/services from digital space. The concept, features and channels of digital shadow economy from consumers’ position have hardly been analysed in complex. The research of this type would provide a clearer view of what the phenomenon of digital shadow economy refers to from consumers’ attitude, and might contribute to the development of the measures of digital shadow economy reduction. The methods of the research include scientific literature analysis and consumer survey based on snowball sampling method
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