ICT Empowers the Formation and Development of Rural E-Commerce in China

Weifen Wu,Yazhen Zhang,Yilin Fan

doi:10.1109/access.2020.3011593

Weifen Wu, Yazhen Zhang + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.3011593

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Abstract

The emergence of e-commerce has rejuvenated backward and poor remote villages. This paper presents a revelatory case study of three remote villages in China to depict how information and communication technology (ICT, specifically e-commerce) can empower remote areas to thrive. With the concept of affordance as basis, this work identifies critical actors in the development of rural e-commerce (i.e., Taobao Village) and illustrates how they use ICT. Eight deterministic affordances of the same ICT used in the evolution of rural e-commerce are specified, and three evolution paths about how ICT empowers the formation and development of rural e-commerce are depicted. This paper also describes the challenges of the current development of rural e-commerce. The findings of the study are discussed, and suggestions on how to capitalize on ICT for rural e-commerce development are offered.

Highlights

Many rural villagers in China were in extremely deprived condition 15 years ago
This study focuses on community-level affordances, which arise from the interactions of information and communication technology (ICT) and a series of critical actors motivated by Taobao Village
With the perspective of affordance lens, this study identifies eight key affordances of ICT built on the observation of three Taobao Villages

Summary

Introduction

Many rural villagers in China were in extremely deprived condition 15 years ago. These villagers have been gradually breaking out of poverty with the popularization of information and communication technology (ICT) [1]. The number of active online stores exceeded 2.44 million, with sales reaching 700 billion yuan ($97.9 billion), and provided 6.83 million jobs [4]. Apart from these benefits, the application of ICT can improve healthcare and educational levels [5], [6], enhance happiness [7], and reduce mortality [8].

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