Research on the Development Level of Rural E-Commerce in China Based on Analytic Hierarchy and Systematic Clustering Method

Abstract

The development of rural e-commerce in China has important economic, social, cultural, and ecological values, which is conducive to the sustainable development of rural areas, the efficient use of rural resources, and the comprehensive development of farmers. This paper aims to establish a comprehensive evaluation index system for the development level of rural e-commerce, use the analytic hierarchy method to determine the weights of each level, and conduct cluster analysis of the development level of provinces through the systematic clustering method. The results show that: (1) Infrastructure, digital management, digital governance, technological innovation, and talent cultivation are all important factors affecting the development level of rural e-commerce, of which infrastructure construction, digital business expansion, and e-commerce talent cultivation are more important. (2) Overall, the development level of rural e-commerce in China’s provinces presents such a pattern: Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Fujian are comprehensively leading; Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet are developing rapidly, and the rest of the provinces are developing and growing. (3) The Yangtze River Delta region is the region with the most active development level of rural e-commerce in China. The development of rural e-commerce in China is characterized by the south being better than the north and the east better than the west. The findings of this study can provide a basis for evaluating the level of rural e-commerce in various provinces in China, and provide guidance for the development of rural e-commerce in various provinces to achieve high-quality development in the next step.