Taobao Villages Research Articles

Digital village construction and its mechanistic on farmer entrepreneurship

This study utilizes data from Taobao Villages and the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) from 2015 to 2019 to analyze the impact of digital village construction on the entrepreneurial activities of farmers. The results indicate that the digitalization of rural areas significantly enhances the entrepreneurial activities of farmers. Mediating effect analysis reveals that the popularization of the digital economy and capital asset allocation play a facilitating role between digital village construction and entrepreneurial activities of farmers. Furthermore, farmer groups with higher levels of education, income, and Second-tier cities are more effective in utilizing digital resources for entrepreneurship.

Research on the Current Development and Strategy of Rural E-Commerce in Chinas Digital Market-Oriented Economy

The rapid advancement of e-commerce has introduced numerous challenges, particularly regarding the rural-urban divide, marked by disparities in income and resource distribution. Addressing these issues is crucial to ensure sustained growth in this sector. This paper examines the current state of rural e-commerce through secondary data analysis, noting the dichotomy of positive and negative impacts, with a particular focus on Taobao Village as a case study. While existing literature has extensively reviewed the benefits and drawbacks of e-commerce, this paper concentrates on the primary threats and underlying causes affecting rural areas. Notably, the digital divide and skill deficiencies emerge as significant obstacles. The digital divide highlights the gap between those with access to technology and those without, while skill deficiencies refer to the lack of necessary technical skills among rural populations to effectively engage with e-commerce platforms. To address these challenges, the paper proposes several practical solutions. These include increased financial investment in digital infrastructure and targeted training programs to enhance technological skills among rural residents. Additionally, efforts to change attitudes towards technology, particularly among those resistant to electronic devices, are crucial for fostering a more inclusive digital economy. Overall, the paper underscores the need for government intervention to mitigate the potential threats posed by e-commerce, ensuring that the benefits are equitably distributed and the industry continues to flourish.

Effect of Taobao village certification on agricultural fertilizers and pesticides usage in China

Employing the Taobao village certification (TVC) as an exogenous policy shock and leveraging balanced panel data at the county level from 2007 to 2021, our multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) analysis reveals that the TVC reduces agricultural fertilizers and pesticides usage by 5 % to 10 %. This environmental benefit primarily stems from facilitating labor transfer and advocating for environmentally sustainable agriculture. Moreover, a more pronounced pollution reduction effect is observed in counties with higher marketisation level and major grain-producing areas. Our paper holds significant practical implications for rural environmental governance and potentially for other agricultural powerhouses where e-commerce is flourishing.

Exploring IT business value creation in a Taobao Village EC ecosystem: A systems theory perspective

By extending and elaborating on Nevo and Wade's systems theory perspective, we propose a model to validate the causal relationships among platform compatibility, integration effort, realized synergy, and IT business value (decomposed into social and economic value) within the context of a Taobao village E-commerce (EC) ecosystem. We collected data from Taobao village EC ecosystems to validate the proposed hypotheses. Using 258 valid responses, we reveal the following: (1) Platform compatibility, a second-order latent construct, includes IT-commerce alignment and resource-sharing routine alignment. Platform compatibility positively affects realized synergy. (2) Integration effort positively affects platform compatibility and realized synergy. (3) Realized synergy positively impacts social and economic value. (4) Realized synergy mediates the relationship between critical enablers (integration effort and platform compatibility) and social and economic value. Specifically, the relationship between platform compatibility and social and economic value is partially mediated, while the relationship between integration effort and value is fully mediated. These findings extend systems theory by offering deeper insights into the integration of systems theory and RBV, particularly highlighting the mediating role of synergy. They reveal that compatibility and integration effort directly contribute to value creation, and that synergy further amplifies these effects.

Exploring the spatiotemporal evolution mechanism of rural e-commerce: insights from the experience of Taobao towns in China

In the era of the digital economy, rural e-commerce has emerged as a compelling catalyst for driving the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. It has given rise to notable exemplars such as “Taobao villages” and “Taobao towns”, paving the way for scalable pathways toward rural revitalization. The transition from Taobao villages to Taobao towns signifies the evolution of rural e-commerce from scattered nodes to interconnected networks, reflecting a significant development trend. While existing studies have primarily focused on the spatiotemporal patterns of Taobao villages, limited research has been conducted on the spatiotemporal characteristics and the underlying evolution mechanism of Taobao towns. To fill the research gap, this study investigates the spatial-temporal evolution of Taobao towns employing geospatial methods and identifies key contributing factors using GeoDetector in China. The results show that: (1) The coverage of Taobao towns expands year by year in all provinces and cities, showing a “T-shaped and three-center” spatial pattern with a decreasing gradient from southeast to northwest. (2) Taobao towns in the central area are developing rapidly and are becoming an emerging development center. (3) The development of Taobao towns is the result of a combination of multiple factors, including regional economic base, social environment, market atmosphere, transportation conditions, infrastructure construction, etc. The study can provide Chinese experience for rural development and transformation.

Is “Taobao Village” a New Model of Rural Development in China?

Is “Taobao Village” a New Model of Rural Development in China?

A return of dominant paradigm in China: making Alibaba a development solution for rural China and the globe

ABSTRACT In 2011, Alibaba launched the Taobao Villages initiative, which enables rural e-commerce and connects rural sellers with urban buyers, highlighting the role of e-commerce platforms in reducing rural poverty. This approach was later integrated into national rural development policies. As the Digital Silk Road initiative progresses and Alibaba expands globally, Taobao Villages’ development experience is being promoted worldwide. Using Taobao Villages as a case study, this paper integrates the agrarian question in Marxian political economy with critical development communication studies. It explores why rural areas’ underdevelopment is perceived as a problem solvable by digital platforms, why this development approach emerged in post-socialist China, and its potential impacts. This paper argues that the Taobao Village exemplifies a dominant paradigm of development communication, produced by Alibaba, development experts, and government officials through shared knowledge practices. It examines the texts, intellectual frameworks, and diffusion processes involved in this knowledge production by employing critical discourse analysis. The study highlights how Taobao Villages reinforce the notion that informatization facilitates marketization, thus perpetuating and adapting three mainstream rural development ideas in post-socialist China. The underlying issue of rural China’s underdevelopment, the privatization and capitalization of rural social reproduction driven by China’s neoliberal globalization, sets the stage for another wave of digital labor exploitation. Furthermore, the widespread neoliberal ideology that advocates using e-commerce to foster social development creates internal challenges and generates external pressures within China.

Does rural e-commerce drive up incomes for rural residents? Evidence from Taobao villages in China

The prosperity of rural e-commerce is crucial for rural economic development and rural residents’ well-being, it also offers a fresh perspective towards addressing the “Three Rural Issues” in China. Considering Taobao villages (rural e-commerce) as a quasi-natural experiment, this study explores the impact of Taobao villages on rural residents’ per capita disposable income by applying a staggered difference-in-difference (DID) method within county data from 2010 to 2020. It also reveals the underlying mechanisms behind them along with enterprise microdata. The empirical findings show that, on average, Taobao villages contribute to an annual increase of RMB 1820 in rural residents’ income, and this effect is more prominent in counties with a dominant tertiary sector, larger scale, and non-poor counties. Furthermore, three mechanisms of Taobao village income-raising effect exist: labor mobility across sectors, new business registration, and cost reduction in e-commerce firms. These findings provide compelling evidence for policymakers to promote rural e-commerce as a means to bolster rural residents’ income and foster rural economic growth, it is also of great practical significance for China in narrowing the urban–rural income gap.

A Self-Determination Perspective of Digital Inclusion

Digital inclusion (DI) is acknowledged not just as a foundation for economic advancement, but also as a noteworthy catalyst for societal development. This will lead to the reduction of the digital gap. Nevertheless, the pursuit of achieving DI has not undergone substantial scholarly examination. Through an in-depth analysis of the highly successful TaoBao Village in rural China, we propose a procedural framework illustrating the evolution of digital inclusion. This investigation highlights that the realization of digital inclusion relies on a self-determination mechanism, progressing through three distinct phases. Each phase, in turn, consists of three steps: Establishing motivational drivers, facilitating IS capabilities and extend of digital inclusion. Thus, this article constructs and presents a comprehensive process model of digital inclusion that vividly portrays the implementation of these three pivotal steps to bridge the digital divide.

FinTech adoption and the clustered development of rural e-commerce: Evidence from Taobao Village

This article uses county-level, township-level, and village-level panel data covering the entire country to prove the role of FinTech adoption in promoting the development of rural e-commerce. At the same time, we use the distance to the nearest Guan Temple to the village as an instrumental variable to further prove the positive role of FinTech adoption while excluding endogeneity. The clustered development model of rural e-commerce found in selected provinces in the literature has also been proven by us at the national level. At the same time, we found that the aggregation effect inter-county, intra-county, and intra-town has gradually increased, which also helps us make a reasonable explanation on the role of FinTech. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to study the role of FinTech adoption on rural e-commerce. Utilizing satellite data combined with statistics from the bureau, we constructed an annual urban-rural classification index with a square kilometer precision covering the entire country.

The Role of Social Commerce in Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs in China: A Case Study of Taobao Villages

This paper explores the transformative impact of social commerce on rural entrepreneurship in China, with a focus on the phenomenon of Taobao Villages. These villages, characterized by their significant engagement in e-commerce activities through the Alibaba-owned platform Taobao, represent a unique integration of digital technology and rural economic development. This study examines how social commerce platforms, particularly Taobao, have facilitated rural entrepreneurship, contributed to poverty alleviation, and promoted rural revitalization in China. By employing a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative data analysis and qualitative case studies, this paper aims to provide insights into the mechanisms through which social commerce empowers rural entrepreneurs, the challenges faced, and the broader implications for rural development policy in China.

Exploring the mechanisms of platform empowered cluster development: evidence from the case of Taobao villages in rural China

ABSTRACT By studying a Chinese characteristic phenomenon, the expansion of Taobao villages at the county level, we coin the term ‘platform empowered cluster development’ (PECD). Based on cluster theory and empirical knowledge of Taobao villages, we analyse the pre-existing context, the process forces and outcome of Taobao village expansion in 50 counties with a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The following four patterns of PECD are finally identified: A: local government driven without pre-existing context; B: pre-existing advantages driven without process forces; C: first-mover advantage, grassroots driven with locational advantage and D: dual driven without pre-existing context.

Policy interventions and market innovation in rural China: Empirical evidence from Taobao villages

Rural e-commerce has served as a crucial bridge between farmers and markets, playing a pivotal role in the transformation of agricultural landscapes. This study sought to examine the impact of policy interventions on the development of rural e-commerce, seeking to determine whether rural e-commerce clusters form spontaneously. To achieve these goals, we combined statistical data, data from remote sensing techniques and geographic information system (GIS), and additional data collected through web scraping, employing a dynamic regression model based on the system generalized method of moments (GMM) to conduct the empirical analysis. The research findings indicate that policy interventions play a significantly positive role in promoting rural e-commerce development. Further, the mechanism analysis demonstrates that e-commerce policies have driven the increase in the number of enterprises in rural China, and the cluster of enterprises is key to the formation of Taobao villages. This empirical evidence provides reliable support for other developing countries seeking to effectively promote rural e-commerce development through national policies.

Alibaba in Mexico: Adapting the digital villages model to Latin America

Based on experiences in China where rural development has reputedly been accelerated through use of its e-commerce platforms to create Taobao Villages, Chinese digital conglomerate Alibaba has sought to export its vision of “inclusive globalisation” to other economies in the Global South. Its initiatives intended to reduce inequality by specifically supporting small enterprises. Some research has already charted its multi-dimensional Electronic World Trade Platform approach. However, its more narrowly-focused Digital Villages approach, currently being implemented in Latin America, has still not been analyzed. Drawing on data from interviews and documentary sources, this article analyses the activities of Atomic88, an Alibaba subsidiary in Mexico, which (initially) focused on digitally-enabled development of small enterprise. It finds that Alibaba’s nascent position in an e-commerce market dominated by US and Latin American platforms led it to follow a quite different path from the Chinese Taobao Village Model. It sought out the action areas – training and consultancy – that would not directly compete with incumbents, and worked as an indirect facilitator of local actors, rather than directly intervening. While short-term inequality-reduction impact of Alibaba’s approach could be called into question, what it has done is build relationships with key digital economy stakeholders in Mexico. These show signs of providing valuable stepping stones toward a larger and more direct presence of Alibaba in the Mexican market.

ENABLING INNOVATION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

To ensure sustainable development, there is a limit to the extent of urbanization. Thus, rural development is an essential strategy that many nations must work on to ensure optimal economic, environmental, and social outcomes at a country level. However, rural development in itself is challenging because rural communities typically have limited resources and capabilities to address common livelihood challenges, let alone take on new economic roles. Hence, as part of rural revitalization strategies, innovation plays a critical role. A wide range of technologies can facilitate innovation in rural development, including the internet and new agricultural technologies. In addition, new mindsets and shifts in values, such as the changing trends of work and consumerism, can create opportunities for rural areas to adopt innovation and develop new growth engines. However, it should be noted that the nature of innovation in rural and urban settings are different. In rural regions, growth could be enabled through more specific types of innovations, including frugal innovation, inclusive innovation, and social innovation. To enable these forms of innovations in rural areas, this paper proposes a three-dimensional process model that includes pro-social technological innovation policy, rural innovation governance, and dynamic networks that close the gap between rural and urban innovation systems. Examples from China, such as the development of Tengtou Village and Taobao Villages serve to demonstrate these concepts. Overall, the discussions in the paper suggest that to enable innovation in rural development, it is necessary to foster closer interactions between rural and urban innovation ecosystems for the former to leverage the latter’s technologies, networks, and resources.

Digital resilience: A multiple case study of Taobao village in rural China

Digital resilience, the ability of a system to respond to external shocks, grow and survive in a changing environment, has become a topic of increasing interest in ICT4D literature. Through the Resilience Assessment Benchmarking and Impact Toolkit (RABIT), the purpose of this article is to conceptualize digital resilience and apply this framework to analyze the Taobao village cases, where some grassroots communities in remote counties leapfrog out of poverty and digital divide, becoming e-commerce entrepreneurs in the context of global Internet mobility. This study first evaluates the performance of foundational and enabling attributes in Southern Jiangxi, Caoxian and Suichang in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is found that the three cases performed well in terms of the foundational attributes, among which Suichang was better than Southern Jiangxi and Caoxian. At the same time, there was a notable difference in terms of enabling attributes. This is reflected in the three distinct grassroots action strategies employed: the “Migratory Bird” strategy, which is flexible but policy-dependent; the “Prism” strategy, which is built on local social networks and flow utilization; and the “Diamond” strategy, leverages high levels of industrial clustering to amplify advantages. Finally, this article offers insights and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in developing countries and regions, to build a pathway towards digital resilience.

The spatial linkage of Taobao Villages in Haining City based on the operation process

As an industrial phenomenon with rich Chinese characteristics, Taobao Villages have formed a complete industrial chain from production to sale and core goods to supporting industries, bringing extensive spatial linkage and profound influence. Through questionnaire surveys and interviews, the paper obtained first-hand data on Taobao Village stores in Haining City and explored the spatial linkage characteristics of Taobao Village’s industrial chain from the operation process perspective. The results revealed that the operation process of online stores can be divided into four core parts: research & development or sampling, production or purchasing, online sale, and delivery. The main operation parts of self-production and sales stores and local-dependent online market-oriented stores were in Haining City, forming close industrial linkages, whereas for nonlocal-dependent online market-oriented stores, only a few parts of the operation process were in Haining. Accordingly, Taobao Villages and Haining City undertook all parts of the operation, becoming a complex space and also the main area realizing a strong spatial linkage among Taobao Villages. The area outside Jiaxing City is mainly a sales market (Hangzhou City provides a sales platform), and their connection with Taobao Village relies primarily on the Internet. To form a more extensive spatial linkage and play a leading role, Haining City should encourage the self-production and sales stores and local-dependent online market-oriented stores to create a locally-rooted production system or industrial cluster.

Enabling In-Situ Urbanization through Digitalization

The bourgeoning of e-commerce in the context of the information era has accelerated the urbanization trend by broaching a new horizon of economic and industrial boosters for rural places, epitomized by a great number of “Taobao Villages” in China. This paper has two objectives: (1) explore the process and mechanism of digitalization enabling rural in-situ urbanization represented by e-commerce; (2) nuance the specific case evidence of Daiji Town, where digitalization enabled in-situ urbanization recently. We build up a theoretical framework for digitalization-enabled in-situ urbanization from the juxtaposition of four interlinked elements: industry, talent, rural governance, and land use. It then analyzed the details and evidence of digitalization enabling rural in-situ urbanization through the case study of Daiji Town. The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: First, digitalization plugs rural areas into production and consumption networks in wider contexts, promoting the transformation and prosperity of rural economies. Secondly, the reverse migration of young generations to rural areas becomes the key to rural in-situ urbanization. Thirdly, digitization materializes the urbanization of rural spaces. Finally, digitalization enables the rural transformation and improvement of urban-rural relations in the Global South, which needs to be further explored.

Survey and Research on the Current Situation of Rural Industrial Co-Prosperity-Take the Development of the Fishing Tackle Industry in Xia Lou Village, Xiangtang, Dongyang City as an Example

To promote common affluence, the first thing to do is to promote the development of rural affluent industries, and build a mechanism, to lay a material foundation and create a good atmosphere for the comprehensive revitalization and common affluence of the village. Through a questionnaire survey of villagers in a famous Taobao village in Zhejiang and an interview survey of fishing tackle business operators, this paper understands the current situation of building common prosperity by relying on the fishing tackle industry in the village and summarizes the replicable and learnable experiences. The survey shows that the development of fishing tackles enterprises indirectly affects the happiness of villagers and migrant workers living in the village. The development of fishing tackle enterprises in the village provides experiences for other regions to realize rural revitalization.

Does rural e-commerce agglomeration help expand family farms’ size? Evidence from Taobao villages in China's Yangtze River Delta

Does rural e-commerce agglomeration help expand family farms’ size? Evidence from Taobao villages in China's Yangtze River Delta