Taobao Villages Research Articles

Can rural e-commerce narrow the urban–rural income gap? Evidence from coverage of Taobao villages in China

PurposeThe digital economy is expected to revive the countryside and reduce the current level of urban–rural inequality. Nevertheless, whether rural e-commerce can narrow the urban–rural income gap still requires further analysis. The purpose of this paper is to clarify whether this goal is, in fact, being achieved.Design/methodology/approachTaobao villages have become the epitome of rural e-commerce development in China. Therefore, this paper matches the data of Taobao villages and the data of prefecture-level cities from 2014 to 2019, and employs a two-way fixed effect model, nonlinear model, instrumental variable model and interactive fixed effects model to explore the impact of rural e-commerce on the urban–rural income gap.FindingsFirstly, the ability of urban residents to share rural e-commerce development is higher than that of rural residents, which actually widens the urban–rural income gap. Secondly, the migration to cities of rural families that have profited from e-commerce, and the return of working-class people to the countryside, are two factors that are contributing to the widening of the urban–rural income gap. Thirdly, the farther the distance from the urban area and the higher the spatial agglomeration of the rural e-commerce cluster is, the weaker the impact on widening the urban–rural income gap will be. Finally, while industrial-led rural e-commerce is responsible for widening the urban–rural income gap, agricultural-led rural e-commerce has no significant impact on the urban–rural income gap.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze the impact of rural e-commerce on the urban–rural income gap from the perspective of the coverage of Taobao villages. This empirical study will enrich existing theoretical perspectives on urban–rural integration under the backdrop of the digital economy.

The effects of Taobao villages’ spatiotemporal agglomeration on urbanization: A case study of Quanzhou, Fujian

The effects of Taobao villages’ spatiotemporal agglomeration on urbanization: A case study of Quanzhou, Fujian

Entrepreneurship and the formation mechanism of Taobao Villages: Implications for sustainable development in rural areas

With the progress of information and communication technologies (ICT) and advent of the knowledge economy, the burgeoning e-commerce heralds new opportunities to reverse the declining trend of the rural economy. In the past two decades, the emergence of Taobao Villages in rural China has exemplified the significant outcomes of e-commerce in changing rural communities. Despite fruitful research on rural e-commerce, the formation mechanism of Taobao Villages has not been explained in detail. This study fills this gap by investigating the development progress of a typical Taobao Village in-depth. Drawing on the framework of neo-endogenous rural development, we conducted a case study in Dongfeng Village, one of the first three Taobao Villages in China, to identify the development path and formation mechanism of typical Taobao Villages. We found that the prosperity of e-commerce in Dongfeng Village could be attributed to the combination of the bottom-up initiative of farmers and top-down intervention by the government. Initially, pioneer entrepreneurs brought e-commerce to the village and achieved great success in this business, then social network acted as a channel for the diffusion of e-commerce in the local community. Subsequently, the government recognized the significance of e-commerce for the rural economy and provided support to advance the further development of rural e-commerce. With the help of the government, a developed e-commerce ecosystem emerged in the rural community and brought changes to the village in terms of the industrial structure, farmers' livelihoods, and rural landscapes. Based on the case study, we concluded that farmers’ entrepreneurship, local participation, and adequate government intervention were important to rural development. The cultivation of rural elites, leadership building, and participative governance should be considered in the rural policy design.

Placing the platform economy: the emerging, developing and upgrading of Taobao villages as a platform-based place making phenomenon in China

Abstract The actions of platforms and their all-inclusive impact on place development is coined platform-based place making in this article. We use the actor-network theory to analyse a typical e-commerce platform-based place making, namely the emergence, development and upgrading of Taobao villages in China, and to explore the mechanisms of platform place making power. Our study shows that platforms ‘make’ places by platform–place interactions of progressively expanding the enrolment of intra-regional and extra-regional actors. In addition, our research advances the actor-network theory and its application and transcends the urban and production-side bias of economic geography.

Agglomeration and Spatial Distribution of E-Commerce Sector in China: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province

The research intends to examine the pattern of e-commerce and to investigate the clustering of e-commerce activities in the Jiangsu Province of China. The development of “Taobao villages” has become a new growth pattern for the economy of rural areas in China. This typical model of e-commerce industry agglomeration has generated huge sales, which is not only important for local economic development but also has some implications for other places with underdeveloped e-commerce industries. The proposed study combines theory and empirical evidences based on panel data generated from “Taobao villages” in all 13 regions of Jiangsu Province, China. To explore the spatial distribution and economic returns of e-commerce in the perspectives of economic agglomeration, data of five years—2016 to 2020—is exploited. Samples of regions are selected based on different agglomeration types. The type of e-commerce industry agglomeration in the form of “Taobao villages” is measured by constructing a spatial weight matrix. Using the facts and figures of the five years, a Moran scatterplot and a Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) cluster map are drawn. From the perspective of economic agglomeration, the e-commerce industry in Jiangsu Province presents three basic patterns: High-High cluster, Low-High cluster, and Low-Low cluster. In addition, the Location Quotient (LQ) was used to quantitatively characterize the agglomeration of “Taobao villages.” Findings of the analysis revealed that there is a positive spatial correlation between the clusters of Taobao villages, mainly between the H-H cluster and L-L cluster. The results are summarized and the most useful solutions for promoting the e-commerce industry in China. The empirical model proposed has great significance in e-commerce and may be used to enhance rural economy of China.

Income effect of rural E-commerce: Empirical evidence from Taobao villages in China

Rural E-commerce (EC) has experienced rapid growth in China since 21st century. The formation of Taobao Villages has brought considerable economic and social benefits in farmers' flexible employment and poverty reduction, which contributes to the future development direction of rural and underdeveloped areas. Adopting the panel data of Taobao Villages (TB-villages) in 57 counties of Zhejiang Province from 2010 to 2018, this paper applies the continuous difference-in-differences (DID) method to investigate the impact and mechanism of TB-villages on rural residents' incomes. As a result of empirical analysis, TB-villages significantly and positively affect rural residents' incomes. More specifically, per capita net income will increase by 3.6% for every 1% increase in the proportion of TB-villages in administrative villages. In mountainous counties, the income-increasing effect is considerably higher than that of non-mountainous counties. Furthermore, the mechanism analysis reveals that the industry structure has a considerable mediating effect, and the proportion of export to GDP has a significant suppressing effect. Local governments are expected to increase investment in industry structure and create a more conducive environment for rural economic development, according to this paper. Additionally, the policy should be oriented toward mountainous and backward areas.

E-commerce: A platform for local economic development? Evidence from Taobao Villages in Zhejiang Province, China

In contrast to the one village one product (OVOP) and joint action (JA) models, e-commerce disintermediation is the focus of the Taobao village (TV) model pioneered in China. Drawing on original questionnaire survey data of village heads’ perceptions of the adoption of the TV model in 300 Taobao villages in Zhejiang province, we investigate: (1) the significance of the TV phenomenon; (2) the perceived benefits and disbenefits of the adoption of the Taobao business model on villages; (3) and the institutionalisation of the TV model. While the TV model remains weakly institutionalised, its effects appear to exceed those of the OVOP and JA models when raising rural employment and incomes but also appearing to promote selected dynamic economic gains and elements of diversification of livelihoods.

Rural E-Commerce and Emerging Paths Toward Product Renewal: Evidence from Taobao Villages in Zhejiang Province, China

The role of extraregional linkages established by e-commerce in stimulating industrial renewal has yet to be sufficiently explored. We propose a framework that specifies the renewal of product as improvement in quality and the increase in the types of products, and understands product renewal as conditioned by the strength of extraregional linkages and the local capacity. Drawing on the original survey data on 241 Taobao villages in Zhejiang Province, a multinomial logit model is used to explore the factors influencing product renewal. We find that the improvement to production processes and merchants’ management capabilities significantly contributes to product renewal, whereas the development of logistic industries and the establishment of e-commerce associations accomplishes the opposite. The authors argue that more attention should be paid to improve institutionalization of the Taobao business model to support the upgrading and renewal of local industries, such as improving local government recognition of e-commerce and popularizing e-commerce associations to a wider area.

Digital Agriculture and Urbanization: Mechanism and Empirical Research

Based on theoretical mechanism analysis and provincial panel data of China, this paper empirically examines the impact effect and mechanism of digital agriculture on urbanization from both overall and structural dimensions, and then identifies the weaknesses and restrictive reasons for digital agriculture in promoting urbanization development. The theoretical analysis shows that digital agriculture influences urbanization in four ways, namely the total factor productivity enhancement mechanism, the agricultural labor division acceleration mechanism, the marketization process mechanism, and the human capital mechanism. The empirical test suggests that digital agriculture has significantly promoted urbanization across the sample period, and the effect has shown certain stability, sustainability, and durability. According to the contribution decomposition of digital agriculture sub-indexes, the quality of agricultural operational entities contributes the most to urbanization, followed by digital agricultural infrastructure. However, contrary to expectations, digital agriculture industrialization as measured by “Taobao Village” has the least impact on urbanization. Further mechanism tests indicate that digital agriculture promotes urbanization through the agricultural labor division acceleration mechanism, which is consistent with the theoretical expectation, suggesting that it is the driving force for urbanization. However, the performances of digital agriculture in the human capital mechanism, total factor productivity enhancement mechanism, and marketization process mechanism are inconsistent with the theoretical expectations, which are the main reasons for restricting the role of digital agriculture in promoting urbanization.

Online banking and women's increasing bargaining power in marriage: A case study in a ‘Taobao village’ of southern Fujian

This article explores the extent to which the advent of e-commerce and online banking has enhanced the ability of rural women to manage family finances. The prevalence of digital payment has reshaped economic life in rural China, but how the adoption of online banking has impacted power relations in rural families remains underexplored. Drawing from ethnographic data collected in a Chinese Taobao village, I reveal how female online sellers' access to joint earnings with their husbands, through sharing digital payment accounts, has expanded their ability to curb their husbands' excessive personal spending, thus allowing them to better manage household income. I also delve into this issue by taking into account intergenerational power relations in the processes of female online sellers' exercise of agency, a dimension of which has not been adequately explored in the scholarship on digital banking and women's financial status in developing regions.

Space reconstruction process and internal driving mechanisms of Taobao villages in metropolitan fringe areas: A case study of Lirendong village in Guangzhou, China

Space reconstruction process and internal driving mechanisms of Taobao villages in metropolitan fringe areas: A case study of Lirendong village in Guangzhou, China

Spatial pattern and change of e-commerce specialized villages and influence factors based on the data of Taobao villages in China from 2015 to 2020

Spatial pattern and change of e-commerce specialized villages and influence factors based on the data of Taobao villages in China from 2015 to 2020

Spatial pattern and change of e-commerce specialized villages and influence factors based on the data of Taobao villages in China from 2015 to 2020

Spatial pattern and change of e-commerce specialized villages and influence factors based on the data of Taobao villages in China from 2015 to 2020

A new business ecosystem for SMEs development in China: Key-node industry and industrial net

ABSTRACT After 2009, the economic phenomenon of Taobao villages appeared in China, whose economic growth started to decline, but the number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grew at an astonishing rate. Based on a case study of Taobao villages, we found that a new industrial-organizational structure had developed within the traditional e-commerce model. This industrial-organizational structure, which we termed, a key-node industry and industrial net (KIIN) system, is unique in the world. A key-node industry is a platform that integrates logistics, information flow, and capital flow. It reorganizes the traditional industrial-chain structure and is connected with the traditional industrial chains to form a network industrial-organizational model, which can become an industrial net. Through an analysis using the differences-in-differences model, we verify the hypothesis that the KIIN system can improve the efficiency of resource allocation by building a more competitive organizational structure and then improve the production efficiency.

Rural e‐commerce in China: Spatial dynamics of Taobao Villages development in Zhejiang Province

AbstractThe fast‐growing e‐commerce has dramatically changed the economic structure of China's rural area. As a unique example, Taobao Villages present a brand‐new model to adopt globalization's penetration to achieve rural–urban integration and rural revitalization for developing countries. This study analyzes the spatial trajectory and dynamics of the Taobao Villages development in Zhejiang Province during 2014–2020. We found that these villages were expanding toward the downtown areas of cities, which led to a new pattern of urban–rural division. By constructing panel regression models, we further found that orthodox location factors such as land cost, transportation, and agglomeration played a dominant role in villages' spatial expansion and growth. Regional factors like industrial foundation and labor were also important. These findings suggest that the Taobao Villages in Zhejiang have been upgraded from isolated workshops in rural areas to small manufacturers' clusters and further incorporated into the global urban economy. To better guide and coordinate the development of Taobao Villages, local governments might need to construct e‐commerce parks to achieve an agglomeration economy and industrial upgrading.

Foreign E-commerce Practitioners in “Taobao Village”: Isolation and Integration

This research mainly analyzes the actual situation of social integration of migrant E-commerce practitioners in Xintang Town of Guangdong Province through field survey. According to the survey, the overall level of social integration is relatively low, and there are three isolation barriers, namely time, space and psychology.Regarding the influencing factors of social integration level, it is concluded through the principal component analysis that five main factors impacting the social integration of migrant E-commerce practitioners are life factor, business factor, housing factor, social factor and individual factor. By establish a multiple logistic analysis model, it is found that type of friends, interest protection and frequency of recreational activities would impact the social integration of migrant E-commerce practitioners most significantly among all factors.

Co-evolution of technology and rural society: The blossoming of taobao villages in the information era, China

Over the last decade, more than 3000 villages (known as Taobao villages) in China have achieved significant economic growth due to e-commerce. The changes in these villages represents a new development path that is distinct from that of the traditional Chinese villages. This paper examines this growth experience, arguing that the ‘blossoming’ of the Taobao villages is essentially the result of the interaction and co-evolution of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and China's rural society. This study will be based on case studies of three Taobao villages. As ICT and e-commerce are embedded in rural society, the potential of existing organizations and skills in the countryside can be fully explored through synergy. This research finds that with the accessibility of China's huge online market for rural products, the traditional weak rural economic organizations in Taobao villages are gradually evolving into strong economic organizations, which have greatly enhanced their capacity to adapt to the flexible demands of the online economy. It is found in the research that the co-evolution of ICT and rural society are still in the development stage, which can have broad and profound impacts on the future transformation of rural China.

Analysis on the Role of Service Providers in Promoting the Development of Rural E-commerce --- Take Luoyang Shanxun Company as an Example

China's rural e-commerce has developed rapidly, in recent years, but there are still many bottlenecks restricting the development, such as the imbalance of regional development, the lack of e-commerce talents, the difficulty in selling agricultural product and so on. Based on the field investigation and in-depth interview of Taobao villages in Henan Province, this paper summarizes the experience of the intermediary business represented by Luoyang Shanxun company in promoting the development of Taobao village. In the rural areas without the development gene of rural e-commerce, through the + service provider model, professional service providers can help the local government to carry out the overall planning, train talents and incubate e-businesses, and assist farmers' e-businesses in villages to solve the practical problems encountered in the operation of e-stores. The role of service providers in the development of rural e-commerce is worthy of recognition, and its advanced experience is worth promoting and learning. In the areas where the spontaneous growth ability of rural e-commerce is weak, it is necessary to introduce third-party professional service institutions. Through the empowerment of professional service providers, help villagers master the skills of e-commerce entrepreneurship and employment as soon as possible, and solve the difficult problems in rural e-commerce operation. Summing up and promoting the experience of professional service providers is helpful to the development of rural e-commerce in China.

Impact of the Phenomenon of Taobao Villages on Local Sustainable Development

Impact of the Phenomenon of Taobao Villages on Local Sustainable Development

E-commerce and the transformation of the rural: The Taobao village phenomenon in Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract Drawing on original interview data from the Taobao village phenomenon in Zhejiang province, China, we examine the multifaceted nature of rural transformation wreaked by e-commerce disintermediation. We explore livelihood diversification, the de-linking of livelihoods from land, the de-localisation of livelihoods, cultural and social changes and the institutionalization of e-commerce as themes synthesized from the extant literature. We suggest the gradual sense of the material transformation of rural communities found in literature pertaining to the global south can be injected with a greater sense of the speed and immaterial nature of rural transformation and emergent hybridity emphasized in literature pertaining to the global north. In our conclusions we note how this reading of the literature and our findings lead on to important questions regarding the precise geography of the effects of e-commerce on large, complex urban systems.