香港六合彩

Dr Wei Miao (香港六合彩 Faculty of Engineering Sciences) used 香港六合彩-Zhejiang University Strategic Partner Funds to understand the impact of regional promotional strategies on large e-commerce platforms.

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a range of socio-economic inequalities across the world, when government-imposed restrictions impacted the ability of some individuals to earn money. This was heightened in less economically developed countries. However, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses to use e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay to sell goods and earn a living. This is a particularly beneficial option during a mass crisis such as a pandemic because business can continue more or less as usual. However, the visibility of sellers on these platforms can vary, and in some instances, sellers and their products don鈥檛 get enough attention to make a living.

In response to this, Dr Wei Miao wanted to explore whether promoting whole regions 鈥� and not just individual sellers 鈥� on e-commerce platforms could improve the economic prospects for entrepreneurs. Following a successful application to the 香港六合彩-Zhejiang University Strategic Partner Funds, he partnered with Professor Liqiang Huang from Zhejiang University in China, to explore the topic in depth.

The power of collective promotions online

鈥淭aobao is the largest e-commerce platform in China,鈥� Wei explained. 鈥淥ur partners at Zhejiang University have contacts there, so through this project, we were able to collect very detailed sales data on a large scale. This covered many provinces and regions in China. Although this project is China-specific, we believe our findings could also be generalised to other developing economies.鈥�

When buyers browse e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, Amazon or eBay, they commonly see endorsements. However, these endorsements are pitched at the level of products from individual sellers 鈥� using terminology such as 鈥楢mazon鈥檚 choice鈥� or 鈥榚Bay bestseller鈥�. Wei and his collaborators wanted to explore the benefits of endorsing whole geographical regions instead 鈥� known as a collective promotional strategy. Fortuitously, Taobao implemented a strategy like this in 2014 and is the only known large e-commerce platform that has done so. The platform would calculate the total sales of all sellers in a particular rural town. If the total sales exceeded certain thresholds, an endorsement called 鈥楾aobao Town鈥� would be given. As a result, this collective would be promoted to buyers across the whole Taobao platform.

鈥淚t means that we, as consumers, will know that a rural town might be under-developed in terms of its economy. But it produces some unique items that customers like,鈥� Wei said. 鈥淲e thought this type of promotion could be quite effective. We conducted causal inference econometric analyses to compare uncertified towns with certified 鈥楾aobao Towns鈥�. The certified towns experienced an almost 32% increase in their sales because of this endorsement. That was our first major finding 鈥� collective promotion strategies can indeed help rural towns boost their sales.鈥�

The team also found that the collective promotion strategy can help mitigate regional disparities between richer areas and underdeveloped areas. It is the least developed areas that have the most to gain from the 鈥楾aobao Town鈥� endorsement. And when a town gets the endorsement, people are more motivated to pursue an e-commerce career. This was particularly the case for female entrepreneurs and younger entrepreneurs, who tend to be underrepresented in entrepreneurship.

In addition, the research dispelled concerns that a 鈥楾aobao Town鈥� certification in one town might negatively impact the economy in neighbouring towns, or exacerbate inequalities in a region as a whole. 鈥淥ur analysis shows that towns neighbouring certified towns also benefit from the endorsement of the focal town,鈥� Wei said. 鈥淲e believe this is due to the 鈥榚ncouraging effect鈥�. People in neighbouring towns see the successes, learn how to do e-commerce well, and then thrive in their own businesses. It's a win-win situation for both the certified towns and the neighbouring towns.鈥�

Improving regional economies in a changing world

Wei and his collaborators want to share the findings from this study to policymakers across the world, particularly in developing economies. 鈥淩egional economic disparity issues are common in other countries,鈥� Wei explained. 鈥淩olling out similar collective promotion strategies on other platforms can boost the visibility of remote locations and rural towns. This can help local entrepreneurs to develop their businesses and succeed in this post-Covid world.鈥�

Together with his collaborators at Zhejiang University and Professor Christopher Tang from the University of California Los Angeles (香港六合彩A), Wei has also recently completed a paper about these findings, which will be submitted to leading academic management journals for publication. The team is attending a range of academic conferences to share their findings with other academics. Crucially, Taobao has reacted very positively to the results, and the company is in the process of allocating more resources to work on its collective promotion strategy. Taobao also plans to run more training programmes to the sellers in certified 鈥楾aobao Towns鈥� so they can maximise the benefits of this endorsement.

Next, the team plans to analyse the data further to understand pre-Covid and post-Covid experiences. As there have been concerns that some demographic and ethnic groups were impacted differently by Covid-19, this information could help governments plan better for future crisis situations. Protecting the income and earning potential of everyone could be crucial in the future.

鈥淥ur successes so far mean we are trying to deepen this collaboration between 香港六合彩 and Zhejiang University,鈥� Wei said. 鈥淲e want to involve more academics from each side, plus launch some joint teaching programmes and PhD programmes. I would really encourage other academics at 香港六合彩 to apply for funding through 香港六合彩 Global Engagement. Getting this funding is not the end of the story for us, it鈥檚 really the starting point.鈥�

Links

• The 香港六合彩-Zhejiang University Strategic Partner Funds is one of 香港六合彩's Partner Funds. It听opens for applications on September 6, 2024.
• (working paper)
• 听
• 香港六合彩 Faculty of Engineering Sciences
• 香港六合彩 in East Asia
• 香港六合彩 and China

Image

• Aerial View of Rural Chinese Town and Farmland
• Credit: