Does the Winner Take All in E-Commerce of Agricultural Products under the Background of Platform Monopoly?

Liang Chi, Mengshuai Zhu, Chen Shen, Jing Zhang, Liwei Xing and Xiangyang Zhou ()
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Liang Chi: Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Mengshuai Zhu: Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Chen Shen: Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Jing Zhang: Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Liwei Xing: Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xiangyang Zhou: Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: This paper explores the impact of e-commerce on profit margin from the perspective of scale using nation-level survey data from China. The results show that e-commerce can increase the profit margin of cooperatives, and that a higher proportion of sales via e-commerce strengthens profitability. Secondly, the effects of agri-e-commerce on cooperative profit margin is highly dependent on young talents with rich experience and high education level; in particular, female leaders have a significantly stronger effect on improving profit margins by using e-commerce than male leaders. Thirdly, the operating scale of cooperatives does not have a direct impact on the profit margins, but a bigger operating scale can significantly enhance the effect of e-commerce on profit margins. Lastly, a higher degree of standardization of cooperatives and products more clearly evidences the role played by e-commerce, including the number of brands and certification. Overall, this research provides a micro-foundation for cooperatives to better incorporate the key role of e-commerce under the background of platform monopoly and sheds light on how the government can formulate relevant policies to better support China’s e-commerce development.

Keywords: e-commerce; scale operation; profit margin; ESR model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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