Electronic commerce in China: emerging success stories

The distinctive nature of e-commerce with Chinese characteristics is illustrated by profiling an online retailer, a traditional B2B intermediary, and an electronic marketplace or marketspace.

Abstract

Enterprises across the People's Republic of China (China) seek to gain the benefits of electronic business, but very few of their electronic commerce (e-commerce) initiatives have been successful to date. A recent multiple case study examined some of the exceptions. This paper illustrates the distinctive nature of e-commerce with Chinese characteristics by profiling an online retailer, a traditional B2B intermediary, and an electronic marketplace or marketspace. Their key success factors were found to include the abilities to leverage core capabilities and to overcome institutional deficiencies through relationship building. The prospects for e-commerce in mainland China are related to the development of the rules and infrastructure that are fundamental to a modern market economy.