The Performance and Value Creation of E-commerce Ecosystems in Rural China: A Perspective of Systems Theory

Drawing upon the theoretical perspective from systems theory, this study develops an explanatory model to explore how integration effort, compatibility and realized synergy affect value and performance creation among EC ecosystems in rural China. Data gathered from the EC ecosystems of Taobao platform through a large-scale online survey were used to test the hypotheses. The partial least squares technique was used to validate the proposed research model. The findings provide empirical evidence that integration effort have a positive impact on realized synergy and compatibility; compatibility has a positive impact on realized synergy; realized synergy has a positive impact on value; value has a positive impact on performance. Finally, our results suggest that integration effort, compatibility and realized synergy collectively have significant impacts on EC ecosystem value and performance creation.

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