E-commerce's fast-tracking diffusion and adaptation in developing countries
02 Mar 2021-Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)-Vol. 43, Iss: 4, pp 1243-1259
TL;DR: E-commerce is rapidly diffusing in developing regions of the world as mentioned in this paper, and its share is still small even in modern retail, except in the frontrunner China, but it is developing quickly in Asia and Latin America and emerging in Africa.
Abstract: E‐commerce is rapidly diffusing in developing regions of the world. Its share is still small even in modern retail, except in the frontrunner China, but it is developing quickly in Asia and Latin America and emerging in Africa. Patterns of diffusion over regions mirror the supermarket revolution but are lagged by several decades. E‐commerce firms employ strategies to “fast‐track” their spread, responding to challenges of high transaction costs, heterogeneous consumers, and persisting importance of retail small and medium enterprises. Over the past 10–15 years, e‐commerce firms in developing regions have fast‐tracked their adaptation to these challenges by bundling services as well as partnering with retail SMEs and delivery intermediaries.
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TL;DR: In this paper, Padiyar, Suresh Rajendran, A B C Mohan, Ravi Babu, Michael Joseph Akester, Ei Ei Phyo, Khin Maung Soe, Ajibola Olaniyi, Sunil N Siriwardena, Michael Phillips, Shakuntala H Thilsted
65 citations
Cites background from "E-commerce's fast-tracking diffusio..."
...The confluence of points 1–3 will drive adaptations in the behavior of actors in aquatic food value chains and reconfigure the structure of these chains, such as through the accelerated diffusion of e-commerce (Reardon et al. 2021)...
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...These advantages may deepen as the COVID-19 crisis continues, leading to concentration in some value chain segments (Reardon et al. 2021)....
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TL;DR: The authors conducted a survey in the US on food insecurity among low-income Americans during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and found that those who lost jobs due to the pandemic reported the highest level of food insecurity and also the lowest engagement with food assistance programs.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased food insecurity despite emergency legislation that put more resources into food assistance programs, increased unemployment benefits, and provided stimulus payments. We conducted a survey in the US on food insecurity among low-income Americans during the early months of the pandemic. While we cannot estimate causal effects, we are able to show important associations between food insecurity and nutritional and economic assistance that highlight the need to ensure that those newly at risk for food insecurity are able to connect to resources. For example, our results indicate that those who lost jobs due to the pandemic reported the highest level of food insecurity and also the lowest engagement with food assistance programs. The SNAP expansion appears to be important only among groups with higher levels of income stability including non-minority households and those not experiencing a job loss. Thus, the SNAP expansion may not have had a meaningful impact on those most at risk for food insecurity. Finally, our data highlight the importance of school meal programs during normal times. Those who took advantage of school meals before the outbreak are more likely to have experienced food insecurity during the pandemic-related school closures.
24 citations
30 Jun 2022
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors conducted a systematic review of 60 articles on the research topic by considering the publication during the period 2017 to 2021, and investigated the evolutionary changes in the supply chain's operational functions in the digital and industrial revolution 4.0 context.
Abstract: The latest technological advancements have forced logistics and supply chain digitization in general. Organizations that embrace and prepare for change can survive and maintain a competitive position in the new global business environment. In contrast, the industrial businesses that do not implement the new rules will not survive long and will eventually be obsolete. Therefore, the concept of digitization and industrial revolution 4.0 in supply chain management was intended to be reviewed to determine its trending dimensions. This paper conducted a systematic review of 60 articles on the research topic by considering the publication during the period 2017 to 2021. The paper investigated the evolutionary changes in the supply chain's operational functions in the digital and industrial revolution 4.0 context. The main objective of reviewing articles was to identify the new trend on the search topic. Some trends identified in the current research include the use of blockchain in the supply chain and the nine elements of industry 4.0, the internet of things. The paper is equally significant for researchers and practitioners as it explains industry 4.0 and supply chain digitization trends. Future research can evaluate the mathematical, decision-making, and simulation techniques to support the research domain by increasing its applicability. This research allows us to consider the validation of the digital supply chain models and their components presented preliminary by experts that provide a headway toward emerging and new constructs in this domain.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors reviewed the roles of food policy in this changing setting and proposed some alternatives to current measures that could better achieve national societal objectives while simultaneously benefitting the rest of the world in terms of easing natural resource and environmental stresses and reducing national and global poverty, food and nutrition insecurity.
Abstract: Providing affordable access to enough healthy and safe food for an ever-more-affluent and growing world population has become more challenging in the face of climate change, rising income inequality and a more uncertain global trade environment. Agriculture is expected to contribute more, but is under pressure in both high-income and developing countries to do so more sustainably and inclusively. This paper reviews the roles of food policy in this changing setting. It begins by revisiting the case for keeping food markets open to international trade, investment and technology transfer, and concludes that openness is even more important, especially for developing countries, as the climate becomes warmer and more volatile. It then summarizes trade-related food policy developments globally in the 50 years prior to the global financial crisis, and in the price-spike periods since then. The current situation is calling for more action – including from agriculture – to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss. The scope for re-purposing food policies to better meet these demands is then assessed. It proposes some alternatives to current measures that could better achieve national societal objectives while simultaneously benefitting the rest of the world in terms of easing natural resource and environmental stresses and reducing national and global poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, and inequalities in income, wealth and health. The review concludes by noting areas where further research could facilitate such transformations in food policies.
10 citations
11 Sep 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the factors that influence the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs in Colombia and find that Colombian SMEs adopt E-commerce because of pressure from senior management, performance expectations, the competitive advantage it offers, and pressure from their customers.
Abstract: The few studies in South American developing countries that refer to the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs require knowledge of how this context is presented. The objective of this study addresses this need and seeks to determine the variables that influence the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs in Colombia. The measurement tool (IMAES) was applied using a digital questionnaire; 263 surveys were collected in SMEs and the data were analysed using the partial least squares methodology, validating tool and model. The results found that Colombian SMEs adopt e-commerce because of pressure from senior management, performance expectations, the competitive advantage it offers, and pressure from their customers. This is one of the first studies in the region that empirically analyses the adoption of e-commerce, as well as describing the theoretical framework for this line of research.
8 citations
References
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31 Jan 1982
TL;DR: This article reviewed various studies which have provided a description of and possible explanation to patterns of innovation adoption in the agricultural sector and highlighted the diversity in observed patterns among various farmers' classes as well as differences in results from different studies in different socioeconomic environments.
Abstract: This paper is a revised version of Staff Working Paper 444 It reviews various studies which have provided a description of and possible explanation to patterns of innovation adoption in the agricultural sector It therefore covers both empirical and theoretical studies The discussion highlights the diversity in observed patterns among various farmers' classes as well as differences in results from different studies in different socio-economic environments, and reviews the attempts to rationalize such findings Special attention is given to the methodologies which are commonly used in studies of innovation adoption, and suggestions for improvements of such work through the use of appropriate economometric methods are provided The diversity of experiences with different innovations in different geographical and socio-cultural environments suggest that studies of adoption patterns should provide detailed information on attributes of the institutional, social and cultural setting and their interactions with economic factors These may be an important element in explaining conflicting experiences
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors review various studies which have provided a description and possible explanation to patterns of innovation adoption in the agricultural sector, and point out that the tendency of many studies to consider adoption in dichotomous terms (adoption/nonadoption) may not be appropriate in many cases where the actual decisions are defined over a more continuous range.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the traditional retail and wholesale system in the midst of which emerged modern food retailing and its procurement system, and discuss the determinants of and patterns in the diffusion of supermarkets in the three regions.
Abstract: Supermarkets are traditionally viewed by development economists, policymakers, and practitioners as the rich world’s place to shop. The three regions discussed here have the great majority of the poor on the planet. But supermarkets are no longer just niche players for rich consumers in the capital cities of the countries in these regions. The rapid rise of supermarkets in these regions in the past 5-10 years has transformed agrifood markets – at different rates and depths across regions and countries. Many of those transformations present great challenges – even exclusion – for small farms, processing and distribution firms, but also potentially great opportunities. Development models, policy and programs need to adapt to this radical change.This brief article describes this transformation of agrifood systems in Africa, Asia (excluding Japan), and Latin America. First, we describe the traditional retail and wholesale system in the midst of which emerged modern food retailing and its procurement system. Second, we discuss the determinants of and patterns in the diffusion of supermarkets in the three regions. Third, we discuss the evolution of procurement systems of those supermarkets, and consequences for agrifood systems. At the end, we hint at emerging implications for farms and firms in the region.
1,337 citations
TL;DR: An essential contribution of this piece is to marry and integrate the nutrition transition literature with the literature on the economics of food system transformation.
Abstract: The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region faces a major diet-related health problem accompanied by enormous economic and social costs. The shifts in diet are profound: major shifts in intake of less-healthful low-nutrient-density foods and sugary beverages, changes in away-from-home eating and snacking and rapid shifts towards very high levels of overweight and obesity among all ages along with, in some countries, high burdens of stunting. Diet changes have occurred in parallel to, and in two-way causality with, changes in the broad food system - the set of supply chains from farms, through midstream segments of processing, wholesale and logistics, to downstream segments of retail and food service (restaurants and fast food chains). An essential contribution of this piece is to marry and integrate the nutrition transition literature with the literature on the economics of food system transformation. These two literatures and debates have been to date largely 'two ships passing in the night'. This review documents in-depth the recent history of rapid growth and transformation of that broad food system in LAC, with the rapid rise of supermarkets, large processors, fast food chains and food logistics firms. The transformation is the story of a 'double-edged sword', showing its links to various negative diet side trends, e.g. the rise of consumption of fast food and highly processed food, as well as in parallel, to various positive trends, e.g. the reduction of the cost of food, de-seasonalization, increase of convenience of food preparation reducing women's time associated with that and increase of availability of some nutritious foods like meat and dairy. We view the transformation of the food system, as well as certain aspects of diet change linked to long-run changes in employment and demographics (e.g. the quest for convenience), as broad parameters that will endure for the next decades without truly major regulatory and fiscal changes. We then focus in on what are the steps that are being and can be taken to curb the negative effects on diet of these changes. We show that countries in LAC are already among the global leaders in initiating demand-related solutions via taxation and marketing controls. But we also show that this is only a small step forward. To shift LAC's food supply towards prices that incentivize consumption of healthier diets and demand away from the less healthy component is not simple and will not happen immediately. We must be cognizant that ultimately, food industry firms must be incentivized to market the components of healthy diets. This will primarily need to be via selective taxes and subsidies, marketing controls, as well as food quality regulations, consumer education and, in the medium term, consumers' desires to combine healthier foods with their ongoing quest for convenience in the face of busy lives. In the end, the food industry in LAC will orient itself towards profitable solutions, ie those demanded by the broad mass of consumers.
327 citations
TL;DR: This work focuses on three specific issues that reflect the impact of this supermarket revolution in developing countries, particularly in Asia: continuity in transformation, innovation in Transformation, and unique development strategies.
Abstract: A “supermarket revolution” has occurred in developing countries in the past 2 decades. We focus on three specific issues that reflect the impact of this revolution, particularly in Asia: continuity in transformation, innovation in transformation, and unique development strategies. First, the record shows that the rapid growth observed in the early 2000s in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand has continued, and the “newcomers”—India and Vietnam—have grown even faster. Although foreign direct investment has been important, the roles of domestic conglomerates and even state investment have been significant and unique. Second, Asia's supermarket revolution has exhibited unique pathways of retail diffusion and procurement system change. There has been “precocious” penetration of rural towns by rural supermarkets and rural business hubs, emergence of penetration of fresh produce retail that took much longer to initiate in other regions, and emergence of Asian retail developing-country multinational chains. In procurement, a symbiosis between modern retail and the emerging and consolidating modern food processing and logistics sectors has arisen. Third, several approaches are being tried to link small farmers to supermarkets. Some are unique to Asia, for example assembling into a “hub” or “platform” or “park” the various companies and services that link farmers to modern markets. Other approaches relatively new to Asia are found elsewhere, especially in Latin America, including “bringing modern markets to farmers” by establishing collection centers and multipronged collection cum service provision arrangements, and forming market cooperatives and farmer companies to help small farmers access supermarkets.
317 citations