Call for Papers on E-Commerce for Rural and Agricultural Development

E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to online sales or purchases of goods and services via electronic platforms (e.g., Amazon, eBay, and Taobao). Supported by the global digital revolution, e-commerce has accelerated in recent years. The occurrence of COVID-19 has further boosted e-commerce development, especially in rural areas. The fast development of e-commerce prioritizes rural and agricultural development by reshaping people’s production and consumption patterns and daily lives. Previous studies have shown that rural e-commerce development can improve farm production and farmers’ access to domestic and international markets, alleviate poverty, narrow rural-urban income gaps, foster agricultural entrepreneurship, and create rural employment. Nevertheless, e-commerce’s potential to foster rural development is far from being fully concluded and exploited. Thus, more research is warranted to clarify the relationship between e-commerce development and rural development.

In this special issue, we collect high-quality theoretical and empirical articles that investigate the barriers and drivers in the development and adoption of e-commerce and those papers that explore the impacts, outcomes, and implications of e-commerce adoption. This Special Issue will enrich our understanding of the current status of e-commerce development and how e-commerce development contributes to rural and agricultural development. The findings of this Special Issue are expected to provide insights for policy makers to design appropriate policy instruments to boost rural and agricultural development through stimulating e-commerce development.

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