Journal of Applied Economic Research
ISSN 2712-7435
The Electronic Commerce Influence on the Social Responsibility of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in the World Economy
Lopatkova Ya.A., Belyaeva Zh.S.
Abstract
Small and medium-sized businesses are actively introducing affordable digital tools into their daily activities, but so far aspects of the impact of e-commerce on the social responsibility of business and the effectiveness of the integration of these two strategies in different markets remain understudied. At the same time, new aspects of the implementation of social responsibility and business ethics in e-commerce are emerging. The purpose of this research is to identify and analyze the nature of the relationship of social responsibility strategies and Internet technologies used by small and medium-sized businesses in six countries of Western and <st1:place w:st="on">Eastern Europe</st1:place>. The main hypothesis and motivation of the presented research is to test the positive effects of the integration of the strategy of digitalization and socialization in the development of small and medium-sized businesses in countries with different levels of economic development. Authors attempt to systematize the main categories of e-business and analyze the dynamics of its development in different countries. Thus, authors attempted to evaluate dependence of SMEs integration into Internet trade as a factor influencing the use of socially responsible strategy by small and medium-sized businesses. The study was conducted on survey-based empirical data of 750 companies from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Poland</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Croatia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>. A probit-model was used to find the interrelation of social responsibility and e-commerce. The results provide an empirical basis for further research that should focus on the systematization of social responsibility effects in the development of e-commerce. An empirical study conducted in the six countries with different economic levels of development proved the positive impact of using the Web as a channel for sales on the application of a socially responsible strategy by small and medium-sized businesses. The practical significance of the study is to develop an approach to systematizing the effects of social responsibility in the development of e-commerce.
Keywords
e-business; e-commerce; smart business models; small and medium-sized enterprises; social responsibility of business
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About Authors
Lopatkova Yana Alekseevna – Post-Graduate Student, Department of International Economics and Management, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia (620002, Ekaterinburg, Mira street, 19); e-mail: yanalopatkova@mail.ru.
Belyaeva Zhanna Sergeevna – Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of International Economics and Management, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia (620002, Ekaterinburg, Mira street, 19); e-mail: zh.s.belyaeva@urfu.ru.
For citation
Lopatkova Ya.A., Belyaeva Zh.S. The Electronic Commerce Influence on the Social Responsibility of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in the World Economy. Bulletin of Ural <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Federal</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Series Economics and Management, 2019, Vol. 18, No. 1, 48-68. DOI: 10.15826/vestnik.2019.18.1.003
Article info
Received November 9, 2018; Accepted February 1, 2019
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/vestnik.2019.19.1.003
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