Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction As an important ICT-enabled business model, rural e-commerce has attracted growing attention, yet existing studies predominantly focus on binary adoption while overlooking heterogeneity in farmers’ participation depth, participation breadth, and platform choice. This study examines the multidimensional characteristics of farmers’ e-commerce participation. Methods Using data from 2,508 farm households in the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey, this study examines factors associated with four dimensions of e-commerce participation and uses ISM to identify the hierarchy of factors associated with participation decisions. Results (1) E-commerce training is positively associated with participation decision, depth, and breadth and with the probabilities of choosing social and traditional e-commerce. The household head’s education is positively associated with participation decision, depth, and breadth and negatively associated with the probability of remaining offline. In contrast, age is negatively associated with participation decision and depth and with the probabilities of choosing social and traditional e-commerce. (2) Cultivated land area is positively associated with participation decision and depth and with the probabilities of choosing social and traditional e-commerce. Organizational participation is positively associated with participation decision and depth, while average household education is positively associated with participation decision, depth, and breadth. Village e-commerce service stations are positively associated with participation decision and depth and with the probability of choosing social e-commerce. Local non-farm industrial development is positively associated only with participation breadth. (3) Within the ISM hierarchy of factors associated with participation decisions, e-commerce training is identified as a surface direct factor; organizational participation and village e-commerce service stations as shallow indirect factors; cultivated land area and average household education as middle-level indirect factors; and the household head’s age and education as deep-seated root factors. Discussion These findings demonstrate the multidimensional nature of farmers’ e-commerce participation and show that the same factor may have differentiated associations across dimensions. Policies should therefore shift from general encouragement to dimension-specific support through targeted training, organizational services, village e-commerce facilities, resource matching, and locally adapted industrial support.
Authors: Mingyang Yin, Zhengyin Li, Juan Xie, Yan Yan
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,353
Award: G887661990
OpenAlex ID: W7214016500