Data-driven use of cross-border e-commerce platforms and export performance

What is it about?

Cross-border e-commerce is gaining popularity as a foreign market entry mode. Specifically, many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) choose to rely on digital e-commerce platforms (or marketplaces) that provide them with inexpensive and rapid access to a large base of potential foreign customers. The few studies available on this topic have implicitly assumed that SMEs embrace this channel with the sole intent of increasing export sales (i.e., to exploit existing opportunities). This study argues that SMEs can also implement a data-driven approach that uses cross-border e-commerce platforms as inexpensive tools to acquire foreign market knowledge by leveraging the large volume of data available on these digital platforms.

Featured Image

Photo by Mark König on Unsplash

Photo by Mark König on Unsplash

Perspectives