Cross-border B2C e-commerce to Greater China and the role of logistics: a literature review

Abstract

Purpose-This paper reviews scientific publications in the field of logistics underlying Cross Border E-Commerce (CBEC) to China. A focus on the role played in this complex process by other Countries of the Greater China is carried out. The major aim of the paper is to outline directions for future research to encourage CBEC development. Methodology/Approach-The review is based on 32 papers published from 2002 to 2016 in international peer-reviewed journals and/or proceedings of international conferences, retrieved from bibliographic databases and science search engines. Findings-CBEC to China is gaining increasing interest, as shown by the rising amount of publications from 2013 onwards. Within these contributions however, studies specifically investigating the relation between logistics and e-commerce, commonly acknowledged as critical, seem to lack. Many contributions are descriptive and do not provide specific insights on how to manage the complexities of CBEC logistics in this region. Stemming from the review, a set of possible development areas are identified, including distribution network design, i.e. deciding how to shape the CBEC distribution structure, and logistics outsourcing, i.e. determining whether to manage logistics activities in-house or through third parties. Originality/Value-To the extent of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first one to classify the existing body of knowledge on logistics supporting CBEC. Its main contribution is the critical identification of current research gaps and the proposal of key themes for future research. From a managerial perspective, it helps export and logistics managers identify the key challenges of managing CBEC logistics to Greater China.

B2C E-commerce for Home Appliance in The Brazilian Market: A Cost Efficiency Investigation through a DEA-OCT Model

“…For example, a retailer (such as Magazine Luiza) that offers services for customers such as "reserve online and collect instore (Retira na Loja)" is referred to overall as a Cross-Channel Retailer. However, a retailer that does not provide a Cross-Channel service within its own physical store can also be categorized as Cross-Channel Retailer, for example, when costumers take shoes in Carrefour's supermarkets, that they previously bought online through Dafiti's online marketplace (Exame, 2018).…”

“…According to EXAME (2017), the logistics structure of Amazon in Brazil is different from other countries. Amazon entered the Brazilian market (for other physical products besides books) in 2016 (Exame, 2017), and it is studied as a reference in e-commerce and logistics innovation (Boysen, Koster, & Weidinger, 2018;Tian, Vakharia, Tan, & Xu, 2018).…”

“…The company attributes its success to the strategic plan for innovation in e-commerce and digital culture (MGLU3, 2018). Although the increasing interest in the e-commerce and market valuation phenomena, there are still few studies focused on operational aspects, especially in developing markets (Giuffrida,1 Contact of the author Email: isotilia@gmail.com DOI: 10.18568/internext.v15i2.557 Mangiaracina, Perego, & Tumino, 2017;Sharma, Luk, Cardinali, & Ogasavara, 2018).…”

Does e-commerce facilitate or complicate SMEs' internationalisation?

“…Certain scholars had already perceived the potential benefits e-commerce could bring to global trade at the dawn of the 21st century, even before its actual establishment (Quelch and Klein, 1996;Fariselli et al, 1999). Nonetheless, despite an increasing interest in CBEC, the literature on e-internationalisation remains scant (de la Torre and Moxon, 2001;Giuffrida et al, 2017a;2017b).…”

“…In recent years, the growing diffusion of high-speed internet and the advancement of electronic and mobile commerce technologies all over the world have contributed to the rise of Cross Border E-Commerce (CBEC). CBEC is the process of selling goods to consumers located in a foreign country by means of online channels, such as e-commerce websites, online retailers and marketplaces (Giuffrida et al, 2017a). Today, it accounts for as much as 30 % of overall online commerce.…”