Does the digital economy promote “innovation and entrepreneurship” in rural tourism in China?

Abstract

This paper focuses on the impact of the “Digital Economy” on rural entrepreneurship. Unlike previous literature, the perspective of this paper focuses on a specific industry—tourism—and identifies a new mediating mechanism by which the “Digital Economy” affects rural tourism entrepreneurship—the promotion of innovation. The paper further clarifies the fact that the “Rural Digital Economy Index,” which is a dimension of the Digital Economy Indicator System, is the key to the mechanism of action. Theoretically, first, through a literature review, this paper provides a rationale for the “Digital Economy” to promote innovation behavior by reducing the cost of innovation. Second, using a product matching model, this paper argues that a rural tourism market characterized by innovation can stimulate more entrepreneurship. Empirically, using a sample of 150 counties in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, this paper argues that the higher the digitalization index of a county’s rural economy, the more national model villages and towns this county has (all of which include product innovation in the selection criteria) and more tourism entrepreneurial activities. Econometric methods such as endogeneity, spatial econometric regression, and sensitivity analysis proved the findings robust. Our recommendation is that the Chinese government could focus on improving the innovation environment for rural residents in the future, so that entrepreneurial activities will be spontaneously stimulated by market mechanisms.

Can the Digital Economy Reduce the Rural-Urban Income Gap?

“…This paper aims to assess the extent of digital economy development in 276 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2019, and its current situation is quantitatively reflected based on realistic index data. Therefore, referring to Tang et al [40], this paper has constructed an index system of the digital economy development level. Then, we employ the entropy approach to measure the level of digital economy development and assign weights to each index.…”

Evaluation, mechanism and policy implications of the symbiotic relationship among rural digitization, agricultural development and farmer enrichment: evidence from digital village pilots in China

“…The database should be leveraged to precisely match the quality and diversified consumption demands of towns and cities, so as to reduce the production risks and enhance the premium capacity of agricultural products. Industrial policies, fiscal policies, tax policies, financial policies, and talent policies should be developed to attract all types of "capable" workers to return to their hometowns and efforts should be made to promote the transformation of the digital divide into a digital dividend by carrying out innovative and entrepreneurial activities around the digital development of villages (Tang et al, 2022).…”

Perspectives of rural tourism entrepreneurs in Italy, Spain, and Türkiye: A focus group study

“…The importance of regional and national policy support for rural tourism entrepreneurs has been underscored (Ndabeni & Rogerson, 2005). The role of the digital economy in promoting innovation in rural tourism entrepreneurship has been identified (Tang et al, 2022), and social entrepreneurship and community mobilization have been proposed as effective strategies to promote rural tourism entrepreneurship and enhance rural residents' quality of life (Zhang et al, 2022).…”