E-Commerce, Firm Performance and Economic Dynamism: Empirical analysis using the Economic Census

         
Author Name KIM YoungGak (Senshu University) / KWON Hyeog Ug (Faculty Fellow, RIETI) / FUKAO Kyoji (Faculty Fellow, RIETI) / IKEUCHI Kenta (Fellow (Policy Economist), RIETI)
Creation Date/NO. March 2021 21-J-016
Research Project East Asian Industrial Productivity
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Abstract

Most of the previous research on the introduction of e-commerce and corporate performance is based on sample surveys and has a limited scope. This study analyzes the relationship between the introduction of electronic commerce and the performance of Japanese companies, the ripple effect on neighboring industries and regional economies, and business dynamism, by using data covering all Japanese companies through the Economic Census Activity Survey.

According to our findings, companies that introduce e-commerce are highly productive, and the rate of increase in total factor productivity (TFP) is also significant. It is mainly B2B companies that experience these benefits. In addition, the introduction of e-commerce increases a company's employment and boosts wages. However, no decrease in employment was confirmed even when the introduction of E-commerce progresses in the same industry or the same industry / prefecture, while it has been confirmed that the higher the rate of introduction of E-commerce in the region / industry, the higher the wage.

On the other hand, if an industry has a high rate of introduction of E-commerce, the probability of companies exiting the market increases. On the other hand, if an industry has a high rate of introduction of E-commerce, the probability of companies exiting the market increases. It is thought that this increase in productivity is a result of intensifying competition, which also increases the probability of exit. It was also confirmed that the higher the E-commerce introduction rate, the higher the HHI. No significant impact was identified in relation to markup.

When the scope of analysis was limited to the commerce sector, the impact on the productivity of e-commerce is greatly influenced by the scale of sales, and while companies with large sales volumes saw large benefits, companies with lower volumes may see little or no benefit. This can explain part of the decline in e-commerce adoption rates in commerce, especially in the wholesale sector.