Developing Evaluation Frameworks for Business Models in China’s Rural Markets

Abstract

In rural China, successful and sustainable business model design has been viewed as an important strategy to achieve a win–win scenario in which rural poverty can be alleviated and enterprise profit can be improved. Although business model related literature is strong, it lacks a comprehensive framework for appraising business models in rural markets. As a result, entrepreneurs are facing significant challenges in implementing their market development centered business models or resource development centered business models. This study draws on case analysis to present two frameworks for evaluating the two types of business models, respectively. Through open coding and axial coding on eight Chinese cases, we identify the main components for the evaluation frameworks and critical factors within each component. Using the coding results as a lens, we apply a cross-case comparative data analysis to establish the multi-level evaluation systems. Finally, we provide suggestions for entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to better their business model design in China’s rural markets.

Stakeholders conflict and private–public partnership chain (PPPC): supply chain of perishable product

“…The highest bidder, typically a semi-urban wholesaler (middlemen), buys the entire item. This identification from field interviews is consistent with the findings from the literature review (Lu and Yang, 2004; Paulraj et al , 2006; Jensen, 2007; Matani, 2007; Weerakkody et al , 2007; Schipmann and Qaim, 2011; Trienekens, 2011; Bao et al , 2012; Bosona and Gebresenbet, 2013; Somashekhar et al , 2014; Bloom, 2015; Silvestre, 2015; Emana et al , 2017; Dubey et al , 2018b; Zhang et al , 2019) on the supply chain of agricultural food items, flowers and fishes in many developing countries such as China, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, etc.…”

“…To recognize the problems and develop an efficient supply chain reflecting the identified problems, this research has also explored literature on resilient supply chains and issues related to fragile structural dynamics of the supply chain of perishable products. Several researchers dealing with rural food items or perishable items procured from remote and fragmented locations revealed that these markets are at the bottom of the pyramid (Surana et al , 2005; Singh, 2011; Fawcett et al , 2012; Mena et al , 2013; Zhang et al , 2019). This scenario reflects a very scattered and unorganized connection among the stakeholders who apparently should create a network of supply structure (Zhang et al , 2019).…”

“…Several researchers dealing with rural food items or perishable items procured from remote and fragmented locations revealed that these markets are at the bottom of the pyramid (Surana et al , 2005; Singh, 2011; Fawcett et al , 2012; Mena et al , 2013; Zhang et al , 2019). This scenario reflects a very scattered and unorganized connection among the stakeholders who apparently should create a network of supply structure (Zhang et al , 2019). From a theoretical point of view, these supply chains integrating supply members from rural markets are basically maintaining multi-tier networks (Singh, 2011; Mena et al , 2013).…”

“…The arguments lie in the fact that these members can never be aligned or easily removed from this network without the intervention of external power, as these redundant members in the existing supply chain capture the primary source of manipulated power (Peng et al , 2010; Wu et al , 2010; Shareef et al , 2020b). Shedding light on the theoretical development of service outsourcing (Trienekens, 2011; Zainudeen et al , 2011; Zhang et al , 2019), several studies argued that the inclusion of mobile information and communication (MIC – seamless connections through a smartphone using cross-platform voice over IP, VoIP, say Viber, WhatsApp, IMO, etc.) can be an excellent scope to gradually decrease the necessity of powerful middlemen and ensure adaptation of simple network connection from the rural or remote producers to the final retailers (Tate and Ellram, 2006; Williamson, 2008).…”

Sustainable HR development to support successful implementation of offline accounting apps by rural enterprises in Indonesia

“…Many factors led to the lack of success of these programs, one of the most dominant factors being too much government intervention. Consequently, it inhibited the creativity and innovation of rural communities in managing and running the economic machinery in rural areas (Ho et al, 2019, Lyon-Hillet al, 2019, Tang, 2019, Wei & Li, 2019and Zhang et al, 2019. The system and the mechanism of economic institutions in rural areas do not work effectively and have an inclination for dependence on government assistance so that it turns off the spirit of independence.…”