The Development Path of E-commerce in Frontier Rural AreasA Case Study Based on An E-commerce Enterprise in the Tibet Autonomous Region

Purpose/Significance Under the background of achieving “rural revitalization”, the development of e-commerce in frontier rural areas has important practical significance. It is critical to the achievement of the strategic goal of common prosperity. Clarifying how local enterprises develop e-commerce with the help of government is an important scientific question. Design/Methodology Integrating attention-based view, institutional logics, and resource orchestration theory, this study establishes a theoretical framework of “institutional logics—resource orchestration actions—e-commerce capabilities” and adopts a single case study to deeply analyze the e-commerce development processes and internal mechanisms of an e-commerce enterprise in Nyingchi City, Tibet. Conclusions/Findings (1) The development processes of e-commerce of the enterprise can be divided into three stages: online exploration stage, venue operations stage and innovative development stage. The institutional logics evolve with the development processes, inducing differentiated allocations of managers’ attention. This in turn promotes different resource orchestration actions and forms different e-commerce capabilities. (2) In frontier rural areas, the government logic and market logic faced by enterprises in developing e-commerce are compatible and mutually-reinforcing.