Sustainable Management Practices of E-Commerce Firms in Korea and Japan: A Comparative Analysis of Coupang and Rakuten

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, there is strong evidence of a significant bounce in global e-commerce sales following the paradigm shift caused by COVID-19 in everyday life. The global e-commerce market size is projected to reach $6.33 trillion in 2024, with the top five countries being China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (hereafter, Korea). Among the top five global players, two countries, Korea and Japan, are particularly noteworthy because Korea has the lowest retail e-commerce sales among the top five countries despite a high penetration rate while Japan shows the lowest penetration rate while maintaining a similar level of retail e-commerce sales. The e-commerce industry in Korea and Japan is facing a new inflection point regarding sustainable growth and survival. However, the sustainability of e-commerce firms in Korea and Japan has not yet been investigated from a comparative perspective. In the context of an extremely challenging global business environment, this study focuses on a representative e-commerce firm from each country: Coupang in Korea and Rakuten in Japan. By examining these cases, this study provides important insights into sustainable management practices in the e-commerce industry from a comparative perspective.