IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0297360.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strategies selection for building e-commerce platforms for agricultural wholesale markets: A tripartite evolutionary game perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Qianwen Luo
  • Yujie Wang
  • Yongtao Liu

Abstract

The rapid advancement and widespread implementation of digital technology have created opportunities for the e-commerce transformation of agricultural wholesale markets. The building of e-commerce platforms in this process is of utmost importance and should be approached methodically. This article analyzes the interests and behavioral choices of the agricultural wholesale markets, local government, and wholesalers by establishing a tripartite evolutionary game model. It applies replicator dynamics equations to describe the evolutionary strategies of each party. The findings of the study indicate that the behavioral choices of agricultural wholesale markets, local government, and wholesalers are influenced by their initial intentions. Furthermore, there exists a degree of alignment between the choices made by agricultural wholesale markets and wholesalers. The building of e-commerce platforms by agricultural wholesale markets can be facilitated through direct and indirect government subsidies; this also motivates wholesalers to adopt and utilize these platforms. Agricultural wholesale markets may further incentivize wholesalers to utilize their own e-commerce platforms by offering additional benefits. On the other hand, if the agricultural wholesale markets demonstrate strong initial inclinations toward using third-party e-commerce platforms. In this scenario, the local government has the potential to promote the widespread use of these platforms by providing both direct and indirect financial incentives to these markets, as well as actively encouraging wholesalers to participate in them. This study presents policy recommendations for agricultural wholesale markets and local government to support the effective implementation of e-commerce platforms in the agricultural wholesaler markets and facilitate a smooth transition to e-commerce in agricultural wholesale markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Qianwen Luo & Yujie Wang & Yongtao Liu, 2024. "Strategies selection for building e-commerce platforms for agricultural wholesale markets: A tripartite evolutionary game perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(1), pages 1-29, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0297360
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297360
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297360
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297360&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0297360?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aysoy, Cevriye & Kirli, Duygu Halim & Tumen, Semih, 2015. "How does a shorter supply chain affect pricing of fresh food? Evidence from a natural experiment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 104-113.
    2. Xiaona Hou & Xiangxiao Gao & Shi Yin & Jianmin Li, 2023. "A three evolutionary game model for driving mechanism of industry-university-research collaborative innovation in agricultural innovation ecosystems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(8), pages 1-38, August.
    3. Thomas Reardon & Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie & Bart Minten, 2021. "Quiet Revolution by SMEs in the midstream of value chains in developing regions: wholesale markets, wholesalers, logistics, and processing," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1577-1594, December.
    4. Yaoguang Zhong & Ivan Ka Wai Lai & Fangfang Guo & Huajun Tang, 2021. "Research on Government Subsidy Strategies for the Development of Agricultural Products E-Commerce," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-27, November.
    5. Ying Song & Octavio Escobar & Unai Arzubiaga & Alfredo De Massis, 2022. "The digital transformation of a traditional market into an entrepreneurial ecosystem," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 65-88, January.
    6. Baotong Liu & Hua Zou & Hao Qin & Huimin Ji & Yongquan Guo, 2023. "An evolutionary game analysis of digital transformation of multiagents in digital innovation ecosystems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(7), pages 1-24, July.
    7. Xueqi Zhao & Longwen Zhao & Xiaozhe Sun & Yibing Xing, 2023. "The incentive effect of government subsidies on the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises," International Journal of Emerging Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(11), pages 3892-3912, February.
    8. Sanjay Chaudhary & Pradeep Kumar Suri, 2022. "The impact of digitalisation on the agricultural wholesale prices to aid agrarian income," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 68(10), pages 361-370.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yanwei Chen & Xiaojun Liu & Kaiqing Huang & Huajun Tang, 2022. "Pricing and Service Effort Decisions of Book Dual-Channel Supply Chains with Showrooming Effect Based on Cost-Sharing Contracts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Bianca Carducci & Yaqub Wasan & Agha Shakeel & Amjad Hussain & Jo-Anna B. Baxter & Arjumand Rizvi & Sajid B. Soofi & Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, 2022. "Characterizing Retail Food Environments in Peri-Urban Pakistan during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Zhou, Zhongsheng & Li, Zhuo, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and trade credit financing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    4. Marivoet, Wim & Ulimwengu, John M., 2024. "Spatial typology for food system analysis: Taking stock and setting a research agenda," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    5. Mei, Linfeng & Zheng, Yangyang & Tian, Mengling & Wu, Yu, 2024. "Driven by the policy or bent by the market? Cracking the digital transformation code of farmer cooperatives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    6. Han Wang & Chuan Pang & Huajun Tang, 2023. "Pricing and Carbon-Emission-Reduction Decisions under the BOPS Mode with Low-Carbon Preference from Customers," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-26, June.
    7. Lange, Francie & Tomini, Nino & Brinkmann, Florian & Kanbach, Dominik K. & Kraus, Sascha, 2023. "Demystifying massive and rapid business scaling – An explorative study on driving factors in digital start-ups," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    8. Prabhu Pingali & Mathew Abraham, 2022. "Food systems transformation in Asia – A brief economic history," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(6), pages 895-910, November.
    9. Lai, Xiaobing & Yue, Shujing & Guo, Chong & Gao, Peng, 2024. "Unleashing global potential: The impact of digital technology innovation on corporate international diversification," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    10. Timu, Anne G. & Hazell, Peter & Savastano, Sara, 2024. "An approach for assessing whether agricultural projects help smallholders transition to better livelihood strategies: A malawian case study," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    11. Adong, Annet & Ambler, Kate & Bloem, Jeffrey R. & de Brauw, Alan & Herskowitz, Sylvan & Islam, A.H.M. Saiful & Wagner, Julia, 2025. "The unmet financial needs of intermediary firms within agri-food value chains in Uganda and Bangladesh," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    12. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Yuan, Zihao & Kang, Yongchao, 2024. "Green finance and land ecological security: A potential mechanism for sustainable development," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1222-1241.
    13. Jaiandra da Silva Guimarães & Cristina Fernandes & Pedro Mota Veiga & Veland Ramadani, 2025. "The Relationship between Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Digital Transformation," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 14(1), pages 28-42, January.
    14. Weilong Wang & Jianlong Wang & Haitao Wu, 2025. "Assessing the Impact of New Digital Infrastructure on Enterprise Green Transformation from a Triple Performance Perspective," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 5594-5633, March.
    15. Muhonda, Park & Rice, Emma & Bennett, Abigail & Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O. & Belton, Ben & Abaidoo, Eric, 2024. "Investigating the inclusiveness of the usipa value chain in Malawi," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    16. Qi Zhang & Jinghuai She, 2024. "Digital transformation and corporate tax avoidance: An analysis based on multiple perspectives and mechanisms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(9), pages 1-30, September.
    17. Lila Ballav Bhusal, 2025. "Key sector identification of Nepal: an integrated approach with linkage and hypothetical extraction method," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Xu, Yan & Zhang, Xinyu & Wang, Kai, 2025. "Stakeholder interaction in the digital transformation of China's electric power sector: An evolutionary game model," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    19. Ha, Le Thanh, 2024. "A transition to sustainable marine living resources: Why does digital transformation matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    20. Giuseppe Timpanaro, 2023. "Agricultural Food Marketing, Economics and Policies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-9, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0297360. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.