Technological change has radically changed the way people do business around the world. To this end, people have adopted new behavioural practices to keep up with technologically driven economic developments (Rowe, 2017). The interplay between social and economic forces through e-commerce adoption has been captured in academic literature as the concept of “social economy” which refers to the rich diversity of enterprises, companies, foundations and institutions that share common values (van Twuijver, 2020). Stemming from this definition, this paper is a research proposal to determine the impact of e-commerce on the social economy.
Importance of Topic and Justification for Review
The relationship between economic development and social behaviour defines how modern societies are organized. It is essential to undertake a literature review on this subject because technology and e-commerce are redefining how people do businesses and the impact of businesses on society. For example, social media has provided an avenue for people to hold companies accountable for their actions; policies are progressively reflecting these changes (Huseynov and Özkan Yıldırım, 2019). Therefore, the proposed study would be useful in contributing to the overall understanding of how e-commerce is affecting the social economy.
There are sufficient academic materials, such as books and peer-reviewed journals that will be essential in understanding the research topic. Most of these articles stem from the field of behavioural economics, which focuses on the need for economies to balance utility and profit-maximization objectives (Sazhin and Morey, 2018; Lotenberg, 2015). Other reports and articles written in this field independently explore the role of technology in fostering business growth through e-commerce development. In the proposed study, these three centres of data will be linked and evaluated to understand the impact of e-commerce on the social economy.
Research Plan
The literature review will include an analysis of up to 40 empirical academic materials that focus on explaining the interplay between behavioural economics and technological development through e-commerce. They will be obtained from reputable academic databases, such as Google Scholar and Sage Publications. Key terms and phrases to be used in the search include “e-commerce,” “social economics” and “behavioural economics.” These sources of research data will be analysed in a narrative review format where the emphasis will be on appraising the published articles to the extent that they address the research topic.
The first step in conducting the literature review process will be to identify relevant theories and contextualise the overlapping aspects of social behaviour, e-commerce adoption and economics. The second stage will involve the use of the mixed methods design, for collecting data. The technique involves using aspects of quantitative and qualitative reasoning to review research materials (Bryman and Bell, 2015; Sherbaum and Shockley, 2015; Creswell, 2015). This data analysis stage will be based on the thematic and coding technique, which will help the researcher to categorise data according to relevant themes that would help to meet the research aim. The proposed structure of the literature review is as follows:
- Introduction
- Outline of the topic
- Critical reflection on Methods
- Literature review
- Analysis and critical discussion
- Conclusions
- Learning statement
Purpose of Review
The findings of the proposed study will help to expand the literature regarding the impact of technology on business and society. On this basis, it would be possible to have a clear understanding of the scope and extent of how e-commerce adoption has influenced economic growth and social behaviour. This information would be useful to policymakers who struggle to develop laws and regulations influencing digital, societal and economic development.
Reference List
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2015) Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2015) A concise introduction to mixed-method research. London: Sage.
Huseynov, F. and Özkan Yıldırım, S. (2019) ‘Online consumer typologies and their shopping behaviors in B2C e-commerce platforms’, SAGE Open, 9(2), pp. 112-119.
Lotenberg, L. D. (2015) ‘What can social marketers learn from the accomplishments of behavioral economics?’, Social Marketing Quarterly, 21(2), pp. 59-60.
Rowe, P. C. M. (2017) ‘Beyond Uber and Airbnb: the social economy of collaborative consumption’, Social Media and Society, 4(1), pp. 1-11.
Sazhin, D. and Morey, M. (2018) ‘How we contradict ourselves: the case of John Cochrane-gliding and behavioral economics’, The American Economist, 63(1), pp. 31-40.
Sherbaum, C. and Shockley, K. (2015) Analysing quantitative data for business and management students. London: Sage.
van Twuijver, M. W. et al. (2020) ‘Rural social enterprises in Europe: a systematic literature review’, Local Economy, 35(2), pp. 121-142.