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Competition, cooperation, and performance: an empirical investigation of Chinese online sellers

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Abstract

This study examines the relationship between competition intensity, cooperation network, and performance in the context of electronic commerce. In particular, based on the framework of value net, we study both horizontal and vertical cooperation networks, and test the proposed model empirically. The empirical findings suggest that the more intense the competition, the more willing the sellers are to adopt the strategy of networking. Moreover, both the horizontal and vertical cooperation help to improve performance. The study has interesting theoretical and practical implications.

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Acknowledgements

The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 71402006, 71502015, and 71571191, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2017ZY66).

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  1. School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China

    Weijia You & Hui Shu

  2. Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China

    Suyuan Luo

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  1. Weijia You
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Correspondence to Weijia You.

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You, W., Shu, H. & Luo, S. Competition, cooperation, and performance: an empirical investigation of Chinese online sellers. Inf Syst E-Bus Manage 16, 743–760 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-017-0350-2

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