时间成本是否成为电子商务区位的核心机制——基于成都市O2O电子商务的实证分析

Does time dictate the location of e-commerce business? A study of O2O businesses in Chengdu, China

空间距离是影响传统商业区位的关键因子。但随着信息通信技术(ICT)的迅速普及,空间距离对经济活动尤其是电子商务发展的限制越来越小,时间成本的影响地位日益凸显。然而,时间成本是否成为电子商务区位发展的核心机制,仍有待商榷。以成都市为例,通过建立O2O电子商务市场规模与时/空距离可达性和区位优势度的空间关系,尝试回答这一问题。结果表明:1整体上,时间成本对成都市O2O电子商务空间发展的影响地位已经高于空间距离,成为了其区位核心机制的首要因素。2基于空间距离的成都市O2O电子商务区位发展更自由,但对时间距离更敏感,市场规模更严格地按照时间距离区位优势度进行分布,这导致其与时间距离区位优势度的空间匹配性更好,依赖性更高。3随着城市'中心—边缘'的空间过渡,时间成本对O2O电子商务区位的影响基本不变,空间距离的影响逐渐减弱,时间成本的影响地位得到相对提升;空间距离和时间成本分别成为影响城市中心区和边缘区O2O电子商务区位发展的核心因子。4当前,受信息化、城市化、商业决策者和消费者等的影响,空间距离对O2O电子商务区位的影响仍不能忽视,其区位核心机制由时间和空间共同决定。5消费者和供应商的利益诉求,以及ICT的便捷性,是时间成本对O2O电子商务区位发展影响地位整体上高于空间距离的主要原因。

The main factor that decides the location of traditional businesses is the physical distance between their location and their target customers. Development of information and communication technologies （ICT） means the influence that physical distance exerts on businesses has decreased; however, the influence of time （the time it takes customers to visit physical retail outlets） has increased. However, it is not known if the costs associated with time are the main factors dictating the location of e-commerce businesses that decide to open a physical outlet： this paper tries to answer this question. The paper establishes a spatial relationship between the market size of online-to-offiine （020） businesses and the accessibility and the location advantage relating to time/physical distance in Chengdu, in China＇s Sichuan Province. The results show that： （1） Overall, time has a greater impact than physical distance on business activities in Chengdu, and is the primary factor in the location selection of O2Obusinesses. （2） The O2O business whose location is dictated by physical distance has freedom to develop; however, the one whose location is dictated by time is more sensitive, and the spatial distribution of market size is more suitable to the location advantage based on time-cost. Hence, the spatial matching and the dependence between market size and location advantage show that there are slightly more businesses whose location is dictated by time than by distance in Chengdu. （3） Moving from the urban centgr to the outskirts of Chengdu, the influence of time on the location of O2O businesses remains almost the same, and the influence of physical distance gradually weakens. This means that, outside the urban centers, time has a greater influence than distance. Physical distance dictates the location of O2O businesses in Chengdu＇s urban center and time dictates their location in Chengdu＇s outskirts. （4） The impact that physical distance has on the location of O2Obusinesses is important in Chengdu because of its urbanization and ICT levels, and because of the behavior of consumers and suppliers. This means that both time and distance play a key role in the location development of O2Obusinesses. （5） The main factors that encourage an e-commerce business to open a physical outlet include demands from the consumers and the suppliers on reducing time-related costs, and the convenience oflCT.