电子商务是否为无摩擦交易——基于我国B2C民航机票市场数据的研究

Is E-commerce A Frictionless Commerce——A Research Based on B2C Aviation Ticket Market in China

互联网的日益普及和信息技术的广泛应用推动了我国电子商务市场的快速发展,电子商务作为网络经济在市场交易层面的集中体现,其市场交易效率问题一直是学术界关注的重点。巴克斯的无摩擦交易假说认为,电子商务将信息技术引入市场交易,有效降低了消费者的搜寻成本,实现了市场交易的效率化。该假说获得了普遍认同,但也有实证研究与之矛盾。为深入认识该假说在现实经济中的适用性,解释矛盾产生的原因,可采用更为科学的检验标准,利用我国B2C民航机票市场数据对该假说进行检验。研究结果显示,电子商务环境下同一商品依然存在显著的价格差异,即该假说未能有效解释现实。其原因在于,实践中的市场交易效率是诸多因素综合作用的结果,交易摩擦可以降低但不会完全消除;电子商务市场中消费者的辨识能力随接受信息总量的增加而下降,搜寻费用可能不降反升,并在无形中增加了供应商的机会主义倾向。因此,为引导我国电子商务健康发展,一方面要通过规范市场行为,引入第三方信息中介等方式增加有效信息供给,降低交易摩擦;另一方面要通过立法等强制性措施有效限制可能发生的侵害消费者利益的机会主义行为。

The transactional efficiency of e-commerce has been a research focus ever since the arising of e-commerce andthe application of IT. American economist Bakos firstly introduced his theory,known as“the frictionless commerce hypothesis”,that the information technology used in e- commerce reduces consumers’research cost and increases the efficiency of markettransaction. Though this hypothesis is accepted by most of related players,there is still some conflict between empirical researchand this hypothesis. To correctly understand the suitability of this hypothesis and explain the causes of these conflict,the authorintends to test his theory using data from B2C aviation ticket market in China. The result shows that,in the context of ecommerce,there is still price difference of the same goods,which means that this hypothesis can not explain the realityeffectively. The cause for that is,in practice,the efficiency of market transaction is the result of too many factors and transactionfriction can be reduced,but can not be eliminated;in e-commerce,consumers’capacity for recognition will be weakened withthe increase of accepted information,the research cost will be reduced,and the suppliers’intension of opportunism will beintensified. So,to guide the health development of China’s e- commerce,we should,on one hand,regulate the marketbehaviors,increase the supply of effective information by introducing the third party information intermediaries,and reducetransaction friction;on the other hand,we should control the behaviors of opportunism by legislation.