Research On Logistics Business Integration Strategy Of E-commerce Platform Based On Two-sided Market Theory

In recent years,with the popularity of online shopping,the number of e-commerce platforms has increased,and industry competition has intensified.Under the fierce competition environment,providing high-quality online services and fast logistics and distribution services has gradually become the key to success for e-commerce platforms.To this reason,Alibaba established Cainiao Network in 2013 to gradually integrate its logistics business to make up for the shortcomings of logistics and distribution,providing a reference for other "asset-light model" platforms.At the same time,academic circles are also paying more and more attention to the phenomenon of integrating logistics business on e-commerce platforms.This paper firstly builds a sales system composed of e-commerce platforms,merchants,consumers and logistics companies based on the Hotelling model.Then compares the game equilibrium before and after the integration of the logistics business of the e-commerce platform under the two market structures of monopoly and competition,and conducts a theoretical analysis of the integration strategy.Finally,it takes Cainiao Network as an example,collects relevant data before and after the integration of Tmall platform and its cooperative logistics companies.Then the paper establishes a measurement model,and conducts empirical analysis of integration strategies.The conclusions obtained are as follows:In a monopoly market,the size of users before and after the integration of e-commerce platforms and logistics companies,as well as the quality of pricing and service levels.They are affected by two factors:cross-network externalities and logistics integration efficiency.Before integration,the equilibrium outcome is positively correlated with cross-network externalities.After integration,the equilibrium result is positively correlated with the cross-network externalities,and also positively correlated with the efficiency of logistics integration.The integration of logistics business makes both e-commerce platforms and logistics companies incentivize to improve service levels,thereby generating synergies;the value of synergies depends on cross-network externalities and logistics integration efficiency.The greater the cross-network externalities or the higher the logistics integration efficiency,the greater the value of synergy,the greater the benefit to both parties.In a competitive market,this paper analyzes three situations:no existence of integration,asymmetric integration and symmetric integration.No existence of integration means that neither platform is integrated;asymmetric integration means that one platform is integrated and the other is not;and symmetric integration means that both platforms are integrated.The analysis shows that the integration strategy of e-commerce platform is affected by cross-network externalities,logistics integration efficiency and competitors’ integration strategies.When one competitor is not integrated,the other platform has the motivation to integrate only when the cross-network externalities and logistics integration efficiency meet certain conditions.When one competitor is integrated,there is also a cross-network externality and logistics integration efficiency conditions that gives another platform an incentive to integrate.However,when the two platforms are integrated,the competition will intensify,resulting in a decrease in the joint profit level of the integrators,thus falling into a "prisoner’s dilemma".In addition,regardless of whether competitors are integrated or not,the integration of the logistics business of the e-commerce platform significantly improves the service level of the e-commerce platform and the logistics company,thereby creating a synergistic effect.The greater the cross-network externality or the higher the efficiency of logistics integration,the synergistic effect makes the integration both parties benefit more.Empirical analysis shows that the integration of logistics business has significantly improved the service level of Tmall platform,resulting in an increase in the number of active users.At the same time,it has also significantly improved the service level of cooperative logistics companies,resulting in a reduction in the effective express complaint rate of logistics companies.In addition,the integration of logistics business has significantly improved the joint operating income of the Tmall platform and partner logistics companies.And the growth of joint operating income of the two parties is regulated by variables such as logistics integration efficiency and cross-network externalities.