Research On The Factors Influencing The Development Of Cross-Border E-Commerce In South Africa-Based On The Analysis Of The Wine Industry

With the development of the communications industry and the internet more and more emerging countries have developed rapidly.Also,with such changes in internet technology,cross-border e-commerce(CBEC)has started to advance as a new trade model,which plays a pivotal role in South Africa's CBEC and export trade,to meet up with the developed countries.At the same time with the favorable situation with the traditional markets in Europe,South Africa's wine industry is now seeking to export more of its products to China.Online shopping has been increasing vividly worldwide in the past years.South Africa is no special case.This research seeks to examine the key factors influencing CBEC development level in South Africa based on the analysis of the wine industry.To achieve this objective the study evaluated the relevant micro and macro factors influencing crossborder e-commerce development levels in South Africa using the factor analysis method.This paper mainly uses the factor analysis method to analyze the relevant micro and macro factors.The macro factors use the PESTEL analysis method.PESTEL analysis,also known as environmental analysis,is a method to investigate the external influence factors affecting the organization,including political,economic,social,technical,environmental,and legal factors.The study also incorporated micro factors specific to the South African wine sector.This study takes some of the 13 biggest wine exporters in South Africa as a sample,analyses the influence factors affecting the development level of cross-border e-commerce in the country,and puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions.In this paper,four main theories underpinning the study were examined and these include;trade facilitation,trade intermediary theory,transaction cost theory,and trade risk theory.These theories formed the basic theoretical analysis framework.The factor analysis was employed to analyze the micro and macro factors influencing the CBEC development level in South Africa.The study considered cross-border wine exports to China as an indicator for measuring the CBEC development level in South Africa.The study employed the entropy method,which is an objective weighting method,which calculated the weight of the indicator and provide a basis for comprehensive evaluation of multi-indicators.In this paper,the entropy method was used to evaluate the weight of the indicator and it is on this basis that the 13 wine exporters in South Africa are given a comprehensive assessment.This research is making a huge contribution to the body of new knowledge about the field of global online trade.That is,it specifically identifies and explains the key drivers of CBEC development level from the perspective of online wine exporters.The key factors that have been identified according include political,economic,technological,environmental,and legal factors.The study also incorporated micro factors specific to the South African wine sector.These factors according to contemporary literature include;availability of Information Communication and Technology infrastructure and related Information Communication and Technology skills and expertise and the firm's financial performance.These factors were analyzed and evaluated using factor analysis and the results of the Principal Component analysis reveal that they are crucial for promoting cross-border e-commerce development level in South Africa.Innovations were discovered such as 1)to have a more comprehensive indicator system to measure the development level of cross-border ecommerce in South Africa,2)the adoption of the factor analysis method to analyze the relevant micro and macro factors influencing cross-border wine exports to China from South Africa.As for the conclusion,it is critical for South Africa to introduce investment from Chinese companies or business models(such as setting up in China)from the perspective of "One Belt One Road".It is,therefore,recommendable for South African wine companies to adopt the Bonded Warehouse Model to ensure that products are readily available to cater to the unexpected rise in demand.This initiative would include setting up of South African wine overseas warehouses in China.For future purposes,the researcher suggests that similar but longitudinal research be conducted over a longer period so that proper secondary data can be gathered to have a more comprehensive finding.