Abstract
This chapter provides a qualitative case study of Pinduoduo: China's fastest-growing e-commerce firm. As a disruptive organization entering the retail industry in 2015, Pinduoduo has become the third largest e-commerce platform in China. The spectacular success of the company has caught the attention of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors across the world. This study demonstrates that digital technologies have enabled Pinduoduo to develop innovative business model and establish closer and diverse links with partners and experiences with customers. The innovative business model and strategy of Pinduoduo are worth studying. This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the strategies that underpin the innovative business models of Pinduoduo and the impact of digital innovation and technologies on consumer's experiences. The research results demonstrate how Pinduoduo addresses the needs of overlooked customers in their market spaces through leveraging advanced digital technologies and innovating platform business models and developing digital ecosystems.
TopBackground
In the following sections, the researcher reviews the literature on platform business model and business ecosystem and discuss the challenges and trends and customer experiences in relation to platforms and provides the evolving profile of PDD.
Key Terms in this Chapter
E-Commerce: All electronically mediated transactions between business and its stakeholders.
Digital Innovation: The applications of digital technology to facilitate existing business processes efficiency, improve customer experience, develop new products and services, or create new business models.
Digital Ecosystem: A business system that goes beyond digital platform and enables all participants to create and deliver value to their target audience and share value and enjoy benefits from the presence of each other in the system.
Digital Technology: Any electronic tools, systems, devices, and resources that generate, transmit, store, or process data recorded in binary code of combinations of the digits 0 and 1.
Digital Transformation: The change that occurs when digital technologies are applied to organisational processes, structure, and systems to improve business performance and competitiveness.