E-Commerce, Financial Infrastructure, and Responsible Consumption: Empirical Evidence from European Households
Xiaotian Dong, Xiaojing Zhang, Meng Qin, Santiago Budría
Keywords:
E-commerce, Financial infrastructure, Responsible consumption, Household purchasing behavior, Consumer behavior, Europe
Abstract:
This study examines the effects of e-commerce live marketing, financial infrastructure, income, and education on household online purchasing behavior in selected European economies from 2005 to 2020. Consistent with the title, responsible consumption is treated as a policy-relevant interpretation of household purchasing behavior in digital markets rather than as a direct psychological diagnosis. The analysis distinguishes between urban household purchasing behavior and towns/suburbs household purchasing behavior. Using panel data for 12 European economies, the study applies OLS, 2SLS, and dynamic panel GMM estimators. E-commerce live marketing is operationalized through internet purchases by individuals. The results show that e-commerce live marketing has a positive and statistically significant effect on both urban and towns/suburbs household purchasing behavior across all estimation methods. Financial infrastructure also has a positive and significant effect in all models. Income positively affects urban household purchasing behavior, while its effect on towns/suburbs household purchasing behavior is significant only in the OLS specification. Education generally supports household purchasing behavior, particularly in the 2SLS and GMM models. The findings suggest that e-commerce activity, financial access infrastructure, income, and education are important drivers of digital household consumption and can inform policies aimed at inclusive and responsible consumption in European economies.
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 E-Commerce, Financial Infrastructure, and Responsible Consumption: Empirical Evidence from European Households [PDF file] [Filesize: 485.49 KB]
 10.7441/joc.2026.SI.21
Dong, X., Zhang, X., Qin, M., & Budría, S. (2026). E-Commerce, Financial Infrastructure, and Responsible Consumption: Empirical Evidence From European Households. Journal of Competitiveness, 18(SI 2), 257–275. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2026.SI.21
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