Роль потребления и ESG на экономики развивающихся стран

XXIV Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке

Личный портфель

Роль потребления и ESG на экономики развивающихся стран

Алленова Е.О. 1
1НОЧУ "СОШ "ФЕНИКС".
Портнова Н.Н. 1
1НОЧУ СОШ «Феникс»
Автор работы награжден дипломом победителя II степени
Диплом школьникаСвидетельство руководителя
Текст работы размещён без изображений и формул.
Полная версия работы доступна во вкладке "Файлы работы" в формате PDF

Abstract: Article is devoted to the analysis of key aspects of modern Consumerism. The author considers the phenomenon of Consumerism in the context of the economic development of developing countries. In particular, the article analyzes trends in consumer behavior, including the impact of the development of e-commerce, represented by such giants as Alibaba and Amazon, on markets and production in developing countries. The author comes to the conclusion that the growth of e-commerce determines the positive dynamics of trade relations and creates opportunities for sustainable business based on ESG principles.

Currently, in the world economy, especially in the economy of developing countries, the study of the phenomenon of Consumerism is of particular importance. This is due to the fact that the process of recovery in the modern economy occurs in the context of digitalization, the development of e-commerce tools, which significantly changes both the Consumerism process itself and consumer`s behavior. In the context of digitalization, consumerism factors are changing. By digital consumerism, we mean the usage of goods and services, which includes online sales tools, innovative technologies for promoting goods and services and new consumer practices [Budilina, p.28].

If the traditional economy was built on the consumerism of real goods and services, then the modern economy is built on the consumption of digital goods and services. Factors that have played a key role in traditional consumerism, such as consumer demand and income levels, should be significantly supplemented by sustainability and growth factors in the context of digitalization and commercialization, which is most relevant to the global political and economic processes.

At the moment, there are quite a large number of studies related to consumerism in the global economy. Studies include the works of K. Ya. Kondratyev, L. P. Romanyuk [Kondratyev and Romanyuk, 1996], V. I. Ilyin [Ilyin, 2019], A. S. Almatov [Almatov, 2022], and others. However, those studies mainly raise theoretical questions about the consumerism and consumer behavior, and do not take into account the sustainability factors of the global economy, especially in developing countries, where economic uncertainty is associated with digitalization processes.

The influence of digitalization on the process of consumer behavior and determining the factors of its sustainability in the economies of developing countries is studied by E. Jones and B. Smith [Jones, Smith, 2019], K. Lee [Lee, 2020], E. Cesar [Cesar, 2024]. The main principles of sustainability of modern business and investment and growth of Consumerism in the global economy are studied in the research of J. R. R. Tolkien. Serafeim [Serafeim2020], J. Smith [Smith, 2021].

However, despite the existing work, there is currently an insufficient number of studies evaluating the practices of sustainable consumerism growth in the global economy. Even in a number of foreign economic studies, this topic has not received systematic coverage, but there are a number of studies that are conducted by economists of developing countries related to their economic situation. For example, the problem of economic sustainability is typical for Brazil, whose economy was ranked 8th in the world in terms of GDP in 2022, and showed steady growth throughout 2024. In this regard, the number of studies on the impact of digitalization on consumer behavior has increased, especially in the e-commerce sector in this country [Cooper, 2022; Krifo, 2017].

The most dynamic consumerism of digital goods and services has been observed in Latin America in recent years. For example, there are 600 million potential customers in Latin America, and their purchasing power is $ 3.24 trillion. The growing middle class makes this region attractive for e-commerce businesses.

Big players like Amazon (AMZN), Alibaba (BABA), and Walmart (WMT) have already noticed that. But today, the main players are not these global corporations. Although Amazon has become one of the leaders in Mexico, Mercado Libre (MELI) and local websites are major players in most Latin American countries.

According to STATIST (E-Commerce in Latin America), 151.1 million people in Latin America bought goods and services online in 2019, up significantly from 121.1 million in 2016. Recent data shows that the e-commerce market in Latin America is still quite small compared to the Asia-Pacific region or North America. However, e-commerce retail sales in Latin America tend to grow from US $ 57.02 billion in 2016 to US $ 84.75 billion by 2019. Currently, there is also a positive trend in this area in 2023 and 2024 [Apparel market in Latin America, 2024].

At the regional level, the market leader in Latin America is Brazil, where e-commerce sales totaled more than $ 16.58 billion in 2016. It is followed by Mexico, with annual e-commerce sales of US $ 7.19 billion, and in Argentina, online merchandise sales total US $ 5.1 billion that year. The average number of annual online transactions per capita in Latin America in 2016 was the lowest in the world, with just 9.2 annual online transactions.

In Mexico, Mercado Libre, Amazon, and Linio are the main online platforms that have helped third-party sellers become leaders in e-commerce in Mexico. In Brazil, the largest e-commerce companies are Mercado Libre Inc. (Brazil accounts for almost 60% of Mercado Libre's global revenue), B2W Cia Digital, Via Varejo SA, Grupo Net Shoes, and Magazine Luiza SA. Amazon and Alibaba are in the early stages of e-commerce development in Brazil, and their revenues are not yet counted significant major research companies [Fraga, 2018].

It is important to understand what factors can ensure the sustainability and growth of developing countries' economies in the context of digitalization of the economy and the development of the e-commerce market. First of all, these factors are related to the use of advanced artificial intelligence technologies. For example, Alibaba (NYSE: NYSE:BABA) shares rose 2.8% after the company's latest AI model, Qwen2.5-Max, attracted significant interest. The company announced the impressive performance of the model and the availability of its API via Alibaba Cloud, which attracted the attention of both industry experts and investors. At the same time, the company's profit is growing faster than similar indicators of Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay(NASDAQ:EBAY), and its P/E ratio is much more modest, as shown in the graph below:

Chart 1. Alibaba's earnings performance compared to Amazon and eBay [Casarello, 2022]

We can say that the use of artificial intelligence technologies determines the development of e-commerce in the economy, which increases the efficiency and productivity of consumerism. The economies of developing countries have experienced changes in the way consumers interact with sellers in recent years, as well as clearly demonstrating how the transformation of traditional buying and selling models is being implemented. Amazon shares have risen significantly in price in 2022:

Chart 2. Dynamics of Amazon shares in 2022 [Avseiko, 2022]

In addition to the availability of purchasing and paying for goods and services through e-commerce, personalization, and a variety of choices [Kotenkov, 2021; Skripkin, 2019; Vorontsovsky, 2020], the key factor that increases the instability of the business economy of developing countries remains the lack of systematic economic activity, which would include an adequate basic infrastructure for the development of e-commerce and other services. state national strategy, which is most relevant in the context of uncertainty in the global economy. In addition to these basic factors, it is also necessary to comply with the principles of ESG, whose strategy is based on the principle of joint consumerism, mutual corporate cooperation, as well as taking into account social and environmental factors [Smith, 2021].

Environmental criteria refer to how the company manages the risks and opportunities associated with environmental issues. Their discussion and implementation include emissions of harmful substances into the environment, waste, impacts and dependencies from deforestation, and loss of biodiversity.

Social criteria focus on how a company treats its key stakeholders, especially its employees. These include regulation of human capital management, diversity of resources, social equity and inclusivity, health and productivity of workspaces, and rules on unfair practices for selling products to customers.

Management criteria allow you to analyze how the company is managed, who makes decisions and who is responsible for them. These include an analysis of the company's performance indicators such as executive compensation, tax practices and strategies, and the diversity and structure of the board of directors.

With regard to the study of "Russian practices for ESG adoption by large enterprises", the results of which are presented in this report, showed that companies should be thoroughly checked to confirm that their promises are trustworthy, and be held accountable if this is not the case. Truly ambitious corporate players can be supported by introducing more stringent regulations that align the rules of the game, ensuring that these ambitious players are not at an economic disadvantage compared to their less ambitious counterparts. Regulators and standard-setting initiatives need to find ways to distinguish and separate leadership in climate improvement from greenwashing and accelerating decarbonization. The current system of non-financial reporting of companies on sustainable development, which has developed in Russia, does not allow us to form an overall picture of their activities in the field of sustainable development and assess the prospects for achieving the Paris Agreement goals. The solution to this situation may be the development and adoption of unified requirements for the reflection of indicators of sustainable development of companies (in the context of ESG), which are mandatory for use by market participants. [ESG: Three letters that Change the world, pp. 124-125].

Environmental, social, and governance variables, although relatively new in emerging markets such as Latin America, are well understood in various economic studies. At the same time, when Latin American countries comply with ESG standards, the principle of social corporate responsibility is important, which will ensure the relationship between financial and non - financial behavior in various business organizations in these countries.

The relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance has been a topic of discussion since the 1960s, although at the time there was no consensus on whether this relationship was positive or negative. However, it is now clear that there is a positive relationship with assets depending on their age, since companies with newer assets have a higher corporate social responsibility index.

In recent years, business companies in Latin America have begun to actively evaluate the effectiveness of ESG variables in relation to financial performance in organizations, but studies related to the characteristics of social responsibility in Latin America are currently scarce, given that they are not systematic in nature, but rather very fragmented.

In Brazil, for example, there are a number of studies [see: Soggea-García, 2020] on the implementation of ESG standards that assess the relationship between profitability and ESG performance in companies in sensitive sectors. So, the authors of these studies came to the conclusion that ESG indicators create value not only in large companies, but also in those that are still in the growth stage. Moreover, ESG ratings have a positive impact on both the stock market and financial performance not only in Latin America, but also in other developing countries.

The researchers also analyzed the effect of adopting ESG practices on the value and cost of capital of Brazilian firms. They found a positive relationship between the firm's value, cost of capital, and ESG score. The relationship between corporate social responsibility ESG and the Thomson Reuters ESG sustainability assessment Reuters and the corporate insolvency forecast of Brazilian firms was also examined.

Thus, it is clear that there is a lack of research in Brazil evaluating financial institutions and ESG practices. Furthermore, in addition to the literature based on previous research, the environmental topic is also relevant for the credit market, as the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) currently requires all financial institutions to implement and implement social and environmental responsibility Policies (SERPs) to manage the social and environmental risks to which they are exposed.

In Europe, the perceived importance of financial sustainability is mainly due to the commitment of the European Commission to promote the integration of ESG parameters into all aspects of the financial system. Moreover, the banking sector is highly regulated and has a large number of stakeholders who are holders of securities or their shareholders; together with stakeholders, regulators create a high demand for social interests for ESGs in this segment.

Based on the author`s research the following conclusions can be made:

1. Digitalization and digital consumerism has become one of the key factors determining the development of the modern world economy. In recent decades, we have seen the rapid introduction of digital technologies in all spheres of life, which radically changes not only the ways people interact, but also the very structure of the economy, education, science and culture. Digitalization creates new opportunities for the economies of developing countries, as well as poses a number of challenges to society that require an adequate response.

2. One of the most visible aspects of digitalization is the transformation of the economy. The emergence of digital platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, and others has transformed traditional business models, providing consumers with new ways to access goods and services. This, in turn, contributes to more efficient resource allocation and cost reduction.

3. Digital consumerism also opens new horizons for small and medium-sized enterprises, enabling them to compete on a global level. However, the key foundation for ensuring the sustainability of developing countries' economies should be the active implementation of ESG standards, which include not only financial, but also non-financial components. The latter include the development of a unified, structured strategy for national development in emerging economies that takes into account social corporate cooperation, providing attractive conditions for digital consumerism of goods and services not only for their producers, but also for consumers.

List of references:

  1. Apparel market in Latin America - statistics & facts. URL: https://www.statista.com/topics/11138/apparel-market-in-latin-america/#topicOverview [Electronic resource]. Accessed on: 28.01.2025.

  2. Cesar A.N.E. The new digital trends applied to management in inter-organizational and shared Consumerism companies // Components of Scientific and Technological Progress. 2024. № 1 (91). С. 67-72.

  3. Cooper, E. W., & Uzun, H. Busy outside directors and ESG performance. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 2022, 1(20). P. 1-20.

  4. Correa-Garcíaa J, Vásquez-Arangob L. Desempeño ambiental, social y de gobierno (asg): incidencia en el desempeño financiero en el contexto latinoamericano // Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, 2020. P. 67-83.

  5. Crifo P., Diaye M.A., & Oughlissi R. The effect of countries ESG ratings on their sovereign borrowing costs. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 2017, 66(1). P. 13-20.

  6. ESG: three letters that change the world: dokl. to the XXIII Yasinskaya (April) International Scientific Conference on Problems of Economic and Social Development, Moscow, 2022 / I. V. Vederin, K. I. Golovshchinsky, M. I. Davydov, B. B. Pet ko, M. S. Sabirova, V. Terskov, E. A. Shishkin; under the scientific editorship of K. I. Golovshchinsky; Nat. research. Higher School of Economics, Moscow: Publishing House of the Higher School of Economics, 2022.

  7. Fraga A. Amazon And Mercado Libre In Latin America. URL: https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/47436530-abelardo-fraga/5136188-amazon-and-mercadolibre-in-latin-america. Accessed: 29.01.2025.

  8. Jones A., Smith B The Uniqueness of the Technology Industry. Journal of Business Studies, 2019. 45(3). P. 234-256.

  9. Kondratyev K. Ya., Romanyuk L.P. Making development sustainable // IEEE Technology and Society Magazine. 1996. Vol. 15, No. 2. , pp.9-11.

  10. Lee K. Profitability and Sustainable Business Practices. Journal of Financial Economics, 2020. 137(2). P. 486-504.

  11. Serafeim, G. The Materiality of ESG: What Matters to Investors. Harvard Business Review, 2020.

  12. Smith A. Balancing Profit and ESG: The Corporate Dilemma. Financial Times, 2021.

  13. Smith J. Value firms and ESG: Navigating the trade-offs between social responsibility and profitability. Journal of Corporate Finance, 2021, 67, 102075.

  14. Avseiko I. Amazon will benefit from the transition to e-commerce and cloud services. URL: https://www.finam.ru/publications/item/amazon-vyigraet-ot-perexoda-k-elektronnoiy-kommercii-i-oblachnym-servisam-20220207-115000/ [Electronic resource]. Accessed on: 30.01.2025.

  15. Almatov A. S. Neuromarketing in the digital Consumerism landscape // Economics and innovation. Collection of articles by graduate students of the interuniversity scientific and practical conference. Moscow, 2022. pp. 95-99.

  16. Bokova T. Development of electronic commerce in the BRICS countries: features and trends.URL: https://infobrics.org/post/36133/news/news/news/Political%20cooperation/news/Events%20in%20world/. [electronic resource]. Accessed on: 14.01.2025.

  17. Budilina A.V. Digital Consumerism "in the culture of the moment": from phenomenon to consumer characteristics // Bulletin of Culture and Arts. 2023. No. 3 (75). pp. 27-34.

  18. Vorontsovskiy A.V. [Digitalization of the economy and its impact on economic development and public welfare]. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Economy. 2020 Vol. 36.Issue 2. pp. 189-215.

  19. Il'in V. I. Sotsiologiya potrebitelya [Sociology of Consumerism]. Moscow: Yurayt Publ., 2019.

  20. Casarello F. Alibaba: A financially stable and clearly oversold company. URL: https://ru.investing.com/analysis/article-200291505. [electronic resource]. Accessed on: 30.01.2025.

  21. Kotenkov T. [Barriers to the development of electronic commerce in developing countries]. Terra Economicus. 2021. No. 4(3). pp. 154-161.

  22. Skripkin K. G. [Digitalization of the economy: content and main trends]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Series 6. Economy. 2019. No. 6. P. 175.

Просмотров работы: 6