INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS: FEATURES AND USAGE

Over the past few decades, the use of e-commerce in business has increased significantly. More and more companies that used to focus exclusively on offline operations are beginning to consider e-commerce as a promising area of strategic development. As a result, studying the state of the e-commerce market in Ukraine, as well as trends and barriers to its development, will allow to develop an understanding of the peculiarities of the functioning and growth of business entities in the context of the Ukrainian online environment. In this regard, it is worth paying special attention to the study of the specifics of the development of the e-commerce market as a strategic recovery of the Ukrainian economy. The subject of the study is the process of development of the Ukrainian e-commerce market in the conditions of war. The purpose is to research and analyse the state of the e-commerce market in Ukraine in the context of growing instability caused by the war, as well as to identify key issues and trends in the development of the e-commerce system in an unstable and changing environment. The questions of this study require the use of a combination of general scientific and modern research methods, among which the most important are the method of system analysis (when studying the approaches and points of view of Ukrainian and Western scientists), economic and statistical analysis (to determine the trends in the development of e-commerce in Ukraine), analysis and synthesis (when studying the types and models of e-commerce), graphic analysis (to visualize a number of theoretical and practical provisions of the article). The article examines the state of the e-commerce market in Ukraine during the war. It finds that until 2022 there was a significant increase in the volume and growth rate of the e-commerce market. With the outbreak of the war, the market experienced a dramatic drop in volume, but from 2023 significant stabilisation processes took place. The importance of further development of the e-commerce market not only during the war, but also to overcome its consequences during the post-war recovery period is determined. Conclusions. Ukrainian e-commerce is experiencing high growth rates. The barriers to entering the online market are relatively low and the benefits of e-commerce for users and entrepreneurs are tangible. However, at the current stage, the Ukrainian e-commerce market has many unresolved issues that hinder its development. If the key issues are effectively addressed, the development of e-commerce in Ukraine will have a future.

Contents: Volume I Acknowledgements Introduction Rohan Kariyawasam PART I WTO, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND ANTITRUST 1. Wonki Min (2000), 'Telecommunications Regulations: Institutional Structures and Responsibilities' 2. Yoshiko Kurisaki (1995), 'The Changing Role of Telecommunications in the Economy: Globalisation and Its Impact on National Telecommunications Policy' 3. Rohan Kariyawasam (2007), 'International Telecommunications' 4. Peter L. Smith and Bjoern Wellenius (1999), 'Mitigating Regulatory Risk in Telecommunications' 5. Marco C.E.J. Bronckers and Pierre Larouche (1997), 'Telecommunication Services and the World Trade Organization' 6. Lee Tuthill (1996), 'Users' Rights? The Multilateral Rules on Access to Telecommunications' 7. Lee Tuthill (1997), 'The GATS and New Rules for Regulators' 8. Mark Naftel and Lawrence J. Spiwak (2000), 'The WTO and the Reference Paper: An Ostensible Blueprint for Entry' 9. Markus Fredebeul-Krein and Andreas Freytag (1997), 'Telecommunications and WTO Discipline: An Assessment of the WTO Agreement on Telecommunication Services' 10. Timothy Denton (2002), 'Protocol Interfaces Are the New Bottlenecks: What the Internet Means for Telecom Regulation' 11. Rohan Kariyawasam (2005), 'Defining Dominance for Bits and Bytes: A New Layering Theory for Interpreting Significant Market Power?' 12. Sonali Singh (2006), 'The Telmex Dispute at the WTO: Competition Makes a Backdoor Entry' 13. Eleanor M. Fox (2006), 'The WTO's First Antitrust Case - Mexican Telecom: A Sleeping Victory for Trade and Competition' PART II THE CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTRONIC INTANGIBLES IN THE WTO 14. Peter Hill (1999), 'Tangibles, Intangibles and Services: A New Taxonomy for the Classification of Output' 15. Rohan Kariyawasam (2007), 'The Classification of Electronic Intangibles in the WTO' 16. Claude E. Barfield (2003), 'Electronic Commerce and the Gats Negotiations' 17. Harald Sander (2003), 'Electronic Commerce and Gats Negotiation (Some Comments on a Paper by Claude E. Barfield)' 18. Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (2006), 'The Internet, Cross-Border Trade in Services, and the GATS: Lessons from US-Gambling' 19. Federico Ortino (2006), 'Treaty Interpretation and the WTO Appellate Body Report in US - Gambling: A Critique' 20. Maria Veronica Perez Asinari (2006), 'Internet Gambling and Betting Services: When the GATS' Rules Are Not Applied Due to the Public Morals/Public Order Exception. What Lessons Can Be Learnt?' Name Index Volume II: Acknowledgements Introduction Rohan Kariyawasam PART I WTO AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 1. Heinz Hauser and Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (2000/2001), 'A Call for the WTO E-Commerce Initiative' 2. Daniel Piazolo (2001), 'Multilateral and European Responses to E-Commerce' 3. Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (2003), 'The Digital Trade Agenda of the U.S.: Parallel Tracks of Bilateral, Regional and Multinational Liberalization' 4. Michael Hart and Ramesh Chaitoo (1999), 'Electronic Commerce and International Trade Rules' 5. Olivier Cattaneo and Julia Nielson (2002), 'Regulation of Services Traded Electronically' 6. Rosemary Morris (2000), 'Electronic Commerce: A Cluster Approach to the Negotiation of Input Services' PART II INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, BILATERALISM AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 7. Keith E. Maskus (1998), 'The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Encouraging Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Transfer' 8. Olivier Cattaneo (2003), 'Intellectual Property Rights in the New Economy: Technological Changes and the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights' 9. Carlos M. Correa (2000), 'Implications of Intellectual Property Rights for the Access to and Use of Information Technologies in Developing Countries' 10. Peter Drahos (2001), 'Bilateralism in Intellectual Property' PART III DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, THE NEW ECONOMY AND THE WTO 11. Sanjeev Dewan, Dale Ganley and Kenneth L. Kraemer (2005), 'Across the Digital Divide: A Cross-Country, Multi-Technology Analysis of the Determinants of IT Penetration' 12. Lars T. Soeftestad and Maung K. Sein (2003), 'ICT and Devolopment: East is East and West is West and the Twain may yet Meet. On the Process of Implementing an ICT-Strategy in the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)' 13. Rohan Kariyawasam (2007), 'Developing Countries and Telecommunications' 14. Peter F. Cowhey and Mikhail M. Kilmenko (2001), 'Implementing Telecommunications Liberalization in Developing Countries after the WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services' 15. Arvind Panagariya (2000), 'E-Commerce, WTO and Developing Countries' 16. Catherine L. Mann (2000), 'Electronic Commerce in Developing Countries: Issues for Domestic Policy and WTO Negotiations' 17. David Vivas Eugui (2001), 'Issues on the Relationship Between E-Commerce and Intellectual Property Rights in the WTO: Implications for Developing Countries' Name Index

The aim of the study is to present the premises that make it difficult to reach a multilateral agreement on electronic commerce in the World Trade Organization. Electronic commerce at the end of the second decade of the 21st century is an inseparable element of international trade, as a result of the digital revolution leading to lower costs when companies enter the global market. They often take into account the digital revolution of the state when creating new business models, especially in China, which has obtained the world's leading position in the field of digital services export. Increasing competition in the field of digital services, in the absence of regulations on electronic commerce in the WTO, will increase the interest of developed countries, including Australia, the United States, the European Union, Japan, African countries to solve the subject of e-commerce in regional integration agreements. The problems with reaching an agreement on electronic commerce in the WTO result not only from the specificity of trade in electronic form but from the general strategy of trade liberalization in other sectors. Classification-JEL: Keywords: International trade; electronic trade; e-commerce; World Trade Organization; digital economy

This article starts from the context of post-pandemic consumer overheating in the domestic market and explores the impact of e-commerce and short video live-streaming platforms on the consumption habits of student groups. Based on the theoretical perspective of behavioral economics, it conducts a psychological study of students' consumption characteristics. As a result, it concludes that the influence of e-commerce and short video live-streaming platforms on student consumption habits is primarily negative. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to and educate students on cultivating their consumer attitudes and improving their understanding of consumption.

At present, the pace of development of China's e-commerce is very fast, but the most important part in electronic commerce logistics can not meet the requirements of the development of electronic commerce, so the research on electronic commerce and logistics coordinated development is very meaningful. The purpose of this study is to find out the factors that restrict the coordinated development of e-commerce and logistics, and formulate the development strategy according to these constraints. In this study, through literature review and summarized the electronic commerce and logistics coordinated development situation, and summed up the electronic commerce and logistics coordinated development problems, we give the conclusion is: Electronic Commerce and logistics cannot be coordinated development of several aspects, which is not the transmission of information, service and sales. Our research shows that the government and the related enterprises adopt some corresponding strategies to solve the problem of collaborative development. These strategies are: using existing resources to integrate logistics enterprises at the end, constructing e-commerce and logistics collaborative information platform, and innovating management technology to improve the level of collaborative management. This study provides a new idea for the government and related enterprises.

With the development of e-commerce, online shopping has become one of the most important consumer channels. However, the lack of government supervision, insufficient review of e-commerce platforms, illegal sales of online sellers and invalid consumer complaints have led to frequent green product quality problems during online shopping. Therefore, this paper considers that the online seller may be driven by interests, colluding with the e-commerce platform and selling low quality green product. At the same time, we introduce consumer feedback, and take the government supervision department, the online seller and the e-commerce platform as actors of the evolutionary game. In this paper, the evolutionary strategy choices of each actor were analyzed, and the influence of different factors on the evolutionary stability results was explored. Research indicates: firstly, consumer complaints play an indirect regulatory role for the online seller; secondly, the enhancement of the loss-sharing relationship between the online seller and the e-commerce platform can promote the legal operation of the two and prevent collusion; thirdly, the impact of consumer complaints on the choice of the e-commerce platform depends on the government supervision department’s penalty for the e-commerce platform; finally, the e-commerce platform establishes a reasonable reward system, which can make up for the defects of the online seller using advanced technology to avoid punishment. Our paper uses Matlab 2017 for simulation analysis and provides effective advices on how to urge the government supervision department to effectively supervise, promote the e-commerce platform to enhance review, urge the online seller to legal sale, and encourage consumers to legally defend their rights.

This article engages in the exercise of developing criteria with which to measure the panel and Appellate Body reports of the WTO for the extent of their judicial activism. Pursuant to Article 3.2, judicial activism at the World Trade Organization (WTO) should be identified not only by behavioural patterns but also by the results the DSB produced. The development of the electronic commerce provides an interesting case study on WTO's judicial decision-making. Should DSB be permitted to 'modernize' agreements to cope with the 'new' services? After methodologically analysing all e-commerce cases under the WTO, this article concludes that activism was extreme in US-Gambling because the panel and Appellate Body invented limitations on the sovereign rights of members to regulate, which has no foundation in the treaty text and no general basis in international law. Different from the 'activist ruling' in US-Gambling, the Appellate Body in China-Audiovisual Services has demonstrated some activism in its interpretation of the 'object and purpose' of the GATS. Similarly, the panel of China-Payment Card has shown certain activism in its interpretation of provisions on the objective of progressive liberalization contained in the Preamble to the GATS.

The monograph "Digital Economy: E-Business and E-Commerce Management" is the result of many years of scientific work of Doctor of Economics, Professor of the Faculty of Economics of Lomonosov Moscow State University Lapidus. This is the first complete and comprehensive study devoted to one of the most pressing issues of our time – Digital Economy. Themonographrevealstheessenceofthedigitaleconomy, substantiatesthechangestakingplaceinthemodelsofproduction, distribution, exchange and consumption. The objective reasons for digitalization of economy have been analyzed. The reasons of transition to the new model of joint consumption of Sharing Economy are grounded. The processes of reducing the life cycle of innovations, increasing competition for the Internet audience and a record growth of companies' capitalization are explained. The influence of the digital economy on various spheres of business is shown. Theoretical propositions and practical recommendations for managing e-business and e-commerce are presented in terms of the transformation of business models under the influence of the evolution of digital technologies. The branch peculiarities of e-business and e-commerce development in transport, on-line travel, in catering and in the market of on-line food delivery, in the digital content market in the segment of computer games, in the segment of music services (streaming services) and etc.are studied. The principles of business modeling, the features of building business models for different market segments (B2B, B2C, C2C, etc.), success factors and risks of electronic commerce are disclosed. Particular attention is paid to the world practice of successfully building effective business models of e-business and e-commerce from the birth of a business idea to market launch, embedding e-business tools in the development strategy of traditional companies. The business models Free-to-Play, Freemium-model, Print-on-Demand, Sharing Economy, Full-Crowdsourcing, Donation, etc., the basics of monetizing network communities, the structure of Facebook income, WhatsApp, LINE, success factors and risks of electronic business, features of building an electronic marketing system, managing advertising and business promotion in a digital economy are revealed. Particular attention is paid to innovative e-commerce technologies and their impact on consumer behavior, the formation of new markets and changing the nature of companies that conduct business on the Internet, taking into account the world trends and features of conducting electronic business in Russia. The possibilities of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, Internet of things (IoT), BIG DATA, artificial intelligence based on Machine Learning technologies, virtual and augmented reality, robotization, 3D printers are considered. Features of management of an infrastructure of electronic business and electronic commerce are revealed.

Problem Statement. In the context of modern digital transformation, the structure of enterprise distribution channels is undergoing significant change. The development of e-commerce, marketplaces, social commerce, and digital platforms is forming a new ecosystem of interaction between manufacturers, intermediaries, and consumers. Traditional channels are becoming less effective without the integration of digital tools, which necessitates the revision and modernization of enterprises’ distribution policies. The purpose of the article is to explore enterprise product distribution channels in the digital economy, taking into account the differences between B2B and B2C models and identifying key factors for their optimization. Research methods: analysis, systematization, comparison, classification, graphical interpretation, and structural-functional analysis. The research hypothesis assumes that a rational selection of distribution channels in the context of digitalization increases the effectiveness of distribution policy and reduces conflicts among stakeholders. Presentation of the main material. The study examines the specifics of distribution in the digital economy and summarizes the main channels characteristic of the B2B and B2C segments. It is established that an effective distribution system is a combination of direct, indirect, online, and offline channels. Conflicts among key stakeholders manufacturers, distributors, marketplaces, and end consumers have been systematized. A classification of distribution channels is provided, along with key directions for their optimization. Originality and practical significance lie in identifying approaches to optimizing distribution channels with consideration of digital tools and stakeholder interests. The results may be used by enterprises to develop a modern distribution strategy. Conclusions. The optimal distribution channel in the digital economy is an integrated model that ensures market coverage, personalization, and effective pricing. Aligning the interests of distribution system participants helps reduce conflicts and enhance enterprise competitiveness. Further research should focus on quantitative assessment of channel efficiency and the development of models for integrated omnichannel systems.

Due to the rapidly growing use of the Internet, the development of electronic commerce (defined by the World Trade Organization as “the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means”1) has become one of the key aspects of today’s sustained growth. It influences productivity, facilitates the international movement of goods and services, and stimulates export and import trade. The European Union, as well as many multinational organisations, is working towards the harmonisation of their rules, and to facilitate and streamline this kind of international exchange. In this article, the author presents selected documents on electronic commerce published by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Chamber of Commerce and the European Union since 1994.

Over the last two decades, the number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) including provisions on electronic commerce (e-commerce) or digital trade displayed explosive growth. This phenomenon was especially notable in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), a region that has demonstrated rapid development of e-commerce. This article provides an up-to-date review of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, focusing on its e-commerce chapter (Chapter 12). By evaluating the change in trends and developments of APAC PTAs covering digital trade, it demonstrates where the RCEP stands. The RCEP E-Commerce chapter is compared to the one in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to assess the scope of coverage along with points of convergence and divergence. The article also investigates the World TradeOrganization (WTO)’s Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce (JSI) and how the provisions in the latest text being negotiated compare to the e-commerce chapters in the RCEP and CPTPP. The article assesses the RCEP’s key implications. Its core value lies on it being an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - driven negotiation that encompasses the three digital powerhouses of Northeast Asia (China, Japan and South Korea), promoting regional economic integration by bringing together many members who did not have prior common commitments while providing a flexible approach, through variations in schedules and broad exceptions to cater for national sensitivities. Electronic Commerce, Digital Trade, Asia-Pacific, Preferential Trade Agreements, RCEP, CPTPP, World Trade Organization, Joint State Initiative on E-commerce

The rapid development of information and communication technology has resulted in the emergence of a new economy marked by the phenomenon of internet-based business or e-commerce. The economic growth of the middle class of Southeast Asian people in the digital economy era is moving towards a non-cash transaction system and changing the lifestyle of people who depend on the internet for traveling, shopping and doing business online as well as creating new phenomena for the growth of the e-commerce industry or electronic commerce is attractive and growing rapidly. What is interesting is how the influence of middle class economic growth on the development of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. The method used in conducting this research is descriptive qualitative which aims to describe the phenomenon of the growth of the middle class in the development of e-commerce in Southeast Asia systematically for research and problem solving. The estimation results of this study are that with the increasing number of middle class people who use technology for business activities in the network, the development of e-commerce in ASEAN is marked by the use of electronic payment methods or cashless payments where business transaction processes become more efficient and stimulate economic growth. The emergence of new startups. The challenge for the use of e-commerce is readiness in overcoming problems related to ICT such as cyber security, internet networks and adequate ICT infrastructure. Every country in Southeast Asia has advantages and limitations in the use of e-commerce but digital globalization forces countries in Southeast Asia that are experiencing an economic growth to be prepared to build e-commerce infrastructure, especially for MSMEs by utilizing e-commerce to open new markets that are more and the government must prepare infrastructure and regulations that support entrepreneurs to compete in the current e-commerce era.

The aim of the article. The purpose of the study was to revel the essence, models, forms and tools of e-commerce, to summarize existing problems that negatively affect the development of e-commerce and possible directions for their solution. Analysis results. As a result of the comparative analysis, it was established that e-commerce is a part of electronic business and is a process of buying and selling goods or services via the Internet or other digital networks, covering online transactions, electronic payments, ordering and delivery of products. It uses various digital tools, including payment systems, online advertising, mobile applications for shopping, and allows access to the global market, regardless of the geographical location of the seller or buyer. Various models and forms of company presence on the Internet are identified and characterized. The components of e-commerce are summarized and defined, among which attention is focused on the application in practical activities of various tools, including online stores, electronic payment systems, customer interaction management systems, logistics, analytical systems and marketing tools. As a result of the analysis of various scientific views, the advantages of e-commerce and traditional forms of sales are revealed, which indicates the possibility of their simultaneous existence. Based on the analysis of secondary data, the most common problems and challenges that currently negatively affect and may affect the development of e-commerce in the future have been identified and summarized. The main directions that positively affect the opinions of buyers and their decisions to make online purchases, as well as will contribute to the further development of e-commerce, have been outlined. Conclusions and prospects for further research. The rapid development of e-commerce directly affects various types of businesses. Therefore, the immediate priority is to quickly develop and implement new technologies for promoting and selling goods online through various online channels. E-commerce marketing tools should be aimed at providing potential buyers with a more personalized experience that will increase the efficiency of trade and the level of conversions. Such state-of-the-art tools should be used by implementing technologies such as neural networks, machine learning, AI-based recommendation systems, big data science methods, and autoregressive models. The use of e-business in commercial operations requires consideration of endogenous and exogenous elements that influence it. Given the importance of both variables for relationship-based marketing and the opportunities of e-business in the competitive struggle, companies should apply and work to strengthen digital marketing capabilities and strategies to contribute to the effectiveness of their organization, growth and survival in globalized trade, and gaining competitive advantages, as well as apply e-marketing as a new technological activity. Therefore, future scientific research will be aimed at studying the factors that stimulate the development of e-commerce and their impact on the formation of eCommerce marketing strategies.

In recent years, with the development of the Internet and artificial intelligence, e-commerce platforms have grown rapidly in many countries and occupied an important position in national consumption. A key reason why e-commerce platforms can exert a huge impact on traditional physical consumption models lies in their powerful algorithmic analysis capabilities. These platforms can generate content tailored to users' identities and interests based on their browsing trajectories and consumption preferences. This personalized generation model firmly grasps consumers' consumption habits and needs. Therefore, relying on personalized recommendation algorithms, e-commerce platforms have fully tapped consumers' consumption potential, continuously grown and expanded, and formed a unique dynamic cultural ecosystem. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of TikTok, a specific e-commerce platform, starting from the personalized recommendation algorithms that integrate users' browsing trajectories and consumption preferences. The content includes the characteristics of these algorithms on TikTok, the recommended content generated by the algorithms, and the generation mechanisms of the algorithms. Combined with cutting-edge relevant research data, this study summarizes the application status, current hot spots, and development trends of such algorithms in e-commerce platforms.

Due to the increasing number of internet users worldwide and the development of e-commerce contracts, the idea of e-consumer protection has become more necessary and has got more attention at the international level. This research aims to examine the justifications of consumer protection in electronic commerce. The importance of this research appears in shadow of enacting the Iraqi Consumer Protection Law No. 1 of 2010, where it did not include any legal provisions for the protection of transactions conducted by through the Internet. We found that the justifications for consumer protection in e-commerce are legal and technical justifications. The most important legal justifications is the legal status of the consumer in relation to the profession, the latter is the strongest economically and cognitively, unlike the consumer who is in a weak position, which makes the relationship between the parties not balanced while, the most important technical justifications is the development in the field of information and communications technology, in addition to the issue of consumer confidence in e-commerce as one of the issues that can limit the size and development of e-commerce.