Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy and Rural Residents' E-commerce Entrepreneurial Willingness －Analysis of micro-survey data from China

Rural innovation and entrepreneurship serve as crucial driving forces in revitalizing Chinese rural areas. In the context of the national rural revitalization strategy, rural e-commerce has created new ways for agricultural products' entry into cities, rural industry's development, and farmers' employment and entrepreneurship, effectively helping farmers achieve common prosperity. However, despite great progress, rural e-commerce is still facing a large market gap compared with the comprehensive needs of rural economic and social development. Furthermore, rural residents' entrepreneurial motivation to engage in e-commerce activities needs to be strengthened. To address the issues above, this study investigates the impact of two elements, i.e., entrepreneurship and financial literacy, on rural residents' entrepreneurial desire to launch e-commerce, while discussing the mechanisms of influence and adjustment. Based on the rooted theory and literature analysis, this study derives three core research hypotheses on which the questionnaire is designed by strictly following the relevant process. Using the multi-stage sampling method, this study conducted a field questionnaire survey in 192 selected e-commerce specialized villages in 10 cities in Zhejiang Province and collected 1,524 pieces of valid sample data, finding that: ① entrepreneurship can significantly boost rural residents' e-commerce entrepreneurial willingness; ② financial literacy plays a positive moderating role between entrepreneurship and rural residents' e-commerce entrepreneurial willingness; and ③ as shown in heterogeneity study, the lower a rural group's educational level, the greater the positive influence of entrepreneurship on their e-commerce entrepreneurial willingness. While providing an empirical enlightenment for improving rural residents' e-commerce entrepreneurial willingness and cultivating agricultural entrepreneurs from a micro perspective on rural residents, this study expects to ease the pressure in rural growth and boost the rural rehabilitation initiative of China.