Digital transformation of wholesale incumbents in China’s regional markets of imported fresh fruits
研究中国进口鲜果批发商在数字化转型中的角色，以深圳为例，通过访谈和案例揭示批发商如何与平台互动、重构分销渠道，对理解平台经济下传统企业转型有参考价值。
This paper examines the overlooked influence of wholesale incumbents on the digital transformation of fresh fruit distribution in China’s regional markets, focusing on Shenzhen – a primary hub for imported fruits, particularly from Southeast Asia. Drawing on in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and case studies of dominant wholesalers, for example, Hongjiu Fruit Ltd and Jiangnan wholesale market, and platforms, such as Alibaba, it argues that imported fruit distribution has undergone strategic reconfiguration through incumbent wholesalers’ digitalisation per se, competitive and cooperative interactions with digital platforms, and negotiations with consumers and government agencies. By exploring the dynamic interplay between physical and digital distribution channels, this paper advances the firm-specific strategies framework in the global production networks theory by elucidating the critical role of incumbents in coordinating cross-regional markets in the digital era of platform economy.