Marketplaces as a Tool for Transforming Russia’s Export Activities amid Changes in the Global Economy

Abstract

The article examines the transformation of export activities amid digitalization of the global economy and the increasing role of marketplaces as key elements of modern e-commerce. Special attention is paid to analyzing marketplaces not only as channels of domestic trade, but also as independent digital export tools capable of creating new cross-border trade chains and reducing barriers to entry into international markets for small and medium-sized businesses. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of the global e-commerce market, sales volumes of the largest international and Russian marketplaces, as well as the institutional conditions for the development of Russia’s foreign trade, key trends in the transformation of export models were identified. The article considers the evolution and specifics of the business models of the largest Russian marketplaces, as well as the limitations of the use of global platforms by Russian exporters under foreign policy conditions. A separate section of the study is devoted to the role of the Russian Export Center as an export support institution and identifies the insufficiency of the existing government support measures with regard to platform-based export channels. The scientific novelty of the research lies in clarifying the role of marketplaces in Russia’s export support system for small and medium-sized enterprises and in substantiating the need for their deeper institutional integration into the existing state export promotion system.