Factors and impact of government policies and internal enterprise characteristics on cross-border e-commerce enterprises' participation in school-enterprise cooperation

Abstract

Cross-border e-commerce has become a new engine for China's economic growth and was introduced as a new major in Chinese higher vocational colleges in 2019. Although vocational colleges actively seek cooperation with enterprises, the enthusiasm for enterprise participation remains insufficient, leading to a disconnect between vocational education and market demand. Given the limited research from the enterprise perspective, this study focuses on the emerging cross-border e-commerce industry and explores the factors influencing its participation in cooperation. This study employs a quantitative research design, incorporating an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Data were collected through structured questionnaires distributed to 401 cross-border e-commerce enterprises in Zhejiang Province. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for analysis to examine the relationships among variables and test moderation and mediation effects. Findings reveal that Perceived Risk (PR) negatively impacts Behavioral Attitude (BA), while Perceived Benefits (PB) have a positive influence. Behavioral Attitude (BA) significantly affects Cooperation Intention (CI), as do Peer Influence (SN.PI), Superior Influence (SN.SI), Perceived Self-efficacy (PBC.PS), and Perceived Controllability (PBC.PC). Cooperation Intention (CI) significantly impacts Cooperation Behavior (CB), with additional positive effects from Perceived Self-efficacy (PBC.PS) and Perceived Controllability (PBC.PC). Cooperation intention (CI) plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between these influencing factors and Cooperation Behavior (CB). Enterprise characteristics moderate the CI-CB relationship variably. Business Model and Internationalization show non-significant moderating effects, while Enterprise Size has a positive effect, indicating larger enterprises exhibit a stronger CI-CB relationship. Leader Gender shows a significant negative moderating effect, suggesting that female leadership may weaken the relationship between cooperation intention and behavior. Perceived Policy Effectiveness (PPE) positively moderates the CI-CB relationship. The theoretical contributions of this study include: 1) constructing a theoretical model from a multidisciplinary perspective, and 2) by adopting the extended TPB model, its subcomponents, and moderating variables, this study enhances its explanatory power. Practically, the findings suggest strategies for policymakers and vocational institutions, such as developing detailed cooperation plans, actively promoting the achievements and benefits, and strengthening policy implementation and supervision. Future research could combine qualitative analysis, introduce additional variables, or extend the study to other industries and regions.