Title: From Traditional Markets to Digital Platforms: Marketplace Ecosystems and International Digital Integration in Developing Economies
Authors: Sidikov Zafar Absalom o'g'li
Volume: 10
Issue: 8
Pages: 55-59
Publication Date: 2026/08/28
Abstract:
Digital marketplaces are increasingly embedded in the transition from geographically bounded commerce to platform based exchange, yet stronger domestic platform readiness does not necessarily translate into deeper international digital integration. This study examines that distinction using a balanced panel of 50 developing and emerging economies from 2015 to 2024, comprising 500 country year observations. A Digital Marketplace Development index is constructed by principal component analysis from internet use, fixed broadband subscriptions, account ownership, and digital payment use. The first component explains 67.17 percent of total variance, with a Kaiser Meyer Olkin statistic of 0.623 and a significant Bartlett test. International digital integration is proxied by a principal component index combining ICT goods export intensity and trade openness. Country and year fixed effects models with standard errors clustered by country show that marketplace readiness is positively related to integration in pooled patterns, but its within country effect is small and statistically insignificant after controls. The interaction with digital infrastructure is also insignificant. Robustness checks using a lagged marketplace index and an equal weight alternative lead to the same conclusion. Uzbekistan illustrates the resulting conversion gap: in 2024 it ranked 18th of 50 economies on marketplace readiness, above the sample median, while its international digital integration score remained below the median. The findings suggest that connectivity and payment readiness are necessary foundations, but complementary cross border capabilities are required to convert domestic marketplace development into international digital integration.