Study of the use, limitations, and possibilities of peer-to-peer digital marketplaces for rural micro-enterprises in developing countries.

微型和小型企业（MSE）通常被定义为拥有少于10名工人，年营业额低于10万美元的企业，在平衡收入不平等方面发挥着重要的发展作用，特别是在发展中国家（Asiedu等人，2019;Duncombe & Heeks, 2002）。这是因为MSE因其创造就业和为可持续发展和社会发展创造收入的能力而得到认可（Duncombe & Heeks, 2002）。与此同时，将数字技术用于商业已经成为企业生存的关键，这一点在2019冠状病毒病大流行中得到了证明（Modgil et al., 2022）。MSE也开始采用许多数字解决方案来创新和优化其业务领域的业务运营：包括物流、市场准入、支付和融资渠道。尽管如此，在MSE的总称范围内，由于基础设施、技术、社会（Philip et al., 2017）和干预方法（Makoto et al., 2021），与城市同行相比，农村微型企业（ME）在数字化方面面临着无数挑战。在过去的二十年里，数字计算技术主要是由发达国家的技术公司设计的，通常是针对城市、基础设施连接良好和数字复杂的受众（Hardy et al., 2019）。解决城乡数字鸿沟的传统方法（Hollman等人，2021年）主要是通过赤字模型，即农村技术能力需要“赶上”城市同行。技术设计中的赤字模型和缺乏包容性要求对当前农村社区的数字技术设计持批判态度，需要针对农村定制合适的技术，并根据农村社区独特的技术、经济和人文需求（Räisänen & Tuovinen, 2020）发现独特的数字解决方案（Hardy & Wyche, 2019）。受联合国可持续发展目标第8号“体面工作和经济增长”和第10号“减少不平等”的激励，我的博士提案试图将农村微型企业（ME）被忽视的数字需求与发达国家和发展中国家越来越多地采用点对点（P2P）数字市场结合起来（Akhmadi和Pratolo， 2021），研究发展中国家农村微型企业数字市场的使用、限制和可能性。这项研究要求在研究农村中小企业与P2P数字市场的人机交互（HCI）时采用以用户为中心和共同生产的方法。通过民族志观察、关键利益相关者访谈和参与设计研讨会，本研究试图了解农村中小企业与数字市场的HCI，并寻求与当地利益相关者共同设计一个点对点数字市场框架，以适应发展中国家农村微型企业的需求和局限性。研究问题：农村微型企业在日常业务运营中如何与数字技术互动（或不互动）？在发展中国家农村创业的背景下，目前的数字市场有什么局限性？设计一个适合农村企业家和农村社区需求的点对点数字市场的要求是什么？

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE), which are enterprises typically defined as having less than 10 workers and annual turnover of less than $100,000, play a significant development role in leveling income inequality, especially amongst developing countries (Asiedu et al., 2019; Duncombe & Heeks, 2002). This is because MSE is recognised for its ability to create employment and generate income for sustainable and social development (Duncombe & Heeks, 2002). In the meantime, appropriating digital technologies into commerce has become crucial for the survival of enterprises evident through the COVID19 pandemic (Modgil et al., 2022). MSE likewise have begun adopting numerous digital solutions to innovate and optimise their business operations across its business areas: including logistics, access to market, payments, and access to finance. Despite so, within the umbrella term of MSE, rural micro-enterprises (ME) face a myriad of challenges in digitalisation compared to its urban counterparts due to infrastructural, technological, social(Philip et al., 2017) and interventional approach (Makoto et al., 2021).Digital computing technologies have in the past two decades been predominantly designed by technological companies in developed countries, often for an urban, infrastructurally well-connected and digitally sophisticated audience (Hardy et al., 2019). The traditional approach in addressing the digital divide between rural and urban despite being seen as worsening (Hollman et al, 2021), has primarily been through a deficit model, whereby rural technological capabilities need to 'catch up' with its urban counterparts. The deficit model and the lack of inclusion in technology design calls for a critical view of present digital technology design for rural communities and a need for appropriate technology tailored to the rural and in the discovery of unique digital solutions (Hardy & Wyche, 2019) based on the distinct technological, economical and human needs of rural communities (Räisänen & Tuovinen, 2020).Motivated by the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals No.8 of "Decent Work and Economic Growth" and No.10 of "Reduced Inequality", my PhD proposal attempts to combine the overlooked digital needs of rural micro-enterprise (ME) with the rising adoption of peer-to-peer (P2P) digital marketplaces across the developed and developing world (Akhmadi & Pratolo, 2021) to study the use, limitations, and possibilities of digital marketplaces for rural ME in developing countries. This research calls for a user-centred and co-produced approach in studying rural ME's human-computer interactions (HCI) with P2P digital marketplaces. Through ethnographic observations, key stakeholder interviews, and participatory-design workshops in rural Malaysia, this research attempts to understand the HCI of rural ME' with digital marketplaces and seek to co-design a peer-to-peer digital marketplaces framework with local stakeholders suited to the needs and limitations of rural micro-business in developing countries.Research Questions:How are rural micro-enterprises interacting (or not interacting) with digital technologies in their day-to-day business operations?What are the limitations of current digital marketplaces in the context of rural entrepreneurship in developing countries?What are the requirements for designing a peer-to-peer digital marketplace suited to the needs of rural entrepreneurs and rural communities?