Solving Institutional Voids in Modern Russia by Chinese E-Marketplaces

This Master's dissertation is devoted to the study of overcoming institutional voids in the developing economy of Russia using the example of Chinese e-marketplaces. The major examples will be based upon the company AliExpress (AliBaba Group) and Russian Post, a state-owned joint-stock company that is the main postal operator in Russia. I will also touch on some other Chinese examples in order to illustrate the trends. Institutional void is a term thought to be coined by Professor T. Khanna (1968) and Professor K. G. Palepu (1954) in their book Winning In Emerging Markets: A Roadmap for Strategy and Execution (2010). It is the absence of intermediaries in society in the discipline of institutional economics. E-marketplaces and their mutual work with postal system are ideal connections between different economic actors, contributing to the development of institutions and improving the standard of living of the national population. Despite the fact that the T. Khanna and K. G. Palepu book was published relatively long ago, the importance of institutional voids is still evident in all developing economies. This idea is related to the practice of corporate social responsibility, providing ethical business, philanthropy, and charity by companies within and across nations. It also works in the frame of inclusive capitalism, an idea that was popularized in the 2010s after the financial crisis of 2007-2008. According to D. Green (1951), there are different types of capitalism. An inclusive type implies the involvement of the poorest segments of the population in the market. It contributes to the eradication of poverty, improving people's well-being, and rethinking the essence of capitalism. The results of the study show how businesses can solve institutional voids, change in a better way or promote useful shifts in a state’s economic and social development, providing affordable products and services for the national population. This is especially observed as occurring during the current COVID-19 pandemic.