The Moderating Factors of Cross-Border E-Commerce Development Dimensions and the International Trade Value: Pre-Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Era

This study investigates the moderating factors influencing the relationship between cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) development dimensions and international trade value among Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member states prior to the agreement's enforcement. Utilizing a descriptive-correlational research design and secondary data from 2018 to 2021, the study applies Kruskal-Wallis H test and Spearman’s Rho to assess the influence of key CBEC dimensions Internet penetration, trade facilitation, liner shipping connectivity, and logistics performance on import and export values, while controlling for macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, trade dependency, population, and tariff-weighted averages. Findings reveal that liner shipping connectivity and logistics performance are strongly and significantly correlated with trade value, whereas Internet penetration and trade facilitation exhibit weaker or context-dependent effects. When moderated by border processing time, the impact of Internet penetration, trade facilitation, and logistics performance shifts to negative, highlighting potential inefficiencies in trade execution despite digital readiness. The results emphasize the strategic importance of physical infrastructure and border efficiency over digital capacity alone in fostering trade competitiveness in the pre-RCEP landscape. These insights offer vital policy implications for optimizing CBEC-driven trade, especially among emerging economies within the RCEP bloc.