The uneven power of the platform: Variations in E-commerce entrepreneurial behaviours in urban, suburban, and rural contexts

The platform economy is increasingly digitally mediating a wide range of everyday practices, though its influence on spatial relationships of economic activities remains in the early stages of exploration. This study draws on data from 300 structured questionnaires collected from e-commerce businesses located in urban, suburban, and rural areas to identify and compare how e-commerce entrepreneurs interact with platform space and different physical places. Our analysis captures three distinct spatial interaction patterns of e-commerce firms in urban, suburban and rural areas. The power of platforms is geographically uneven. Platforms do not necessarily alleviate the challenges faced by rural areas. Nor do they only further concentrate activity in existing urban agglomerations. Instead, they further complicate the economic geographical landscape found between urban economic agglomeration and dispersion. • Digital platforms reshape the landscape of economic activities within urban systems. • Urban, suburban, and rural e-commerce firms exhibit distinct spatial interaction patterns. • Platform networks exert uneven power across different spatial contexts. • Rural e-commerce entrepreneurs still rely heavily on local economies. • Geography continues to shape entrepreneurial activities in platform economy.