–Shanghai Accelerates Development of Online New Economy The impact of internet on social and economic development cannot be overestimated. Just as Professor Manuel Castells of University of Southern California once said, “the internet has revolutionized interpersonal communication and cooperation, with the diffusion of networking in all realms of activity.” Underpinned by internet technology, the online new economy is no longer a high-end novelty but instead has become a part of our daily life. Although the Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in huge losses for economic and social development, it has highlighted the importance of the internet and greatly contributed to the spreading of the internet across society. In terms of consumption end, for starters, online shopping has become more popular, especially with middle-aged and elderly consumers. After the novel coronavirus broke out, online shopping, in particular fresh produce and non-staple food, has become a life saver instead of a helper. During the lockdown of residential compounds, people couldn’t have survived without online shopping. In the first quarter of this year, the trading volume of Shanghai’s fresh food e-commerce platforms soared to 8.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 167%. Secondly, working from home became a universal phenomenon. As more people got more familiar with and proficient in remote work, they fully realized its great advantages and convenience. Thirdly, primary and secondary school students, who have been jokingly dubbed as “little monsters”, were stuck at home and forced to take online courses. Tablets were snatch up and out of stock. The students found many high-quality education resources on the internet, and learned a lot of knowledge that was previously beyond their reach, which is an eye-opening experience. Businesses have also undergone dramatic changes brought about by the booming online economy in the time of Covid-19. Firstly, online sales have increased by leaps and bounds. Before being hit by the virus, businesses could manage to survive with only offline sales. However, it has dawned on almost all enterprises that they will surely be eliminated by society in the future if they refuse to embrace the internet. Be it the catering industry or the retail industry, they will be walking on one leg without online sales. Their sales performance be greatly affected, and they will be out of business sooner or later. Secondly, unprecedented opportunities have emerged for internet enterprises, especially those engaged in remote work software. For other types of enterprises, the epidemic has provided an opportunity for them to practice how to better integrate internet technology into corporate management, thus effectively enhancing the digitalization level of their management. Amid the epidemic, remote work and digital operation, which used to seem so far away, have become a reality at an unimaginable speed thanks to the efforts of Chinese enterprises. Currently, how can Shanghai shift its online new economy from a high-end novelty to a part of people’s daily life, so as to make a better contribution to promoting consumption and industrial transformation? Below are my three observations: - All organizations need to strengthen internet thinking, interconnectivity and mutual sharing. It has become a must for both enterprises and government agencies to use the internet to mobilize and organize various resources for further development on the basis of 5G and big data. Based on that thinking, Shanghai has developed the government service platform “Government Online-Offline Shanghai” and the city operation service platform of “Online-Offline City Management,” two effective management methods and tools. Shanghai’s 5G construction has picked up pace, and the digital technology has entered the stage of wide application, which is good news. However, we must also keep in mind that technological progress is far from enough. Interconnectivity is not only based on data and technology, but more importantly on internet thinking. Only in this way can we truly change the management method, effectively improve urban management level, enhance the citizens’ sense of gain and happiness, and drive economic growth. - All enterprises need to embrace the internet and pursue management innovation. The epidemic witnessed the emergence of many new marketing methods, such as the mayors of cities and the bosses of companies selling goods through live streaming, which is undoubtedly a kind of management innovation. On the one hand, enterprises should improve and diversify innovation forms so that they can achieve sustainable development; on the other hand, they must develop better and more internet-based business methods. For example, Shanghai can make use of its advantages of internet infrastructure construction to make more progress in promoting large-scale customized products, and capitalize on its talent pool and supply chains to set up examples in building unmanned factories, thus playing a leading role in setting new trends and creating new forms of online economy. - Explore more new business models, and pursue deeper integration of online and offline application scenarios, as well as production and services. Although having been proposed for a long time, the concepts of new manufacturing and new retail remain to be further explored. As far as new manufacturing is concerned, we should further pinpoint and precisely solve consumption pain points. For example, the automobile manufacturing industry can launch personalized configurations based on information technology and flexible manufacturing according to consumer needs, while providing better financial support and after-consumption services. In terms of new retail, for example, during “Double Five Shopping Festival” that covers both online and offline, equal emphasis has been put on discount and experience, as well as on sales and services. Shanghai has launched “23 measures for online new economy”, and will increase the strategic importance of the online new economy in the future. We believe that Shanghai, a city boasting great advantages in talents, industry, finance, technology and other aspects, will carve out a bright future in the new online economy. Author: Dr. Su Yong Source: Wenhui Daily (Dr. Su Yong is a professor from the School of Management at Fudan University, Director of Department of Business Administration, and Dean of Institute of Oriental Management at Fudan University)