From Digital Access to Unequal Value Capture

Purpose. This study moves beyond a programme-success narrative to examine how agro-based enterprises convert digital platform access into commercial value and why outcomes are unevenly distributed among participants of the Agromarketing Masterclass TikTok Shop Edition (AMTTSE), a FAMA–TikTok Shop social-commerce intervention in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach. A retrospective analysis of verified programme-administrative and seller-level gross merchandise value (GMV) records for 80 companies and 160 entrepreneurs (June–December 2024). The study applies descriptive distribution analysis, concentration measurement (top-k shares, Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve), seller segmentation, subgroup comparison and sensitivity analysis excluding leading sellers. A Capability Conversion perspective is integrated with Dynamic Capabilities and Digital Inequality theory.

Findings. Cumulative sales reached RM6,205,957.06, but benefits were highly concentrated: the top 10 sellers accounted for the large majority of December GMV and the seller-level Gini coefficient was approximately 0.71. Of 80 companies, 25 recorded zero GMV while 55 were active. Short-video (44.6%) and livestream (35.4%) channels dominated value capture. Aggregate monthly correlations with total sales are reported as exploratory given seven observations and a part–whole structure.

Originality. The article is materially distinct from the prior JIBE publication: it addresses a new research problem (performance inequality rather than programme effectiveness), uses a differentiated unit of analysis (seller-level concentration), adds genuine analytical value (Gini, Lorenz, segmentation, sensitivity) and contributes a Capability Conversion framework for inclusive digital agribusiness policy. Prior publication is disclosed transparently.

Keywords: Digital agribusiness; agropreneurship; social commerce; market access; emerging economy; digital inclusion; performance concentration; agrifood MSMEs; Malaysia

Social commerce differs from conventional e-commerce because purchase decisions are shaped by social interaction, creator credibility, entertainment value and real-time product demonstration. In agribusiness, livestream and short-video formats allow perishable and processed products to be demonstrated, trusted and sold without the intermediary and geographic constraints that traditionally limit rural enterprises.

The prior AMTTSE evaluation drew on the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory to explain performance differences through digital storytelling, product-demonstration skill and adaptive storefront management. This article extends that foundation in three ways. First, a Capability Conversion perspective explains that access to training and a digital platform does not automatically produce value: enterprises differ in their ability to convert resources, market access and digital opportunities into commercial outcomes. Second, Dynamic Capabilities are invoked only where the data evidence sensing, seizing or reconfiguring activity — not inferred from sales alone. Third, a Digital Inequality / Inclusive Development lens distinguishes formal platform access from effective commercial participation, connecting to the established agribusiness problem of overcoming geographic, intermediary, distribution and information constraints.

Recent JADEE scholarship reinforces the relevance of this angle. Khanh et al. (2023) examine farmers’ use of social media to market agricultural products; Nguyen and Nguyen (2022) analyse collaboration in agricultural value chains; and Rahman and Tan (2024) assess technology-adoption readiness among fresh agricultural traders in Malaysia. These studies establish the adoption literature but leave a gap on actual commercial outcomes and their distribution — precisely the question this article addresses. The research gap is therefore: prior work shows that agro-enterprises can adopt digital channels, but little transaction-based evidence explains why equal access yields unequal value capture.

Digital access versus effective market participation. The RM6.2 million cumulative outcome confirms that AMTTSE created aggregate value, but the seller-level distribution shows that access did not translate into participation for everyone. With 25 of 80 companies recording zero December GMV, formal enrolment overstated effective commercial activation.

Performance concentration. A Gini coefficient of approximately 0.71 and a top-10 share of 52.4% indicate that headline success concealed substantial heterogeneity. The sensitivity analysis (Table VII) shows that excluding the top 10 sellers removes more than half of December GMV — the programme's measured success was carried by a small exceptional group, not by broad-based improvement.

Platform channel complementarity. Short video (44.6%) and livestream (35.4%) dominated value capture. These are treated as complementary conversion mechanisms, not as independent causal predictors: because channel values are components of total sales, their mechanical correlation with the total is expected and is reported only as exploratory evidence (seven monthly observations, part–whole structure).

Agribusiness-specific constraints. Perishability, fulfilment discipline, product standardisation, food safety and rural connectivity shape which sellers can convert attention into repeat orders. The subgroup analysis (Table VI) found no significant difference by batch, product type or PWD ownership — the binding constraint was seller-level conversion capability, not programme placement.

Emerging-economy context. Malaysia's experience is transferable where public agencies use platform partnerships for agribusiness development, but the inclusion gap is a design problem: participation-based KPIs reward enrolment while concealing inactive sellers.

The study uses secondary administrative data without a control group, pre-intervention seller-level performance or behavioural variables such as livestream duration, video views, conversion rates and repeat purchases. The seven monthly observations limit causal inference, and concentration among leading sellers constrains generalisability beyond Malaysia. Future research should collect seller-level monthly GMV, pre/post-intervention sales, training-attendance and mentoring-intensity data, and pair quantitative analysis with purposive interviews across high-, moderate-, low- and zero-performing sellers to explain why equal access produced unequal outcomes.

The AMTTSE intervention produced measurable aggregate agribusiness outcomes, but the answer to the research questions is unambiguous: digital access was converted into value unevenly. A Gini of 0.71, a top-10 GMV share of 52.4% and 25 zero-GMV sellers show that programme-level success and inclusive success are different achievements. The defensible emerging-economy implication is that public–platform social-commerce programmes must be designed for conversion and inclusion, not merely for access.