Recently, the team of CWAS of UESTC published their findings titled "Fuzzy Logic-BWM-based Risk Assessment for E-business Cooperation in China-West Africa Digital Trade: A Path to Sustainable Business and Policies" in the international journal "Global Economics Research" (Volume 1, 2025). This work focuses on the practical pain points of China-West Africa digital trade cooperation, constructs a multi-dimensional risk assessment framework, and provides important theoretical support and practical guidance for promoting the sustainable development of bilateral e-commerce. It highlights the disciplinary advantages and international influence of our university in the field of West Africa regional studies.

Abstract

The rapid rise of e-business cooperation between China and West Africa, particularly in Ghana, offers significant opportunities for mutual economic growth and technological advancement. However, the path to sustainable e-business partnerships is fraught with numerous risks that can hinder the efficiency, trust, and long-term viability of cross-border digital trade. This study comprehensively investigates the multifaceted risks involved in this cooperation, focusing on institutional, technological, sociocultural, and legal challenges. Through empirical data collected from 40 experts in Ghana’s key digital sectors, consumer electronics, telecommunications, digital payments, and online retail, the research employs a fuzzy logic-based Best-Worst Method (Fuzzy-BWM) to assess and prioritize these risks. The study finds that institutional risks, particularly inadequate digital transaction regulations and weak data governance frameworks, pose the most significant barriers to e-business collaboration. Technological risks such as cybersecurity vulnerabilities and digital infrastructure deficiencies follow closely behind. Sociocultural factors, including language barriers, divergent consumer behaviors, and cultural misalignments, further complicate cooperation, while legal uncertainties, particularly in relation to intellectual property protection and digital contract enforcement, amplify operational risks. By integrating Transaction Cost Theory (TCT), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Commitment-Trust Theory, the study presents a unified risk assessment framework that illuminates how these risks elevate transaction costs and affect the feasibility of cross-border digital trade. The findings provide critical insights for policymakers, business leaders, and investors, offering strategic recommendations to mitigate these risks, build trust, and foster a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable digital trade ecosystem in the China–West Africa context.

Methodology

1. Case Selection：Ghana was chosen as the research case because it is one of the most digitally advanced countries in West Africa and a regional hub for China-West Africa digital trade cooperation, making it typical and representative.

2. Sample and Data Collection：A non-probability expert sampling method was adopted, selecting 40 practitioners (final valid samples) from four key digital sectors in Ghana: consumer electronics, telecommunications, digital payments, and online retail. Structured questionnaires were distributed via the Qualtrics platform (January-March 2025), covering three parts: demographic information, risk assessment items, and Fuzzy-BWM preference ranking. The effective response rate reached 78.2%.

3. Risk Assessment Dimension Design：Assessment items were designed around four major domains: Institutional Risk Concerns (IRC), Technological Risk Concerns (TRC), Sociocultural Risk Concerns (SRC), and Legal Risk Concerns (LRC). Each dimension adopted a validated scale, and experts rated the risk level using a 9-point Likert scale (1 = least concern, 9 = most significant concern).

4. Analysis Tool：The Fuzzy Logic-Best-Worst Method (Fuzzy-BWM) was used to rank risks by priority, with specific steps including: defining criteria and alternatives → establishing fuzzy number pairwise comparison matrices → defuzzification of fuzzy numbers (Center of Gravity method) → calculating criterion weights → ranking alternatives → defuzzification of results. Meanwhile, the TOPSIS method was used for robustness testing to verify the reliability of the results.

5. Theoretical Integration：Transaction Cost Theory (TCT), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Commitment-Trust Theory were integrated to explain the risk generation mechanism and impact from three dimensions: economic cost, technology adoption behavior, and relational trust.

Research Content

1. Analysis of the Background of China-West Africa E-Business Cooperation：Combining the strategic synergy between the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this study analyzes Ghana’s advantages as a regional digital hub (geographical location, young population, proactive digital policies) and the potential risks (technological, regulatory, legal, sociocultural) faced by cooperation between the two sides.

2. In-depth Deconstruction of Risk Dimensions：

  - Institutional Risks：Focus on issues in Ghana such as the lack of unified e-business policies, inadequate digital transaction supervision, weak data governance, and limited e-government support, as well as their impact on transaction costs and cooperation stability;

  - Technological Risks：Analyze challenges in Ghana including shortage of IT talents, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, deficiencies in digital infrastructure (e.g., internet, payment systems), and difficulty in accessing advanced e-business tools, as well as their constraints on technology adoption and operational continuity;

  - Sociocultural Risks：Explore factors such as language barriers, differences in consumer behavior, cultural misalignment in user experience (UX) of digital platforms, resistance to digital payments, perception of "digital neocolonialism", social media cultural conflicts, and insufficient adaptation to local culture, as well as their impact on user trust and platform acceptance;

  - Legal Risks：Study issues in Ghana such as weak cybercrime legislation and law enforcement, difficulties in intellectual property protection, differences in legal culture, and uncertainty in cross-border digital contracts, as well as their impact on cooperation trust and compliance costs.

3. Construction and Application of Theoretical Framework：With Transaction Cost Theory (TCT) as the core, explain how institutional and legal risks increase transaction costs through information asymmetry and enforcement risks; use the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to analyze the impact of technological risks on users’ "perceived usefulness" and "perceived ease of use"; supplement the role of trust in risk mitigation in the context of sociocultural risks with Commitment-Trust Theory, forming a multi-dimensional risk analysis system.

4. Empirical Assessment of Risk Priority：Calculate weights and rank sub-risks under the four dimensions using Fuzzy-BWM to identify key risk points; verify the consistency of results with the TOPSIS method to ensure the robustness of the assessment conclusions.

Research Conclusions

1. Results of Risk Priority Ranking：Legal risks (especially contract uncertainty, global weight 0.115) are the most critical barrier to China-West Africa e-business cooperation; technological risks (cybersecurity 0.086, cybercrime legislation 0.084) follow closely; sociocultural risks (language barriers 0.066, digital literacy 0.062, payment resistance 0.059), although with slightly lower weights, have a significant impact on user adoption; institutional risks (policy absence, digital transaction supervision, etc., weight 0.009-0.011) are considered the least impactful risks currently, reflecting that practitioners pay more attention to "immediate operational threats" than "long-term governance challenges".

2. Verification of Risk Impact Mechanism：The four major risks increase cross-border transaction costs through different paths—institutional risks exacerbate policy uncertainty, technological risks cause operational disruptions, sociocultural risks reduce user trust, and legal risks increase compliance and dispute resolution costs, ultimately jointly restricting the feasibility of digital trade.

3. Practical Implications：

  - Policy Level：Accelerate the harmonization of African digital trade regulations, improve the data governance system, formulate strong cybersecurity laws, and strengthen intellectual property protection and digital contract enforcement mechanisms;

  - Enterprise Level：Increase investment in digital infrastructure and cybersecurity, and cultivate local IT talents; promote the cultural and linguistic localization of digital platforms to enhance user experience and trust;

  - Cooperation Level：Carry out joint China-West Africa digital skills training, jointly build culturally adapted digital solutions, alleviate sociocultural barriers, and promote inclusive growth.

4. Theoretical Contributions and Limitations：For the first time, TCT, TAM, and Commitment-Trust Theory are integrated to construct a China-West Africa e-business risk assessment framework, filling the gap in regional digital trade risk research; limitations include the research scope covering only Ghana, small sample size, and cross-sectional design. Future research can expand to multiple West African countries, adopt longitudinal research, and incorporate more risk dimensions such as environment and geopolitics.

See the link for the full text：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S3050803725000147

This paper was completed by Tamimu Mohammed Gadafi under the guidance of Professor Zhao Shurong . It has been included in the Journal of Global Economics Research.This work was supported by Sichuan Social Science Planned Key Research Project (No. SCJJ23ND61).