Platformized China: Research on Internet Platform Embedding in Social Governance

This book answer why Internet platforms in China with commercial attributes were able to take part in social governance with public attributes and how. It helps reveal and understand how “platformalization” processes within de-westernized context.

The book lies in the background that nowadays Internet platforms are leveraging ubiquitous influence and becoming “infrastructure” of social life. In China, Internet platforms are widely taking part in social governance practices, through which they are becoming more and more powerful that makes the government and the ordinary increasingly dependent on them. Here comes the research question: In China, why Internet platforms with commercial attributes were able to take part in social governance with public attributes and how?

To address this question, theoretical frame from the perspective of Embeddedness theory was adopted, which suggested an investigation of the interplay and mutual shaping relationship between platform and the society. Specifically, the triangle of platforms, government and users was explored to investigate the embeddedness of Internet platforms in social governance.