A multi-level perspective on 5G transition: The China case

Abstract

The expedite to network economy during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the question of how to induce and sustain a societal and industrial transformation towards a more networked world. Among the driving forces behind network economy, the commercialization of 5G, the fifth generation of mobile technologies, is especially noteworthy. How does 5G induce such a transition? How do countries respond? are questions deserving more investigation. However, most discussions of 5G have been confined to standardization or standard-setting. To take into accounts interactions between technology and economy, we adopt Geels' (2002) multi-level perspective to put 5G transition in the social-technical context. We choose China as an influential case and deploy mixed methods to analyze a variety of data sources. The results show a rich picture of technological transition, including: 1) 5G standard-setting as a transition trigger in the global level; 2) IoT incubation in the niche level; and 3) regime configuration in the national level. We help transcend the limitation of standardization studies, extend the scope of transition studies into network economy, and introduce more industrial dynamics.