From bottom-up to top-down: governance, institutionalisation, and innovation in Chinese makerspaces

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article deals with the governance and institutionalisation of Chinese makerspaces. Existing research on the governance of makerspace has proposed two governance models or ‘paradigms’: bottom-up commons-based peer production and top-down public policy based governance. This article is trying to explore how makerspace in China is governed by a multitude of institutional forces. By examining three maker communities, it is argued that: (1) the dominant model of governing Chinese makerspaces does not adhere to either of these two models. This paper proposed an alternative one: a ‘subtle top-down’ model that accounts for the dialectics between government and its governing approaches and, the involvement of various non-government actors aligning with public policy goals; (2) makerspace has become an instrument to drive China’s transition from an industrial-based economy to a service economy. The proliferation of makerspaces marks the concrete step towards a Chinese contemporary modernisation route; (3) makerspace highlighted some of the attempts made by the state to address structural inequalities. This article concludes by pointing out the challenge is how to incorporate the rhetoric of disruptive innovation into the Chinese context.