Growth of Internet Digital Platforms in China: Stages, Trends, and Research Opportunities

Abstract

AbstractThe rapid growth of China’s digital economy features the rise of Internet-based digital platforms, which provide a vast sphere where massive business value is created. As Internet-based digital platforms have developed into the dominant organizational form of the digital economy, it is worthwhile to review the evolution of such platforms, reflect on their structural characteristics, and explore possible future directions. In this chapter, we examine the four stages of the evolution of Internet-based digital platforms in China, through which the initial four basic functional types of digital platforms have been continuously fusing and new forms of platforms have been emerging and shaping up. We then discuss the current situation of digital platforms in China, using a theoretical framework developed from an institutional perspective, based on which future trends and possible research opportunities are identified.KeywordsDigital platformsInformation infrastructureChinaEvolution development stagesInstitutional perspective