Placing the platform economy: the emerging, developing and upgrading of Taobao villages as a platform-based place making phenomenon in China

Han Chu, Robert Hassink, Dixiang Xie and Xiaohui Hu

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2023, vol. 16, issue 2, 319-334

Abstract: The actions of platforms and their all-inclusive impact on place development is coined platform-based place making in this article. We use the actor-network theory to analyse a typical e-commerce platform-based place making, namely the emergence, development and upgrading of Taobao villages in China, and to explore the mechanisms of platform place making power. Our study shows that platforms ‘make’ places by platform–place interactions of progressively expanding the enrolment of intra-regional and extra-regional actors. In addition, our research advances the actor-network theory and its application and transcends the urban and production-side bias of economic geography.

Keywords: platform economy; platform-based place making; Taobao villages; actor-network theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society is currently edited by Judith Clifton, Anna Davies, Betsy Donald, Emil Evenhuis, Stefania Fiorentino (Associate Editor), Harry Garretsen, Meric Gertler, Amy Glasmeier, Mia Gray, Robert Hassink, Dieter Kogler, Michael Kitson, Linda Lobao, Charles van Marrewijk, Ron Martin, Peter Sunley, Peter Tyler and Chun Yang

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