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Stasis, dynamism and emergence of the e-mobility system in China: A power relational perspective

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  • Tyfield, David
  • Zuev, Dennis

Abstract

Efforts at urban e-mobility transition in China are of crucial global significance. Exploring these developments, however, demands significant reframing of dominant theories of socio-technical system transition to accommodate the strikingly different socio-political context of China to that of the global North where these theories have been developed. In particular, greater attention must be paid to issues of power, conceptualized as dynamic power/knowledge relations constitutive of social formations and evolving in interactive parallel with specific innovation trajectories. We illustrate such a productive reframing focusing on complex processes of empowerment and highlight that there remains relative stasis in the grand plan of a rapid transition to electric cars (EVs) in China's growing cities, with the EV still widely regarded as “risky” mobility. At the same time the EV in China is becoming a constituent of a new kind of digitized and smart mobility, as Chinese ICT companies emerge as globally powerful players establishing alliances with traditional automobile companies.

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  • Tyfield, David & Zuev, Dennis, 2018. "Stasis, dynamism and emergence of the e-mobility system in China: A power relational perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 259-270.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:126:y:2018:i:c:p:259-270
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2017.09.006
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    Cited by:

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    2. Honghua Han & Jason Xiong & Kexin Zhao, 2022. "Digital inclusion in social media marketing adoption: the role of product suitability in the agriculture sector," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 657-683, December.
    3. Anita Engels, 2018. "Understanding how China is championing climate change mitigation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-6, December.
    4. Huang, Youlin & Qian, Lixian & Tyfield, David & Soopramanien, Didier, 2021. "On the heterogeneity in consumer preferences for electric vehicles across generations and cities in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Paulo Antonio Maldonado Silveira Alonso Munhoz & Fabricio da Costa Dias & Christine Kowal Chinelli & André Luis Azevedo Guedes & João Alberto Neves dos Santos & Wainer da Silveira e Silva & Carlos Alb, 2020. "Smart Mobility: The Main Drivers for Increasing the Intelligence of Urban Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-25, December.

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