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

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  • Lee, Chuan-Kai
  • Yu, Limeng

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Chuan-Kai & Yu, Limeng, 2022. "A multi-level perspective on 5G transition: The China case," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:182:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522003365
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121812
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    Cited by:

    1. Tian Liang & Hongying Mao & Yujiao Tan & Bing Sun, 2023. "How Does Socio-technical Landscape Affect the Formation of Technical Standards?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Sivaraman Eswaran & Prasad Honnavalli, 2023. "Private 5G networks: a survey on enabling technologies, deployment models, use cases and research directions," Telecommunication Systems: Modelling, Analysis, Design and Management, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 3-26, January.

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