BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) as a post-shanzhai phenomenon: An analysis from the perspective of antifragility and modularization

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/tekn.87890
Keywords: boundary objects, China social media, digital development, ICT in China, maker culture, political economy and technology in China

Abstract

Shanzhai refers to the production of mobile phones that imitate popular brands, a practice that became widespread in China around a decade ago. This form of production is characterized by modularity: the division of products into small independent components that make it easier to update and replace parts without affecting the whole. In this article, we analyze modularization as a post-shanzhai phenomenon in China’s largest technology companies – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (BAT) – in order to compare them to their Western equivalents: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft (GAFAM). Instead of exoticizing Chinese technological development or undertaking another postcolonial reading, we use the concepts of ‘boundary objects’ and ‘antifragility’ to put the revolutionary values that endure in post-shanzhai China (and elsewhere) into perspective. In addition, we conclude that a fuller sociohistorical understanding of the ambivalences of shanzhai may encourage more self-critical understandings of Western technological and digital developments.

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Author Biographies

Lucía Benítez-Eyzaguirre, Universidad de Cádiz

Profesora de la Universidad de Cádiz y coordinadora del Máster en Dirección Estratégica e Innovación en Comunicación. Formadora y consultora en comunicación, tecnologías e innovación, con perspectiva de género. Periodista y socióloga. Profesora Titular de Comunicación Audiovisual y Publicidad de la Universidad de Cádiz. Profesora del Máster de Marketing Digital y del Máster Gestión Estratégica e Innovación en Comunicación. Doctora por la Universidad de Sevilla. Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado de la Universidad de Sevilla y Premio RTVA a la mejor tesis doctoral de Comunicación. Máster en Tecnologías digitales y sociedad del conocimiento. Es experta en Realización Audiovisual y en Software Libre. Lucía Benítez-Eyzaguirre es miembro del grupo de investigación COMPOLÍTICAS, donde investiga la comunicación digital y los usos de la tecnología, desde una perspectiva de género. En el campo de la Comunicación para el desarrollo participa en proyectos de cooperación de investigación y de enseñanza del periodismo y las nuevas tecnologías en diferentes países de África y América Latina.

Angel Gordo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid/TRANSOC

Angel Gordo is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology: Methodology and Theory, at the Complutense University of Madrid (2002-present). He  is the founder of the research group Cultura Digital y Movimientos Sociales. Cibersomosaguas (2002-present) and since 2011 he is Managing Editor of Teknokultura. He is a member of the Discourse Unit  (Manchester University) and of the Instituto Complutense de Sociología para el Estudio de las Transformaciones Sociales Contemporáneas (TRANSOC)and International Research fellow at the Centro di Ricerca in Information Society Law (ISLC) Ángel Gordo’s background is in social psychology, philosophy, sociology and cultural studies, and a strong emphasis on advanced qualitative methodologies and research strategies allows him to combine academic rigor and methodological innovation to translate social rights and values into assessment and analysis of everyday technological issues and social relations. He continues to research technology and social change (especially digital surveillance and resistance). His academic work has been published in the fields of Social Psychology, Sociology, Communication, Science and Public Policy, Ethics and Information Technology, Environmental Studies, Sharing Economy, and in leading academic publishers such as Routledge/Taylor and Francis, Springer, Sage, Macmillan, Pearson and Free Association Books. 

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Published
2023-06-26
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How to Cite
Benítez-Eyzaguirre L. y Gordo A. (2023). BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) as a post-shanzhai phenomenon: An analysis from the perspective of antifragility and modularization. Teknokultura. Journal of Digital Culture and Social Movements, 20(Special Issue), 15-25. https://doi.org/10.5209/tekn.87890
Issue
Vol. 20 No. Special Issue (2023): China & The Digital Turn
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Karpeta

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