A Review of Research on Digital Platform Governance in China: Hotspots, Characteristics, and Frontiers

Abstract

Digital platforms have brought new challenges to traditional governance systems. Since 2020, there has been a sharp increase in research achievements in the field of digital platform governance in China, and it is necessary to systematically review these studies. This article used CSSCI as the data source and utilizes the CiteSpace software, a bibliometric visualization tool, to quantitatively analyze 346 literature from 2011 to 2022, systematically sorting out the overall trends, research hotspots, and research frontiers in the field of digital platform governance. This article finds that research on digital platform governance in China can be divided into three stages: the embryonic stage, the exploratory stage, and the explosive stage, and presents the following characteristics: focusing on the two core elements of data and algorithms; Focusing on monopoly issues; Mainly focused on ultra large digital platforms; Staged development with practical development as the background; The key concepts are diverse and not yet unified. The research on digital platform governance in China has different frontiers in terms of governance subjects, governance objects, and governance systems.