On super apps and app stores: digital media logics in China’s app economy

Abstract

Aiming to enrich the conceptual vocabulary of platform and app studies, this article provides a critical political economic perspective on the media industry to understand how platform power is operationalized in the app economy. Using the China-based tech conglomerate Tencent as a case study, four mechanisms are discussed: conglomeration, financialization, platformization, and infrastructuralization. These mechanisms show how Tencent leveraged both a conglomerated corporate structure and access to finance capital. This was combined with the infrastructuralization of the MyApp app store and the WeChat platform by providing vertically integrated app development and distribution services, which are nested in Tencent’s holdings and investments. Taking Tencent as the starting point for theory building, this article attempts to “provincialize” US-based platform companies by charting Tencent’s corporate evolution and its path to mobile dominance.

Digital Identity and Inclusion: Tracing Technological Transitions

“…eration, financialization, platformization, and infrastructuralization-to accrue considerable power in China's digital economy. 43 Its super app, WeChat, can be used as a means of official identification for accessing both online and offline government services in major urban areas across China, with plans underway to expand the system nationwide. 44 In fact, Chinese super apps like WeChat and its main rival Alipay (offered by the Alibaba Group) operate in close partnership with the government and, in some cases, offer complimentary features, such as social-credit scoring and COVID health codes.…”

Superapps as Enterprise-wide Applications & Services in E-governance: Cases for UAE

“…As per the views of (Steinberg et al, 2022), superapps are considered an integrated ecosystem that comprises varied types of applications required by the individual or e-government concerns in the entire day. This means that the super app is a multi-functionality application that combines a wide range of features and activities within a single umbrella (H. M. Jia et al, 2022;. Therefore, in this study discussion will be made on the prime intention behind it as well as analyse the way through which it could be used to fulfil the activities of the e-government.…”

Digital Platforms’ Growth Strategies and the Rise of Super Apps

“…[6][7][8]), and the size and market dominance they (are aiming to) reach, the scientific literature has largely overlooked the phenomenon of super apps so far. 3 Previous publications have mainly examined the emergence of Asian super apps including WeChat ( [9][10][11]) and LINE [12] (see also [2]). These studies from the communication literature make important contributions in providing an initial overview of the worldwide impact of super apps on social, cultural, and political dynamics ([2,9,11]) as well as the reasons for using super apps and usage behavior ( [10,12]).…”