Social Sciences in China, 2019

Vol. 40, No. 1, 2019

From the Digital Divide to the Connectivity Dividend Difference: A Connectivity Capital Perspective

(Abstract)

Qiu Zeqi, Zhang Shuqin and Liu Shiding

The access divide was once the basic form of the digital divide. The development of Internet infrastructure has narrowed the access divide and increased application coverage, but it has also touched off a connectivity dividend difference. Taking the online market as an example, we examine the sources of the dividend difference and the factors influencing it with in a connectivity framework. We found that the narrowing of the access divide has resulted in enhanced connectivity and platform development, giving people the chance to benefit from transforming the various assets in which they have previously invested into differentiated compound connectivity capital. In the course, the scale and rate of the conversion are affected by two multiplier effects and especially by online platforms. The process is ultimately expressed in the dividend difference.

Keywords: connectivity capital, connectivity dividend, connectivity dividend difference, multiplier effect, digital divide