Exploring the Impact of Digital Platforms on Regional and Cluster Development

This dissertation aims to deepen understanding of the impacts on Regional and Industrial Cluster Development brought about by digitization, especially digital platforms, from an economic geography perspective. This dissertation explores the multifaceted impacts of digital platforms on regional development and industrial clusters from an economic geography perspective. Based on Critical Realism philosophy, the study employs a multi-scalar, multi-perspective, and multi-methodological framework to comprehensively understand how digital platforms such as e-commerce reshape economic landscapes and cluster dynamics. 
The dissertation begins with a thorough review of existing paradigms in economic geography, subsequently focusing on evolutionary and relational economic geography. It discusses the integration of these paradigms with spatial ontology in human geography, which challenges traditional concepts of space and place. Empirical sections of the study detail how digital platforms influence regional economies differently across various locations in China from both regional and cluster subjects/scales, emphasizing the dual role of platforms in both enabling and constraining economic development. Through case studies of village and county-level regional analysis and three furniture clusters analysis, the dissertation illustrates the transformative potential of platforms in facilitating new economic industries and upgrading existing industries. Key contributions of this research include advancing the concept of "engaged pluralism" within economic geography, refining the understanding of how digital platforms interact with regional economies through a lens that merges evolutionary and relational thinking, and offering a nuanced view of digital platform impacts on economic activities. Finally, the dissertation outlines the limitations of focusing predominantly on China and the manufacturing sector, proposing future research directions.