Platforms Reshape Embeddedness? Platformization and Bilateral Embeddedness of the Chinese Audiovisual Industry

This study investigates the transformation of embeddedness relationships in China’s audiovisual industry during platformization. Based on interviews with thirty-five audiovisual professionals in the Yangtze River Delta region, the study finds that under the dual administration of both the state and platforms, Chinese audiovisual producers have developed a model of bilateral embeddedness. While they integrate into platform ecosystems for IP and promotion resources, they simultaneously “pretend to” embed in state-led clusters to obtain policy support, without substantive participation inside. This bilateral embeddedness highlights a new configuration of audiovisual production, where audiovisual producers strategically negotiate between the state and platforms to enable a gradual economic transformation during platformization.