Decentralized hardware production : makerspaces, shanzhai, and the future of Shenzhen’s technology industries

Abstract

 Producing hardware has become cheaper, faster, and easier. Technological advancements have resulted in the development of widely-available, powerful hardware components that allow individuals to create novel products. This technological change has produced in two distinct communities who seek to take advantage of its potential: the international maker movement and Shenzhen’s shanzhai production networks. The maker movement developed from a group of amateur technology enthusiasts in Western Europe and North America, who aimed to create new forms of technology from open-source components. Similarly, shanzhai production networks developed in China’s Pearl River Delta and used the tools of open-source hardware to produce cheap alternatives to popular electronic products. The present research seeks to contribute to the literature on such decentralized hardware production in two primary ways: 1) by juxtaposing the historical origins of the maker movement and shanzhai production networks and 2) by providing an empirical case study of the ways in which these historical differences influence their economic impact on Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei. This analysis will show that the maker movement seeks to shift the means of production from traditional firms to individuals, while the shanzhai production networks lower socioeconomic barriers to technological production. Moreover, shanzhai production networks lower the barrier of technology expertise by establishing a cooperative community in which an individual with an innovative idea can connect with collaborators who possess the requisite technological expertise to bring it to fruition. As a result, both communities constitute distinct ways in which technological production is undergoing a process of democratization. By analyzing the distinct economic strengths of these communities, it will be argued that effective socio-economic policy in Shenzhen must carefully consider the distinct and complimentary roles they play. The current government policy that promotes the development of makerspaces in Huaqiangbei at the expense of preexisting sites of shanzhai production jeopardizes this potential synergy. Based on these findings, an alternative model of effectively integrating the complementary strengths of makerspaces and shanzhai production networks is proposed.