Suci Lestari Yuana
The Dynamic of Platform Economy in Indonesia and Philippines : Cyberspace, Politics and Socio-Technical Innovation
Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, [email protected]
Supervisors: Prof. Rob Raven, Dr. Wouter Boon, and Dr. Frans Sengers
Background
2004-2009 : Bachelor degree in political sciences from Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada,Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
2011-2013 : Master degree in international development from Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, France. Fully funded by TOTAL E&P Indonesie scholarship.
2013-2017 : Assistant lecture in Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Teaches several classes on Indonesian Political System and Global Value Chain and Politics of Global Competition
2015 : Involved in interdisciplinary research project with the topic politics of innovation and the role of business incubators in Indonesia digital business.
2017 : Ph.D candidate in Innovation Studies, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University. Fully funded by Indonesian Ministry of Finance scholarship.
Summary
Technology is not politically neutral. Technologies shape and are also shaped by the way society functions. This research project is concerned with understanding the political and institutional dynamics of recent innovations in the so-called platform economy, which is increasingly referred to as a disruptive technological innovation. This research aims to thoroughly discuss power dynamics within and between multiple stakeholders in the platform economy. One of the main characteristic of platform economy is the hybrid between digital and in-real-life activities. Most current studies on platform economy are dominated by Global North experiences and practices. By using comparative studies between Indonesia and Philippines, this research offers a contribution to the narratives of Global South experiences. The case in Indonesia and Philippine are important not only because it is the biggest digital
market in South East Asia (SEA), but also the existence of on-demand motorbike sharing that is typical to developing economies, but mostly lacking in developed economies. In addition, Philippines was the first country in SEA to establish nationwide rules on ride sharing in 2015, while Indonesia does not establish any firm regulation yet. Hence, the main empirical aim of this research is to analyze the discursive and institutional dynamics of the platform economy in transportation in Indonesia and Philippines, and to explore differences and similarities with developments in the Global North.
The main theoretical aim is to bridge Sciences and Technology Studies (STS)and International Political Economy studies (IPE) by discussing spatial dynamics between (the politics of) cyberspace and socio-technical innovation. Most research on IPE continues to have a limited conception of spatiality, with the dominant discourse being one that reifies the historically specific spatiality of the territorial nation-state. (McCarthhy, 2017). Politics is not only happened in real-life activities but also in digital behavior beyond state borders. In the era of digital revolution, this nation-state centrality perspective is expected to be insufficient to explore the fast-growing innovation in trans-national digital economies. Therefore, this research will explore inter-relationship between digital platform and political economy events in socio-technical system. Following the work of Lefebvre (1991) who argue space is relational, adaptive and contested, this research will engage with disciplines of Critical Theory of Technology (CTT) that count social relations in shaping technology, and disciplines of critical International Political Economy (IPE) that observe power dynamic of space, and also disciplines of virtual ethnography that present how the internet created hybrid modes of sociality between digital and in-real-life.
Publications
Peer Reviewed:
Yuana, S.L., Azizah, N., Apriliyanti, I.D, (2016) ‘Komparasi Efektivitas dan Model Governance Inkubator Bisnis Digital antara Pengelola Pemerintah, BUMN, Swasta, Komunitas, dan Universitas’/ ‘Comparison of Effectively and Mode of Governance in Digital Business Incubator managed by Government, State-Owned Enterprises, Private Company, Community and University’, Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, Vol.20 No.2, p. 133-146 (https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/jsp/article/view/24793/16029 )
