Institutional and economic factors affecting the development of the Chinese cloud computing industry and market

Due to the Chinese government's mobilization of massive resources and entrepreneurial activities of foreign and local firms, the Chinese cloud computing industry and market are growing rapidly. A number of contradictory, conflicting, and paradoxical forces are shaping the Chinese cloud computing industry and market. This paper seeks to analyze these forces. It examines the importance of various economic linkages as well as formal and informal institutions in the development and utilization of the cloud in China and the emergence of country's cloud providers as global players. & 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.