IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v117y2017icp38-45.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The world is not flat: Evaluating the inequality in global information gatekeeping through website co-mentions

Author

Listed:
  • Barnett, George A.
  • Ruiz, Jeanette B.
  • Xu, Weiai Wayne
  • Park, Ji-Young
  • Park, Han Woo

Abstract

This study explores inequality in global internet by looking at structure of co-mentions across global top website domains. Findings show that websites of the U.S. were central and dominant in the global content flow. The network based on the level of corporate ownership was even more centralized, in which the top 10 sites producing at least 1% of all Internet citations were from U.S.-based companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter, which together accounted for >70% of the network ties. In particular, Google was at the center of the network and serves as the Internet “gatekeeper”. Additionally, the global web is divided into two clusters of websites, one represented by websites owned by American firms and the other by Chinese companies. The study discusses how such divide might be the outcome of geopolitics, internet governance and media conglomeration.

Suggested Citation

  • Barnett, George A. & Ruiz, Jeanette B. & Xu, Weiai Wayne & Park, Ji-Young & Park, Han Woo, 2017. "The world is not flat: Evaluating the inequality in global information gatekeeping through website co-mentions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 38-45.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:117:y:2017:i:c:p:38-45
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2017.01.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162517300422
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.01.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yoonjae Nam & George Barnett & Daejoong Kim, 2014. "Corporate hyperlink network relationships in global corporate social responsibility system," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 1225-1242, May.
    2. Wade, Robert Hunter, 2004. "Is Globalization Reducing Poverty and Inequality?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 567-589, April.
    3. George Barnett & Han Park, 2014. "Examining the international internet using multiple measures: new methods for measuring the communication base of globalized cyberspace," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 563-575, January.
    4. Justus Haucap & Ulrich Heimeshoff, 2014. "Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay: Is the Internet driving competition or market monopolization?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 49-61, February.
    5. Chung Chung & George Barnett & Han Park, 2014. "Inferring international dotcom Web communities by link and content analysis," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 1117-1133, March.
    6. Kim, Jiyoung & Lee, Yeon-Ok & Park, Han Woo, 2016. "Delineating the complex use of a political podcast in South Korea by hybrid web indicators: The case of the Nakkomsu Twitter network," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 42-50.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bagheri, Afsaneh & Chitsazan, Hasti & Ebrahimi, Ashkan, 2019. "Crowdfunding motivations: A focus on donors' perspectives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 218-232.
    2. Lomborg, Bjorn, 2020. "Welfare in the 21st century: Increasing development, reducing inequality, the impact of climate change, and the cost of climate policies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    3. Grover, Purva & Kar, Arpan Kumar & Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Janssen, Marijn, 2019. "Polarization and acculturation in US Election 2016 outcomes – Can twitter analytics predict changes in voting preferences," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 438-460.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dolata, Ulrich, 2014. "Märkte und Macht der Internetkonzerne: Konzentration - Konkurrenz - Innovationsstrategien," Research Contributions to Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies, SOI Discussion Papers 2014-04, University of Stuttgart, Institute for Social Sciences, Department of Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies.
    2. Hisako Kai & Shigeyuki Hamori, 2009. "Globalization, financial depth, and inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(3), pages 2025-2037.
    3. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Swinnen, Johan & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Global value chains, large-scale farming, and poverty: Long-term effects in Senegal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 97-107.
    4. Basu, Kaushik, 2006. "Globalization, poverty, and inequality: What is the relationship? What can be done?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1361-1373, August.
    5. Mehmet Akif DESTEK, 2018. "Dimensions of globalization and income inequality in transition economies: taking into account cross-sectional dependence," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 9, pages 5-25, December.
    6. Hackl, Andreas, 2018. "Mobility equity in a globalized world: Reducing inequalities in the sustainable development agenda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 150-162.
    7. Klaus M. Leisinger, 2008. "Zur Relevanz der Unternehmensethik in der Betriebswirtschaftlehre (oder: The Business of Business is still Business–But the Rules have Changed)," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 60(58), pages 26-49, January.
    8. Oliver Budzinski & Annika Stöhr, 2019. "Competition policy reform in Europe and Germany – institutional change in the light of digitization," European Competition Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 15-54, January.
    9. Cammaerts, Bart & Mansell, Robin, 2020. "Digital platform policy and regulation: toward a radical democratic turn," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102628, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Julie A. Silva, 2013. "Rural Income Inequality in Mozambique: National Dynamics and Local Experiences?," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 43(1), pages 23-50, Summer.
    11. Jing Zhu & Wusheng Yu & Junying Wang & Christian Elleby, 2016. "Tariff Liberalisation, Price Transmission and Rural Welfare in China," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 24-46, February.
    12. Atanu Ghoshray & Issam Malki & Javier Ordóñez, 2022. "On the long-run dynamics of income and wealth inequality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 375-408, February.
    13. Klochikhin, Evgeny A., 2012. "Russia's innovation policy: Stubborn path-dependencies and new approaches," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 1620-1630.
    14. James Dean & Vivek H. Dehejia & Elinor Johansen & Sarah Turney, 2004. "Optimal Globalization and National Welfare," Carleton Economic Papers 04-17, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    15. Arezki,Rabah & Dequiedt,Vianney & Fan,Yuting & Rossotto,Carlo Maria, 2021. "Liberalization, Technology Adoption, and Stock Returns : Evidence from Telecom," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9561, The World Bank.
    16. Kathleen McAfee, 2012. "The Contradictory Logic of Global Ecosystem Services Markets," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(1), pages 105-131, January.
    17. Vîntu, Denis, 2022. "An application: Pension systems and transitions," MPRA Paper 113128, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2022.
    18. Kuchinke, Björn A. & Vidal, Miguel, 2016. "Exclusionary strategies and the rise of winner-takes-it-all markets on the Internet," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 582-592.
    19. George Petrakos & Panagiotis Artelaris, 2009. "European Regional Convergence Revisited: A Weighted Least Squares Approach," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 314-331, June.
    20. Nong Zhu & Xubei Luo, 2014. "The Impact of migration on rural poverty and inequality: a case study in China," CIRANO Working Papers 2014s-08, CIRANO.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:117:y:2017:i:c:p:38-45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.