Digitally enabled social innovation: a case study of community empowerment in rural China

Digitally Enabled Social Innovation (DESI) has generated a variety of important social benefits for communities across the globe. Yet, despite its importance in contemporary society, our review of the literature indicates that the concept has not been studied to a significant degree to date. To address this gap, this study seeks to address the research question: how do communities self-organize to achieve DESI? Based on a pilot case study of Daiji village, one of the most successful Taobao Villages in rural China, a preliminary process model of the attainment of DESI is presented in this research-in-progress paper. More specifically, our pilot study reveals that that the process of achieving DESI is contingent on a mechanism of bricolage, which consists of four steps: Recognition, Preparation, Recombination and Governance. Through the four steps, digital repertoires are formed and enacted for the attainment of DESI.