How do governments matter to the creation of digital economy?

There is accumulating evidence that governments are sources of powerful forces influencing the development of new industries. Yet, governments, as a valid and powerful context influencing the digital economy creation, have been consistently neglected by researchers. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how governments enable digital economy creation in transitioning economies. My research questions are: how do governments in transitioning economies facilitate the digital economy creation? What are the influences of these governments' involvement in digital economy? To address these research questions, we derive a research model by drawing upon institutional and economic history theories. This model will be tested by data collected in a case study on China's Golden Card Project, one of Chinese government's first e-government projects. Possible contributions and implications of this study are discussed.