The industrialization of information resources has been a growing trend across the world in recent years, especially in China, where the information resource industry has expanded exponentially for more than a decade. While analyzing the development conditions of China's information resource industry, this book clearly defines the implications and strategic value of the industry, summarizes basic information resource industry theories, and clarifies the history of its development and special regional characteristics within the Chinese context. Drawing on the statistics and measurement of various economic indicators of the information resource industry, the authors propose four stages of development: a germination period, an initial development period, a subsequent rapid development period, and lastly, a steady development period. At the same time, the book draws upon various theoretical models such as the "Dynamic Resource Triangle" model, the "Information Resource Industrial Symbiosis" model, the value chain model, and the explanation model of information consumption in order to shed light on the information resource industry's elements and the optimization of its management. In addition, the authors present the Information Resource Industry Development Index (IRIDI) to evaluate the industry’s development in different provinces and cities across mainland China and monitor its dynamics from the point of view of industrial value and the external environment.While the book lays a solid theoretical foundation for the growth of China’s information resource industry, it will also give international readers a clear picture of China's emerging industries in the current era.
