Optimization Study of Regional Digital Innovation Capability Driven by the Synergy of Information Ecology and Digital Transformation: Dynamic QCA Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data

Lei Lei, Shuhong Guo () and Bo Qi
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Lei Lei: School of Economics and Management, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
Shuhong Guo: School of Economics and Management, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
Bo Qi: School of Aerospace, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-24

Abstract: Digital transformation is gradually emerging as a core driver of high-quality economic development and the achievement of sustainable development goals. As the core engine of the digitalization process, digital innovation is becoming a key supporting force for activating the value of digital elements and fostering a new development pattern. Based on panel data from 31 provincial-level administrative regions in China spanning from 2019 to 2023, we undertook an in-depth exploration of how information ecosystems and digital transformation drivers synergistically enhance regional digital innovation capabilities and their substitutive relationships. The results show the following: Firstly, technological, subject, information, and environmental conditions cannot individually constitute the necessary conditions for a high level of regional digital innovation capacity. Secondly, three types of conditional configurations, namely technology–environment-driven, subject–environment-driven, and balance-driven, are its main driving paths, with significant substitution effects among these conditions. This study provides theoretical and empirical evidence for formulating region-specific strategies to optimize digital innovation capacity and helps formulate differentiated digital development strategies based on regional resource endowments and institutional characteristics, ultimately promoting the construction of a more balanced and resilient digital innovation ecosystem.

Keywords: regional digital innovation; information ecology; digital transformation; dynamic QCA; panel data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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