Xiong Chunlin, Wang Yaling, Wu Zhenyu, Liu Fen
School of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan, 400125, China.
School of agriculture, Orient science & technology college of Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan, 400125, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Oct 21;10(22):e39511. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39511. eCollection 2024 Nov 30.
Empowering rural life through digital technology reflects the collective aspirations of millions of farmers striving for a better quality of life. Ensuring that the benefits of digital advancements reach every corner of the population is a crucial and inevitable choice. To expedite the establishment of an inclusive digital life for all citizens, the Chinese government has exerted substantial efforts by positioning the development of digital villages as a national strategy. Through comprehensive initiatives in digital village construction, facilitating the extension of "Internet+" services such as education, healthcare, transportation, and entertainment to rural areas. 24-hour digital village libraries, smart health stations, intelligent homes, facial recognition payments, unmanned supermarkets, and a variety of digitized, networked, and intelligent lifestyle applications are increasingly prevalent in Chinese rural regions. The digital gap between urban and rural areas in China is gradually diminishing, and the ongoing evolution of rural digital lifestyles paints a picturesque picture of an enhanced rural life. This study endeavors to provide a meticulous analysis of the digital landscape in Chinese villages, seeking to unravel the intricacies behind the swift development of rural digital life.
Using the top 100 counties in China's 2020 Rural Life Digitization Index ranking as case studies, this research collected the necessary data through industry research reports and official statistical sources. To begin with, based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) analysis framework, variables such as digital infrastructure, government policy support, funds are put into utilization, digital economy level, and farmer digital literacy were identified. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method was then employed to recognize the influencing factors of rural digital life and combinations of condition variables. Subsequently, utilizing the system dynamics methodology, the relationships between factors were analyzed, simulating changes in rural digital life development to gain a deeper understanding of the key elements affecting rural digital life. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to further reveal the extent of influence of these key elements on rural digital life.
The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis reveals that the evolution of rural digital life in China is a complex outcome influenced by the simultaneous interplay of multiple factors. It demonstrates a pattern of diverse combinations and parallel pathways encompassing various variables. Among these configurations, six paths stand out with the highest coverage. These six paths can be further classified into three modes of rural digital life development in China: environment-empowered type, organization-pushed type, and compound-driven type. Further dissection of causal combinations through a system dynamics model unveils that the progression of rural digital life is intricately linked to key factors such as information infrastructure, policy intensity, and digital learning and development. Over time, there is a discernible upward trajectory in the level of rural digital life, characterized by an accelerating pace of improvement. The influence of policy intensity on rural digital life surpasses that of information infrastructure and digital learning and development, indicating that policy intensity exerts the most significant impact overall.
The evolution of rural digital life in China is a complex, long-term process propelled by a combination of multiple factors. China's experience demonstrates that achieving high-level development in rural digital life demands attention not only to the synergistic interplay of various factors but also a strategic focus on leveraging specific key elements. This entails skillfully integrating diverse factors and identifying pivotal areas to maximize the impact of relevant conditions to the greatest extent possible.
通过数字技术赋能乡村生活，体现了数百万农民追求更高生活质量的共同愿望。确保数字进步的福祉惠及每一个角落，是一项关键且必然的选择。为加快为全体公民建立包容性数字生活，中国政府将数字乡村发展定位为国家战略，付出了巨大努力。通过数字乡村建设的综合举措，推动教育、医疗、交通和娱乐等“互联网 +”服务向农村地区延伸。24 小时数字乡村图书馆、智能健康站、智能家居、人脸识别支付、无人超市以及各种数字化、网络化、智能化的生活方式应用在中国农村地区越来越普遍。中国城乡数字鸿沟正在逐渐缩小，农村数字生活方式的不断演变描绘出一幅乡村生活提升的美好画卷。本研究旨在对中国乡村的数字格局进行细致分析，试图揭示农村数字生活快速发展背后的复杂情况。
本研究以 2020 年中国农村生活数字化指数排名前 100 的县为案例研究，通过行业研究报告和官方统计来源收集必要数据。首先，基于技术 - 组织 - 环境（TOE）分析框架，确定数字基础设施、政府政策支持、资金使用、数字经济水平和农民数字素养等变量。然后采用模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA）方法来识别农村数字生活的影响因素以及条件变量的组合。随后，利用系统动力学方法分析各因素之间的关系，模拟农村数字生活发展的变化，以更深入了解影响农村数字生活的关键要素。进行敏感性分析以进一步揭示这些关键要素对农村数字生活的影响程度。
模糊集定性比较分析表明，中国农村数字生活的演变是多种因素同时相互作用的复杂结果。它呈现出各种变量的多样组合和平行路径模式。在这些配置中，有六条路径的覆盖度最高。这六条路径可进一步分为中国农村数字生活发展的三种模式：环境赋能型、组织推动型和复合驱动型。通过系统动力学模型对因果组合的进一步剖析表明，农村数字生活的发展与信息基础设施、政策强度以及数字学习与发展等关键因素密切相关。随着时间的推移，农村数字生活水平呈现出明显的上升趋势，且提升速度不断加快。政策强度对农村数字生活的影响超过信息基础设施和数字学习与发展，表明政策强度总体上发挥着最显著的影响。
中国农村数字生活的演变是一个由多种因素共同推动的复杂、长期过程。中国的经验表明，要实现农村数字生活的高水平发展，不仅需要关注各种因素的协同相互作用，还需要战略性地聚焦于利用特定关键要素。这需要巧妙整合各种因素并确定关键领域，以最大程度地发挥相关条件的影响。
