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Configurational pathways to effective grassroots emergency governance in China’s urban agglomerations: a fsQCA study based on the TOE framework
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  • Published: 11 January 2026

Configurational pathways to effective grassroots emergency governance in China’s urban agglomerations: a fsQCA study based on the TOE framework

  • Zhiqiang Li1 &
  • Mengting Yang2 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Development studies
  • Environmental social sciences
  • Environmental studies
  • Geography
  • Social policy

Abstract

Global emergency governance prioritizes “efficient response and risk resilience,” yet a critical implementation gap persists at the grassroots level, where policy goals often fail to translate into tangible outcomes. Data from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction indicates that 60% of global disaster losses (2015–2024) stem from delayed grassroots responses, a figure exceeding 80% in developing countries due to inadequate governance mechanisms. To address this gap, this study employs fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) within the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework to analyze 50 grassroots emergency policy documents (implemented 2019–2021) from China’s three major urban agglomerations (Yangtze River Delta [YRD], Pearl River Delta [PRD], Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei [BTH]). Focusing on institutional design completeness as a foundational precursor to practical effectiveness, two core findings emerge: (1) robust early warning and response capacity (YJ) is a universal necessary condition for high policy effectiveness across all regions; (2) four equifinal configurational pathways to effectiveness are identified, including an integrated administrative coordination pathway, a context-adaptive resource-consolidated pathway (with technology-empowered and organization-driven sub-models in the PRD and BTH, respectively), a grassroots capacity-building (culture-driven) pathway, and a resource-constrained basic response pathway. Theoretically, this study advances the TOE framework’s application in administration-led governance contexts by revealing context-specific configurational interactions of institutional factors. Practically, it provides region-tailored policy templates for translating institutional design into on-the-ground emergency governance efficacy.

Data availability

The policy datasets analyzed in this study are publicly accessible from official Chinese government portals and formal releases by local emergency management bureaus. Selected core policy documents, along with their retrievable links, are compiled in the Supplementary Information to ensure transparency and reproducibility. No new primary datasets were generated during the conduct of this research. For further inquiries regarding the data used in the analysis, please contact the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law and Public Adminstration, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Zhiqiang Li

  2. School of Management Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Mengting Yang

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  1. Zhiqiang Li
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  2. Mengting Yang
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Contributions

LI, Zhiqiang wrote the research direction and basic framework for this paper, as well as suggestions for revising the literature review section. Yang Mengting primarily wrote the specific content of Chapters 1–5, created tables and figures, collected and processed data, and ultimately drew conclusions. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mengting Yang.

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Li, Z., Yang, M. Configurational pathways to effective grassroots emergency governance in China’s urban agglomerations: a fsQCA study based on the TOE framework. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34634-8

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  • Received: 10 November 2025

  • Accepted: 30 December 2025

  • Published: 11 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34634-8

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Keywords

  • Grassroots emergency governance
  • Policy implementation effectiveness
  • TOE framework
  • fsQCA
  • Configurational analysis
  • Stakeholder value creation
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