The Digital Economy, Residents’ Consumption Upgrade, and the High-Quality Development of the Sports Industry: Evidence from Eastern China

Accelerating high-quality development (HQD) within the sports industry stands as a vital measure in China’s journey to becoming a leading sports nation. A pressing question is whether the emergence of the digital economy (DE) can effectively drive progress in the HQD of the sports sector. This study adopts a comprehensive approach, utilizing benchmark regression, mediation analysis, threshold models, and spatial econometric techniques to analyze the mechanisms by which the DE influences the HQD of sports industries, based on panel data from 10 provinces in Eastern China spanning 2012 to 2021. The main findings are as follows: (a) The DE significantly facilitates the advancement and quality improvement of the sports sector in Eastern China. Results reveal a notable threshold effect, suggesting that the DE’s contribution to HQD is amplified when consumer upgrading exceeds a certain threshold. (b) Consumer upgrading serves as an intermediary channel, transmitting the DE’s positive effects to the HQD of the sports industry. (c) The analysis uncovers strong spatial spillover benefits, with HQD improvements in Eastern China’s sports industry exhibiting marked diffusion effects. Overall, these findings provide support for the sustainable expansion of the region’s sports sector and underline its growing importance in the national economy.