Synergy of scale and technology: dual-pathway mechanisms for optimizing factor allocation in new pastoral operations—evidence from Inner Mongolia, China

Efficient factor allocation is critical for sustaining pastoral systems, where rising feed and labor costs, coupled with fragile grassland ecologies, heighten the trade-offs between productivity and resource conservation. This study investigates persistent misallocation under these economic and ecological constraints. Data were collected from 285 households across five pastoral banners in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Factor input deviations were estimated using a Cobb–Douglas production function, and the analysis employed OLS, mediation, and moderated mediation models. The results indicate that: (i) new pastoral operations exhibit significantly lower factor input bias than traditional households; (ii) operation scale and technological progress partially mediate the optimization effect and strengthen each other; and (iii) efficiency gains emerge once operations surpass a critical scale threshold. These findings highlight the distinct advantages of new pastoral operations in improving factor allocation. Policies that jointly encourage moderate scale expansion and the adoption of targeted digital tools can generate substantial and scalable efficiency gains in pastoral systems.