Institutional pressure, resource orchestration, and the digital government performance: a mixed methods study in the case of China

Governments worldwide are rapidly embracing digital transformation; however, limited attention has been paid to how local governments navigate under multiple pressures, including those from higher-level authorities, the public, and regional competition. Drawing on institutional pressure (IP) and resource orchestration (RO) theories, this study constructs an IP–RO framework to examine how these factors interact to achieve high digital government (DG) performance. Using a mixed-methods approach combining regression analysis and panel data QCA, this study demonstrates how local governments orchestrate resources to respond to multifaceted pressures, identifies the configuration paths, and reveals that local governments are gaining greater autonomy in shaping digital initiatives.