Riding the wind: environmental dynamism and the sustainable takeoff of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers

Institutional pressures have intensified environmental dynamism (ED) in China’s electric vehicle manufacturing sector. This study examines how Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers (EVMs) respond to ED to improve sustainability performance (SUP). Drawing on the Pressure–State–Response (PSR) framework and integrating institutional theory with the resource-based view (RBV), we develop an analytical model and test it using survey data from 440 Chinese EVMs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) shows that ED exerts a strong positive effect on SUP, with digital technology use (DTU) and supply chain collaboration (SCC) acting as complementary partial mediators that translate institutional pressure into organizational and inter-organizational responses; DTU further strengthens SCC, forming a sequential mediation pathway. In addition, Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies multiple equifinal configurations leading to high SUP, indicating that both technology-driven and collaboration-oriented strategies are effective under dynamic conditions. Based on these findings, we propose a business-oriented adaptation of the ecological PSR model in the form of an Institutional Pressure–Resource–Response (IRR) framework, which comprises institutional pressure assessment (I), resource state assessment (R1), and response mechanism assessment (R2), and offers practical guidance for managers and policymakers in the EV manufacturing sector.