Unlocking data elements potential for enhanced urban public health emergency governance: Configuration analysis based on 23 mega-cities in China

As the core production element of the digital era, data's multiplier effect is key to risk prevention and the modernization of emergency governance. This article combines the practical application of data elements in public health emergency management, based on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theoretical framework, takes 23 mega-cities in China as research cases, and uses the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to explore the impact of technology, organization, environment, and other conditions on the effectiveness of urban public health emergency governance. The results show a significant conditional correlation between the effectiveness of urban public health emergency governance and the conditions for applying data elements. Based on the characteristics of multiple concurrent paths, the driving paths can be classified into three categories: "technology-based", "organization-environment dual core", and "organization-technology as the mainstay + environment as the supplement". Local governments should combine the regional digital resource endowment, promote phased and differentiated application of data elements, strengthen interconnection of data-sharing platforms, coordinate construction of institutional mechanisms, accelerate multi-scenario application of data elements, strengthen two-way empowerment of technology-driven and organizational coordination, and effectively transform linkage advantages of multidimensional elements into governance effectiveness.