Configurational Pathways to Digital Transformation in Human Resource Service Firms: A Grounded Theory and fsQCA Study in China

Digital transformation is reshaping the value creation and competitive logic of human resource service (HRS) firms, yet its antecedents are commonly examined as independent net effects. This study adopts an exploratory mixed-method design to identify and test configurational pathways to digital transformation. First, grounded theory analysis of interviews with 20 HRS firms in Beijing identified five antecedent conditions: digital technology application, digital strategic planning, firm social capital, the digital policy environment, and competitive intensity. Second, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was applied to survey data from 97 firms. The analysis yielded five solution terms for high digital transformation and two configurations for non-high digital transformation. The five high-outcome solution terms were organized into three broader configurational patterns: technology–strategy synergy, technology-driven competition transformation, and strategy–ecosystem synergy. The non-high-outcome configurations reflected either weak digital foundations combined with ecosystem disengagement or relational-resource maintenance accompanied by transformation inertia. No single condition was necessary for either outcome, and the configurations associated with high and non-high digital transformation exhibited causal asymmetry. The findings show that digital transformation in HRS firms depends on the alignment of technological, organizational, and environmental conditions rather than on technology investment alone.