Original
Navigating the digital transformation: unravelling the dynamic evolution of smart city collaborative governance networks
Abstract
Smart city initiatives, as public service innovation, represent a major evolution within state-led meta-governance, requiring complex inter-participant collaboration. Yet scholarship often treats these networks as static, missing how governance structures adapt to digital uncertainties. To fill this gap, this study employs stochastic actor-oriented models and collaborative governance theory to examine the evolution of network structures and participant attributes across 3482 smart city projects in China. Results reveal three governance patterns: government-dominated, government-SOE hybrid, and multi-stakeholder. Transitive triads, age similarity, geographic proximity, and size heterogeneity promote evolution, while outdegree constrains it. Findings guide optimizing partner selection and strengthening adaptive governance.
中文
驾驭数字化转型：解析智慧城市协作治理网络的动态演化
摘要
智慧城市倡议作为一种公共服务创新，代表了国家主导元治理中的重大演进，需要复杂的参与主体间协作。然而，既有研究往往将这些网络视为静态，忽视了治理结构如何适应数字不确定性。为填补这一空白，本研究运用随机行动者导向模型和协作治理理论，考察中国3482个智慧城市项目中网络结构与参与主体属性的演化。结果揭示出三种治理模式：政府主导型、政府-国企混合型以及多利益相关方型。传递性三元组、年龄相似性、地理邻近性和规模异质性促进演化，而出度则制约演化。研究结论有助于优化合作伙伴选择并强化适应性治理。
关键词
智慧城市、协作治理、网络演化、数字化转型、随机行动者导向模型、中国