Analysis of the development path of new quality productivity in national high-tech zones based on the TOE-I framework

New quality productivity is the key force in promoting high-quality economic development, and its development level is directly related to the competitiveness of the country and the ability for sustainable development. High-tech zones, as the leading zone of new quality productivity and the pioneer zone of high-quality development, are also an important carrier for developing new quality productivity, so exploring the formation path of new quality productivity in high-tech zones has become an urgent and realistic problem to be solved. Based on the TOE-I framework, this paper adopts the super-efficient SBM model to measure the level of new quality productivity in high-tech zones and uses the fsQCA method to analyze the grouping of 166 high-tech zones in 28 provinces in China (some provinces are not counted because of the missing data), to explore the configuration effect of the new quality productivity in high-tech zones driven by technological, organizational, environmental, and geographical conditions. The study finds that: (1) The development of new quality productivity in high-tech zones results from the coupling of multiple factors. (2) The development of new quality productivity in high-tech zones can be summarized into three paths. One is the platform-independent dominant type relying on platform support; the second is the government resource parallel-driven type relying on R&D investment and government support; and the third is the digital-intelligence-financial linkage type relying on digital technology and financial support. (3) Abandon the mindset that material conditions limit development, and that the overall level of digital economy development in each province is not a necessary condition for the development of new quality productivity in its high-tech zones. The conclusions of the study provide a reference for each province's high-tech zones to choose the new quality productivity promotion path that suits their own characteristics.