Pressure-driven or resource-driven: configurational pathways and evolution for the government environmental information disclosure

The government environmental information disclosure (GEID) is a policy innovation designed to enhance transparency and public participation in environmental governance. Previous studies have focused on its positive effects on environmental governance but have overlooked the analysis of factors influencing the implementation of GEID. GEID is a form of digital public service within the context of bureaucracy and public participation. Drawing upon institutional theory and the resource-based view, this paper examines the configurational pathways that drive the implementation of GEID, with a particular emphasis on the dimensions of institutional pressures and government resources. We employed multi-period Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to explore the evolution in configurational pathways, particularly the impacts of the Central Inspection of Environmental Protection (CIEP) in China. In the early period, the GEID was primarily driven by institutional pressures, while after the implementation of CIEP, it relied on a combination of institutional pressures and government resources. Financial resources and intergovernmental mimetics had a significant impact, particularly regarding the sustainability of fiscal supply during policy implementation. In the later period, normative pressure and the government’s human resources became increasingly important. This underscores the importance of public participation and the professionalization of civil servants in digital environmental governance.