Development of a measurement scale for driving factors of digital transformation in university research management in the Chinese university context

Digital transformation in university research management is a strategic imperative for modern higher education, yet its implementation remains inconsistent across institutions due to an insufficient understanding of its catalytic elements. This study aimed to develop and validate a robust measurement scale to evaluate the driving factors behind this transition. Drawing on a mixed-methods design, the scale was constructed through qualitative interviews and then rigorously tested using a large-scale survey of 1,875 stakeholders, including administrators, research leaders, and faculty within the Chinese higher education sector. The resulting 23 items instrument identifies six critical dimensions: equipment and technical support, university leadership attitudes, digital cognition, government policy support, university-enterprise collaboration, and digital technology capabilities. Psychometric evaluation confirmed the scale's high internal consistency and strong construct validity. This study fills a gap by operationalizing the driving factors of digital transformation in university research management into a validated six-dimensional framework, thereby extending existing models to the context of academic research governance. The findings offer a diagnostic tool for administrators to identify institutional bottlenecks and provide policymakers with an evidence-based foundation for targeted interventions that foster an integrated and efficient research ecosystem.