Data Factors and the High-Quality Development of Modern Service Industries: An Intermediary Perspective Based on Human Capital, Resource Allocation, and Industrial Synergy

Modern service industries are an important part of the national economy. As data has become a new factor of production and the economy has shifted toward high-quality development, exploring the impact of the data factor on the high-quality development of China’s modern service industries holds both theoretical significance and practical value. This paper aims to examine whether and how the data factor affects the high-quality development of China’s modern service industries. Using panel data from 31 provinces over 2011–2023, we construct evaluation indicator systems for the data factor and the high-quality development of modern services, measure both via entropy weighting, and employ two-way fixed-effects models, mediation models, instrumental-variable estimation, and System GMM. We examine whether the data factor is associated with the high-quality development of modern services and whether human capital structure, resource allocation efficiency, and industrial synergy are possible mediating channels. The results show that: (1) the data factor promotes the high-quality development of modern service industries, with significant positive effects on innovation, coordination, green development, and openness, while the impact on shared development is not statistically significant; (2) the data factor promotes the high-quality development of modern service industries by optimizing human capital structure, improving resource allocation efficiency, and enhancing industrial synergy; (3) the data factor has a stronger effect in the eastern and central regions, in areas with high population density, in high-tech service industries, and in production-oriented service industries.