Configurational pathways and spatio-temporal evolution of value co-creation in smart eldercare services: a regional innovation ecosystem perspective

Purpose This study investigates how configurations of regional innovation ecosystem conditions support value co-creation in smart eldercare services, examining both configurational patterns and their spatio-temporal evolution across diverse regional contexts. Design/methodology/approach Integrating Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) with innovation ecosystem theory, the research employs Panel Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Panel-QCA) on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2013–2023. Findings Three configurational patterns achieve high-level value co-creation: an actor-environment-resource multi-driven pattern, an actor-resource dual-driven pattern under constrained market openness, and an environment-driven pattern enabled by industry-university-research collaboration. These patterns exhibit a gradient spatial evolution from eastern multi-driven models to central dual-driven models and western environment-driven models. Temporally, they transition from holistic factor accumulation during the formation stage to core condition differentiation with peripheral condition complementarity during the expansion stage. Practical implications It provides policy insights for regions with diverse resource endowments and developmental stages to formulate differentiated smart eldercare service strategies. Originality/value This study extends SDL and innovation ecosystem theory by operationalizing the distinction between micro-level co-creation processes and macro-level structural capacity, demonstrating that regional capacity to support value co-creation emerges from configurational synergies rather than isolated factors.