Innovation diffusion of local governments in digital governance: event history analysis based on the Government Chief Data Officer System

Data governance is a critical prerequisite for advancing digital government development. The implementation of the Government Chief Data Officer System (GCDOS) has played a vital role in safeguarding data security and quality, enabling orderly open sharing, and ensuring sustained effectiveness. Drawing on policy innovation diffusion theory, this study constructed an analytical framework to examine the diffusion of the GCDOS across 296 Chinese cities from 2021 to 2024, employing event history analysis. Temporally, GCDOS adoption exhibits a gradual diffusion pattern, whereas spatially, it demonstrates significant proximity effects and regional clustering effects. Mechanistic analysis revealed that the level of urban digital infrastructure, development level of the urban digital economy, political pressure, and peer pressure constituted key drivers of the diffusion of the GCDOS. In contrast, public pressure and characteristics of officials had no significant effect. This investigation of the characteristics and logic underlying the diffusion of the GCDOS enhances the understanding of local government policy adoption mechanisms and extends the applicability of relevant theoretical frameworks.