Research on the Configuration Paths of New Quality Productive Forces Driven by Science and Technology Finance Ecosystem

The Science and Technology Finance ecosystem plays an increasingly important role in shaping the sustainable development of new quality productive forces (NQPF). This study, based on the perspective of complex systems and using a multi-period fsQCA approach, takes 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in mainland China as cases to analyze the relationship between the Science and Technology Finance ecosystem and NQPF from 2017 to 2022. The findings are as follows: first, the antecedent configurations of NQPF are multiple, with the variables of the Science and Technology Finance ecosystem jointly matching and working together to drive its development. Second, in 2017–2018, there were three configurations: the “Bank–Enterprise” collaborative-driven type, the Bank-led type, and the Enterprise-led type; in 2019–2020, there were three configurations: the “Bank–Enterprise” collaborative-driven type, the “Bank–Enterprise–Market” collaborative-driven type, and the “Enterprise–Market” collaborative-driven type; in 2021–2022, there was one configuration, namely the Multi-Actor collaborative-driven type. Third, the development of NQPF across the three stages underwent an evolution from being dominated by core financial resources, to coordinated driving by core finance and the market, and finally to multi-stakeholder collaborative promotion. Fourth, in the configurations where high-level NQPF was not achieved, insufficiency of Enterprise Self-owned Funds (ESOF) was identified as a common problem. These findings provide theoretical references and policy implications for optimizing the Science and Technology Finance ecosystem in line with local conditions.