The Driving Effect of Strategic Emerging Industries on New Quality Productivity from the Perspective of Industry–Human Coupling Coordination: The Mediating Role of Digitalization Level

In the context of fostering new quality productivity (NQP), this study explores how coupling coordination between strategic emerging industries (SEIs) and human resources (HR) affects the mechanisms behind NQP, with a particular focus on the mediating role of digitalization level (DL). Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2014 to 2023, we used the entropy weight TOPSIS method to measure the development of NQP and the coupling coordination model to quantify the synergy between SEIs and HR. A mediating effect model and heterogeneity analysis were constructed to test the research hypotheses. The findings revealed three key findings: (1) The coupling coordination between SEIs and HR significantly enhanced DL and NQP, where DL played a robust mediating role in promoting NQP through the coupling coordination between SEIs and HR. (2) There is heterogeneity in the mediating effect of DL in regions with higher R&D investment and advanced high-tech industries; the positive impact of SEIs–HR coupling coordination on NQP is more significant compared with regions with lower R&D expenditure and underdeveloped high-tech industries. Conversely, in regions with lower R&D spending and underdeveloped high-tech industries, the promoting effect of DL on NQP is stronger. (3) This study enriches the literature on the interaction between SEIs, HR, and NQP and provides theoretical insights and practical implications for improving SEIs–HR coupling coordination, enhancing DL, and advancing NQP. From the perspective of the intersection of industrial economics and behavioral science, this study also supplements the research on human capital allocation and technological innovation behavior in the context of digital transformation.