Heterogeneous Participation of Multiple Subjects in Firm-backed Rural Revitalization: Zhaoqing Case

Based on Zhaoqing’s “Thousand Enterprises Help Thousand Towns” (TEHTT) policy under Guangdong’s Hundred Counties initiative, this study uses 170 valid 2025 questionnaires across nine districts to analyze four stakeholder groups: enterprises, villagers, cooperatives, and village cadres. Drawing on stakeholder and organizational ecology theories alongside PLS-SEM tests, the research finds notable participation heterogeneity. Enterprises favor industrial chain investment; villagers focus on income and local jobs; females excel in village-enterprise co-construction. Education and age greatly affect participation capacity. The study identifies unbalanced sampling and scarce village cadre data as drawbacks, then proposes differentiated coordination strategies to boost sustainable rural revitalization via multi-party synergy.

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