Flagships and Community Builders: A Configurational Analysis of High-Impact University Ideological and Political Education WeChat Accounts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71204/158qy339Keywords:
Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Fsqca), Configuration Theory; Higher Education, Digital Strategy, Ideological and Political Education (IPE), Wechat Accounts, Chinese UniversityAbstract
Organizational success on digital platforms rarely emerges from single “best practice” factors but from the complex interplay among strategic elements. Yet, research has predominantly relied on linear models ill-equipped to capture this causal complexity. Addressing this gap, this study draws on configuration theory and employs fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to uncover the pathways to high impact for 30 top-performing university Ideological and Political Education (IPE) WeChat accounts. Our analysis reveals two crucial findings. First, high-quality content and extensive communication influence are identified as dual necessary conditions, resolving the theoretical tension between value-centric and reach-centric logics. Second, we uncover two equifinal sufficient configurations built upon this shared foundation: a “Community Builder” strategy that combines the core conditions with high affinity, and a “Flagship” strategy that combines them with demonstrative leadership. This study develops and validates a configurational model of digital success, offering a nuanced theoretical alternative to correlational approaches and providing a strategic map for practitioners navigating the complexities of digital communication.
References
Aleksandrova, Y., & Parusheva, S. (2019). Social media usage patterns in higher education institutions—An empirical study. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 14(5), 108–121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v14i05.9720
Andrews, R., Beynon, M. J., & McDermott, A. M. (2016). Organizational capability in the public sector: A configurational approach. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 26(2), 239–258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muv005
Arora, S., Singh, G. P., Chakraborty, A., & Maity, M. (2022). Polarization and social media: A systematic review and research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 183, 121942. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121942
Brunton, G., Thomas, J., O’Mara-Eves, A., Jamal, F., Oliver, S., & Kavanagh, J. (2017). Narratives of community engagement: A systematic review-derived conceptual framework for public health interventions. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 944. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4958-4
Capriotti, P., Carretón-Ballester, C., & Losada-Díaz, J.-C. (2024). Analysing the influence of Universities’ content strategy on the level of engagement on social media. Communication & Society, 37(1), 41–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15581/003.37.1.41-60
Chen, J. (2024). Impacts of internet literacy and internet contact on the communication effect of university students’ ideological and political education in China. Acta Psychologica, 247, 104321. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104321
Chen, S., Li, Q., Lei, B., & Wang, N. (2021). Configurational Analysis of the Driving Paths of Chinese Digital Economy Based on the Technology–Organization–Environment Framework. Sage Open, 11(4), 21582440211054500. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211054500
Chu, W. (2023). Research on the innovative path of college students’ network ideological and political education. Frontiers in Educational Research, 6(18), 19–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2023.061804
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8(4), 597–600. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579400007318
Dias, M. A., Barreto, M. C. M., Da Silva Cardoso, C., Neto, J. C. L., Pompeu, R. M., & De Alencar, D. B. (2021). University social responsibility and the control mechanisms of the Ministry of Education from a systemic view. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 9(1), 22–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol9.iss1.2814
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101
Ding, H. (2022). What kinds of countries have better innovation performance? – A country-level fsQCA and NCA study. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(4), 100215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2022.100215
Douglas, E. J., Shepherd, D. A., & Prentice, C. (2020). Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis for a finer-grained understanding of entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 35(1), 105970. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.105970
Fiss, P. C. (2011). Building Better Causal Theories: A Fuzzy Set Approach to Typologies in Organization Research. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 393–420. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.60263120
Hinings, B., Gegenhuber, T., & Greenwood, R. (2018). Digital innovation and transformation: An institutional perspective. Information and Organization, 28(1), 52–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2018.02.004
Isaeva, E. R., Akhmatov, A. A., & Muslieva, T. V. (2024). Innovations in educational technologies as a strategic tool for increasing the competitiveness of educational institutions in the global context. Ekonomika i Upravlenie: Problemy, Resheniya, 2(12), 213–221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2024.12.20.023
Kandhway, K., & Kuri, J. (2016). Using node centrality and optimal control to maximize information diffusion in social networks. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, 47, 1099–1110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMC.2016.2531690
Katz, E., & Lazarsfeld, P. F. (1955). Personal influence: The part played by people in the flow of mass communications. The Free Press.
Kiriliuk, O., & Zakharova, V. (2024). Innovative strategies for the development of the university’s ecosystem in the age of digital transformation. Krasnoyarsk Science, 13(2), 239–256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12731/2070-7568-2024-13-2-239
Kumar, S., Sahoo, S., Lim, W. M., Kraus, S., & Bamel, U. (2022). Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in business and management research: A contemporary overview. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 180, 121599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121599
Li, W. (2018). Application of virtual reality technology in the inheritance of cultural heritage. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1087, 6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1087/6/062057
Lian, L. (2023). Research on the Current Situation and Development Strategies of WeChat Official Accounts for Ideological and Political Education in Higher Education Institutions. Media and Communication Research, 4(4), 46–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2023.040408
Liu, B., Cui, Z., & Nanyangwe, C. (2023). How line-manager leadership styles and employee-perceived HRM practices contribute to employee performance: A configurational perspective. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 44(4), 546–563. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-04-2022-0202
Luan, H., Wang, M., Sokol, R., Wu, S., Victor, B., & Perron, B. (2020). A scoping review of WeChat to facilitate professional healthcare education in Mainland China. Medical Education Online, 25(1), 1782594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2020.1782594
Meyer, A. D., Tsui, A. S., & Hinings, C. R. (1993). Configurational approaches to organizational analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), 1175–1195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/256809
Ngai, C., Singh, R., Lu, W., & Koon, A. (2020). Grappling With the COVID-19 Health Crisis: Content Analysis of Communication Strategies and Their Effects on Public Engagement on Social Media. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(8), e21360. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/21360
Olya, H. G. T., & Altinay, L. (2016). Asymmetric modeling of intention to purchase tourism weather insurance and loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 2791–2800. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.11.015
Overstreet, M. (2020). Strategies for building community among learners in online courses. College Teaching, 68(1), 45–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2019.1707756
Pang, H. (2020). Examining associations between university students’ mobile social media use, online self-presentation, social support and sense of belonging. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 72(3), 321–338. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-08-2019-0202
Pappas, I. O., Kourouthanassis, P. E., Giannakos, M. N., & Chrissikopoulos, V. (2016). Explaining online shopping behavior with fsQCA: The role of cognitive and affective perceptions. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 794–803. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.07.010
Puppatz, M., Wang, M., & Deller, J. (2023). A configurational approach to investigating the relationship between organizational culture and organizational effectiveness using fuzzy-set analysis. Group & Organization Management, 49(4), 1013–1051.
Purtle, J., Marzalik, J. S., Halfond, R. W., Bufka, L. F., Teachman, B. A., & Aarons, G. A. (2020). Toward the data-driven dissemination of findings from psychological science. American Psychologist, 75(8), 1052–1066. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000721
Ragin, C. C. (2006). The calibration of concepts. In B. Rihoux & C. C. Ragin (Eds.), Configurational comparative methods: Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and related techniques (pp. 69–86). Sage Publications.
Ragin, C. C. (2008). Redesigning social inquiry: Fuzzy sets and beyond. University of Chicago Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226702797.001.0001
Rubin, A. M. (2009). The uses-and-gratifications perspective on media effects. In J. Bryant & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 165–184). Routledge.
Rutter, R., Roper, S., & Lettice, F. (2016). Social media interaction, the university brand and recruitment performance. Journal of Business Research, 69, 3096–3104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.025
Salmi, J. (2007). Autonomy from the state vs responsiveness to markets. Higher Education Policy, 20(3), 223–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300154
Schneider, C. Q., & Wagemann, C. (2012). Set-theoretic methods for the social sciences: A guide to qualitative comparative analysis. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sokrhdIi72sC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=Set-theoretic+methods+for+the+social+sciences:+A+guide+to+qualitative+comparative+analysis&ots=tQpY4wvqqX&sig=gXAMnhn2s8f5oQyqpNB3z0oewu8
Scott, W. R. (2013). Institutions and organizations: Ideas, interests, and identities (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Shen, L., Wang, S., Chen, W., Fu, Q., Evans, R., Lan, F., Li, W., Xu, J., & Zhang, Z. (2019). Understanding the function constitution and influence factors on communication for the WeChat official account of top tertiary hospitals in China: Cross-sectional study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(9), e13025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/13025
Shu, X. (2023). Research on construction quality evaluation of ideological and political Wechat public accounts in universities under the communication field. SHS Web of Conferences, 171, 03014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202317103014
Sun, J., Zhang, J.-H., Zhang, H., Wang, C., Duan, X., & Chen, M. (2020). Development and validation of a tourism fatigue scale. Tourism Management, 81, 104121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104121
Trueb, B. (2013). Integrating qualitative and quantitative data: Index creation using fuzzy-set QCA. Quality & Quantity, 47(6), 3537–3558. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-012-9738-8
Valdés-León, K. V., Alvear-Sarrà, S. I., & Suárez-Amaya, L. C. (2021). An institutional perspective for evaluating digital transformation in higher education: Insights from the Chilean case. Sustainability, 13(17), 9850. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179850
Varughese, R. (2017). National policy on education and higher education. Higher Education for the Future, 4(2), 158–165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631117706275
Verhoeven, P., & Verbruggen, T. (2024). Digital signaling in public governance: How government agencies use social media to convey legitimacy and performance. Government Information Quarterly, 41(1), 101890.
Weitz, B. (2023). Community engagement. Nature Plants, 9(11), 1777. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01582-y
Wolfschwenger, J., & Young, K. (2021). Multicausality and equifinality. In K. Young, P. M. F. C. d. B. e. Mello, & G. d. F. C. F. de Mello (Eds.), Research methods in the social sciences: An a-z of key concepts (pp. 209–213). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780198850298.003.0042
Woodside, A. G. (2014). Embrace• perform• model: Complexity theory, contrarian case analysis, and multiple realities. Journal of Business Research, 67(12), 2495–2503. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.07.006
Yang, B., Hu, Y., Cheng, X., Bao, Y., & Chen, W. (2023). Exploring the factors affecting content dissemination through WeChat official accounts: A heuristic-systematic model perspective. Electronic Commerce Research, 23(4), 2713–2735. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-022-09559-3
Yang, S. (2023). A Brief Exploration of the Visual Representation and Communication of Urban Image through Film and Television. Journal of Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering (ISSN: 2959-0620), 1(2), 95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jike.202304216
Yu, Y., & Yao, Y. (2024). Empowerment of precise ideological and political education in higher education with educational digitalization. Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 8(4), 23–28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v8i4.6570
Zhang, H. (2023). A comparative study on discourse and dissemination effect of official WeChat in universities. Media and Communication Research, 4(6), 6–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2023.040602
Zhang, M., Wu, D., Chen, H., & Zhou, T. (2024). WeChat official accounts in medical academic libraries: A study on publication status and communication impact in China. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 50(4), 102946. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2024.102946
Zhang, X., Yan, L., Chen, K., & Sung, D. K. (2020). Fast, efficient broadcast schemes based on the prediction of dynamics in vehicular ad hoc networks. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 21(2), 531–542. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2019.2896627
Zheng, X., Cheung, C. M. K., Lee, M. K. O., & Liang, L. (2015). Building brand loyalty through user engagement in online brand communities in social networking sites. Information Technology & People, 28(1), 90–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-08-2013-0144
Zhou, Z., Zhang, H., & Sun, Y. (2024). The application and management of university WeChat official accounts in college student ideological education: A exploration based on the “BIFT art sea studio” WeChat official account. SHS Web of Conferences, 187, 01013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202418701013
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shuang Wang (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors retain copyright of their work, and readers are free to copy, share, adapt, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as appropriate attribution is given.
How to Cite
