How do village social foundations shape rural residents’ participation in digital governance: empirical evidence from village surveys in 11 provinces of China

Introduction Digital village initiatives are embedded within village society, and rural Residents’ participation in digital governance is shaped by the underlying social foundations of their communities. Methods Drawing on state-society interaction theory, this study develops an analytical framework that conceptualizes village social foundations across three dimensions: cultural foundations, organizational foundations, and human-capital foundations. Using survey data from eleven provinces in China, We examine how these foundations influence rural Residents’ engagement in digital governance. This issue is especially important in the digital transformation of food systems. Results and discussion The results show that stronger village social foundations significantly enhance Residents’ participation in digital governance, with organizational foundations exerting the strongest effect. The convenience of digital governance technologies moderates this relationship: higher convenience strengthens the positive impact of village social foundations on participation. Changes in village social foundations also reshape village trust, publicness, and Party-Mass Relations, which in turn alter Residents’ levels of digital governance involvement. The influence of village social foundations varies across population groups. Compared with older adults, individuals with lower education, and non-party members, the effects are more pronounced among younger residents, highly educated residents, and Communist Party members. These findings suggest the need to revitalize village cultural resources, strengthen grassroots organizational capacity, and consolidate village-level human capital to further enhance rural Residents’ contributions to digital governance and advance the effectiveness of digital village governance.