Driven by the policy or bent by the market? Cracking the digital transformation code of farmer cooperatives

The digital transformation of farmer cooperatives significantly promotes the digital rural strategy. However, due to funding and scale constraints, the digital transformation of farmer cooperatives requires government and market participation. To explore the roles of the government and market in the digital transformation of farmer cooperatives, this study constructs a tripartite game model involving farmer cooperatives, consumers, and the government, analyzing stakeholders' decisions and effects. The research results show that, first, under certain conditions, the strategies of the government, farmer cooperatives, and consumers can lead the system to evolve into stable states of (1,0,0) or (1,1,1). Second, critical parameters influencing the digital transformation of farmer cooperatives exist, with discernible thresholds. In the context of this study, the digital subsidy coefficient and the degree of propaganda for consumption upgrade should range between 0.4 and 0.45 and between 0.45 and 0.5, respectively. Consumers' high-quality consumption preferences should be between 0.5 and 0.6, whereas high-quality consumption utility should be between 75 % and 80 % of the existing level. Third, in the short term, the digital transformation of farmer cooperatives requires policy-driven initiatives; in the long term, market-bent initiatives become essential.