From Information Resources to Digital Productivity: Evaluating New-Quality Productive Forces through Information Infrastructure and Communication Systems

Abstract

This study positions the notion of new-quality productivity (NQP) within the broader field of information science, examining how the alignment of information assets with communication infrastructures contributes to forms of digital productivity. It introduces an empirical framework that associates knowledge structuring, data stewardship, and informational circulation with measurable outputs captured through total factor productivity (TFP). Using data from Zhejiang Province for the period 2020–2023, the analysis applies a multi-input DEA Shapley decomposition approach to apportion productivity gains to information-related elements (data valorisation, information asset development, analytical capacity) and communication-related components (ICT diffusion, platform interoperability, digital commercial activity). The findings reveal a mutually reinforcing relationship between informational and communicative functions, generating a cohesive and productive information environment. This aligns both with foundational perspectives in information-flow theory and with contemporary scholarship in knowledge management. The study fulfils an AJLAIS-oriented contribution by extending information science into empirical productivity research, offering evidence on how digital infrastructure, metadata regimes, and information interchange underpin sustainable innovation pathways and economic advancement.