Research on the Technology–Organization–Environment Matching Mechanism in the Digital Transformation of the Manufacturing Industry: Evidence from Frontline Employees in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area

Amid China’s “Manufacturing Power” push, full-chain digital restructuring in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area remains hampered by mismatches among technology, organization, and environment. We therefore explored how shop floor actors perceive and shape this Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) interplay. Semi-structured interviews with frontline operators, maintainers, and supply chain staff from GBA manufacturers were inductively coded, yielding 36 concepts, 10 categories, and 3 core TOE aggregates that were woven into a grounded model. The analysis shows that industrial internet platforms and smart equipment only create value when matched by flexible shop floor structures, cross-department data protocols, and skilled teams; otherwise, data silos, simulation–production deviations, and “buy-but-not-build” procurement stall adoption. Market pressure for customized, short-lead-time products and divergent municipal pilot policies further intensify the TOE balancing act, particularly for SMEs with weak absorptive capacity. By revealing a grassroots “technology-driven → organization-adapted → environment-adjusted” spiral that is moderated by frontline feedback, the study extends the TOE framework to micro-level, regional innovation theory and offers policy–practice levers for differentiated, cross-city manufacturing upgrading.