Factors Influencing Collaborative Governance Capacity in Sports-Education Integration and Pathways for EnhancementA Multi-Case Study

In the new era, sports-education integration aims to promote youth health and cultivate reserve talents for competitive sports, requiring cross-level (central to local), cross-sectoral (sports to education), and cross-domain (government to society) collaborative governance. Using grounded theory methodology, this study investigates the factors influencing collaborative governance capacity in sports-education integration by analyzing 16 typical Chinese case studies. Through open, axial, and selective coding, we identify nine key factors: alignment of integration vision, scientific rigor in sports education, innovation in elite talent development, policy system maturity, distinctiveness of local characteristics, mutual assistance among governance actors, organizational system completeness, resource integration adequacy, and coupling degree of collaborative governance. These factors are further synthesized into four dimensions: enhancing talent benefits, improving policy effectiveness, optimizing stakeholder relations and establishing coupling mechanisms. A four-tier model (objective, means, organization, and mechanism levels) is constructed to analyze the influencing factors of collaborative governance capacity. This study provides a theoretical framework and practical insights for strengthening sports-education integration governance.