Research on the Driving Factors and Mechanism of Intelligent Transformation of Marine Ranches

Against the backdrop of the superimposed advancement of the digital economy and the maritime power strategy, Marine ranches are gradually shifting from traditional resource conservation and restocking platforms to intelligent production and governance systems characterized by data-driven, algorithmic decision-making, equipment collaboration, and platform governance. Compared with general manufacturing or platform enterprises, Marine ranches have triple attributes of natural ecosystem, offshore engineering system and industrial operation system. Their transformation involves not only the introduction of digital technologies such as sensing and perception, communication networks, intelligent equipment, cloud platforms and artificial intelligence, the transformation is also influenced by multiple factors such as the complexity of the Marine environment, differences in resource endowments, the intensity of institutional regulation, market traceability requirements, and ecological governance goals. Although existing research has accumulated relatively rich results from the perspectives of digital transformation, smart fisheries, information system adoption, dynamic capabilities, and ecological governance, there is still a lack of a unified explanation for "why it occurs, who drives it, through what paths it deepens, and how it forms stable changes at the organizational level." Especially under the dual constraints of the blue economy and ecological civilization, how digital technology can be transformed from instrumental input to structural change force still requires a more systematic theoretical review. Based on this, this paper conducts a theoretical study on the driving factors and mechanisms of the intelligent transformation of Marine ranches, with the aim of constructing an analytical framework that can connect antecedent conditions, process deepening, capability embedding and result orientation. First, on the basis of the technology-organization-environment framework, the article identifies eight key drivers: technological advantage, technological maturity, enterprise strategy, resource endowment, ecological orientation, institutional pressure, competitive pressure and market demand; Then, in combination with the theory of information technology assimilation, absorption capacity and institutionalization, the intelligent transformation of Marine ranches is understood as a progressive process of digital technology adoption, digital technology absorption and digital technology institutionalization; Further illustrate how enterprise capabilities play an amplifying, transforming and stabilizing role in this process from the perspectives of resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and digital innovation. Based on this, this paper presents the overall logic of "antecedent-driven - transformation-motivated - technological progression - capability amplification - performance release" and forms several research propositions to explain the formation mechanism, deepening mechanism and value generation mechanism of the intelligent transformation of Marine ranches. This paper argues that the intelligent transformation of Marine ranches is not a simple equipment update or single-point technological upgrade, but a systematic change that is shaped by both internal and external driving factors, deepened by organizational learning and process reengineering, and ultimately achieves sustained value release through institutional embedding. Technological factors determine the feasibility and tool boundaries of the transformation, organizational factors determine the resource base and strategic direction of the transformation, environmental factors determine the external pressure and opportunity window of the transformation, and dynamic capabilities, absorptive capabilities and innovative capabilities determine whether digital technology can truly be transformed into organizational practices and competitive advantages. The theoretical contribution of this paper lies in expanding the interpretive boundaries of the TOE framework in the context of Marine ranches; Introducing the process logic of "adoption - absorption - institutionalization" into the study of the intelligent transformation of Marine ranches; and construct a model of the mechanism that takes into account ecological, economic and social goals. The findings will help deepen research on the digital transformation of Marine ranches and provide theoretical support for the construction of smart fisheries, the governance of Marine data, and the phased advancement of intelligent transformation by enterprises.