When digital innovation misaligns: feedback processes across social, ecological, and technological domains in urban water governance

The social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) framework conceptualizes sustainability transitions as relational processes shaped by dynamic feedback across social, ecological, and technological subsystems. While its ontological and epistemological contributions are increasingly acknowledged, empirical applications remain limited, particularly in non-Western contexts. This study addresses this gap by applying SETS to urban water governance in Ningbo, China, focusing on the WeChat-based e-participation platform introduced under the five water co-governance (FWC) initiative. Using qualitative data from interviews, field observations, and policy documents, the study reconstructs the platform’s design, implementation, and outcomes. The analysis reveals a critical misalignment between the platform’s intended role—facilitating citizen participation and ecological improvement—and its actual use as a bureaucratic tool for cadre performance evaluation. This repurposing reinforced hierarchical governance norms, encouraged superficial fixes, and sidelined systemic ecological challenges. Although overall municipal water quality improved, the contribution of digital participation was very limited. Most issues identified through the platform were superficial and strategically selected by government staff to meet performance targets, offering little leverage for addressing deeper ecological problems. From a SETS perspective, these findings demonstrate how institutional incentives and cultural norms can redirect technological innovations, generating distorted feedback loops that weaken inclusivity and adaptive capacity. The study contributes to SETS scholarship by operationalizing the framework to trace cross-domain interactions and misaligned feedback, showing how temporal mismatches, bureaucratic manipulation, and cultural hierarchies undermine intended synergies. It also offers practical lessons for policymakers: technological tools must be embedded in adaptive institutions, culturally responsive participation strategies, and long-term ecological objectives to realize their transformative potential.