1. Introduction

With the rapid advancement of digital technologies, their application in the field of education has become increasingly widespread, bringing both new opportunities and challenges to the social service functions of vocational institutes. For sports vocational institutions, a pressing issue lies in how to leverage digital technologies to achieve high-quality development in social services while effectively controlling associated costs. This study aims to explore in depth the cost control strategies for social services in sports vocational institutes driven by digital technologies, providing valuable theoretical insights and practical references.

2. Literature Review

The deep penetration of digital technologies into education has made cost control in the social services of vocational institutes a prominent research focus. Scholars generally agree that technology-driven process optimization, resource integration, and institutional innovation are key to reducing costs [1, 2]. Research has evolved from focusing on the application of technological tools to the design of systematic strategies. Early studies emphasized the short-term benefits of the “Internet Plus” model, which later expanded to the refined services enabled by big data and artificial intelligence. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the synergy among technology, collaboration, and institutional arrangements [3]. The core logic is that the heterogeneity of technologies should be adapted to the diverse needs of different scenarios to achieve dynamic cost control.

Existing research can be categorized into three major streams: First, Technology-Driven Optimization of Service Processes: This line of research focuses on reducing marginal costs by reshaping service delivery models. One perspective emphasizes the use of lightweight technologies to compress costs, while another advocates for high-cost technologies that enhance efficiency and deliver long-term returns [1, 4]. Second: Cost-Sharing through School-Enterprise Collaboration and Resource Integration: The central issue here lies in balancing collaborative benefits against investment risks. By leveraging enterprise resources, school-enterprise cooperation can reduce institutional investment and dilute costs through service scale. However, collaboration models may incur hidden costs due to technological iteration, necessitating dynamic agreements to mitigate such risks [3, 5]. Third: Institutional Innovation Perspective: This stream advocates optimizing long-term cost control through incentive mechanisms and top-level strategic design. For example, OKR-based performance assessments can enhance efficiency and reduce labor redundancy, while strategic resource planning can prevent repetitive investments [6, 7]. Institutional and organizational innovation, alongside faculty capacity building, is considered essential for improving the long-term effectiveness of social services [8].

In summary, existing studies have illuminated the logic of how digital technologies empower cost control in the social services of sports vocational institutes from three perspectives: technology, collaboration, and institutions—forming an integrated framework of “tool optimization–resource sharing–mechanism guarantee.” However, significant limitations remain. For instance, the impact of technological heterogeneity on cost control is often reduced to a static comparison of tool efficiency, and it ignores the dynamic interaction between technology types, scene adaptation, and iteration costs, failing to deeply integrate technological heterogeneity with the institutional context and stakeholder needs. In response to these gaps, this study raises the following core research question: How can cost control strategies for social services in sports vocational institutes driven by digital technologies achieve a dynamic balance among technological heterogeneity, scenario adaptation, and systemic collaboration? To address this question, the study adopts a grounded theory methodology, conducting an in-depth analysis of representative cases to deconstruct the interactive relationships among technology selection, cost thresholds, and institutional constraints. A three-dimensional “Technology–Scenario–Mechanism” adaptation model is constructed. This approach not only compensates for the deficiencies of existing research in terms of dynamic quantification and collaborative mechanisms but also provides a categorized strategic framework for differentiated institutions, promoting a paradigm shift from the “application of tools” to “systemic governance” in the digital transformation of social services.

3. Research Design

3.1. Research Method

This study adopts a grounded theory approach to systematically investigate cost control strategies for the high-quality development of social services in sports vocational institutes driven by digital technologies. Grounded theory enables the construction of theoretical models rooted in empirical reality. The research process began with line-by-line coding of collected materials to extract initial concepts. These concepts were then grouped and logically categorized to identify interrelationships, ultimately leading to the formation of a core “Technology–Scenario–Mechanism” adaptation model. NVivo software was employed to assist in the analysis, ensuring the explanatory power and rigor of the model. By focusing on dynamic interactive relationships, this method effectively compensates for existing research limitations in quantitative assessment and collaborative mechanism analysis.

3.2. Sample Selection and Data Collection

Two types of samples were selected for this study. The textual data includes national and provincial vocational education policy documents from 2019 to 2024, annual quality reports of vocational education from 18 sports vocational institutes across the country, internal guidelines on social services and school-enterprise cooperation from several sports vocational institutions, as well as two representative case studies of social service projects. Interview participants comprised a diverse range of stakeholders: institutional administrators (3), faculty members (5), students (5), and external service recipients (5 representatives from community organizations and enterprises). Data collection combined semi-structured interviews (conducted both online and offline, each lasting 40–60 minutes) with textual mining techniques. A triangulation approach was used, incorporating comparative analysis with policy practices to construct a multidimensional analytical framework. The full body of collected data amounts to approximately 80,000 Chinese characters. After anonymization, the dataset was divided in a 3:1 ratio into a coding group and a validation group.

4. Category Refinement and Model Construction

4.1. Open Coding: From Raw Data to Emergent Initial Categories

Open coding marks the initial phase of grounded theory research. By deconstructing and conceptualizing raw data from the social service practices of sports vocational institutes line by line, this stage reveals the underlying logic of cost control driven by digital technologies. This study focuses on core scenarios such as vocational training in sports, conducting an in-depth analysis of interview transcripts, policy documents, and operational data from the “Sports-Vocational Link” platform. Three key tasks were accomplished during this phase: data granulation, contradiction identification, and theoretical anchoring. Through open coding of the original materials, a cost control pathway characterized by “technological embedding–organizational adaptation–ecological restructuring” was extracted from specific sports service scenarios. Based on this, a coding framework was constructed, encompassing categories such as technology applications, business models, and platform ecosystems.

Table 1: Initial Categories Formed through Open Coding of Cost Control Strategies in Social Services of Sports Vocational Institutes Driven by Digital Technologies

4.2. Axial Coding: Refinement of Core Categories and Construction of Partial Logical Relationships

Axial coding represents a critical phase in grounded theory research, aiming to systematically relate the initial categories derived from open coding and to construct logical connections among core categories. This process reveals the dynamic mechanisms underpinning the high-quality development of social services driven by digital technologies. Focusing on key scenarios such as vocational training in sports, this stage involved three core tasks: categorizing dispersed initial categories into overarching core categories, analyzing the interactive relationships between digital technologies, organizational structures, and service ecosystems, and resolving typical contradictions observed in the context of sports vocational training. Ultimately, six core categories were distilled, demonstrating that sports vocational institutes can reduce service costs while simultaneously enhancing training quality and service reach. This is achieved through the strategic selection of technological tools, the institutionalization of organizational learning, and the construction of platform-based service ecosystems.

Table 2: Core Categories Formed through Axial Coding of Cost Control Strategies in Social Services of Sports Vocational Institutes Driven by Digital Technologies

4.3. Selective Coding: Integration of Core Categories and Theoretical Model Construction

The core category proposed in this study is the “Dynamic Cost Elasticity Generation Mechanism Driven by Digital Technology.” The corresponding theoretical model reveals the internal logic by which sports vocational institutes achieve cost control in social services through a hierarchically progressive structure. This model comprises three core dimensions—technological embedding, organizational adaptation, and ecosystem collaboration—and is threaded throughout by a conflict mediation mechanism, forming a dynamic, cyclical system of “tool innovation–capability reconstruction–value co-creation” (see Figure 1). The narrative structure of this model is as follows: Digital technologies, through their embedding into institutional processes, reshape social service workflows, thereby reducing explicit costs. This cost pressure, in turn, compels sports vocational institutes to establish data-driven decision-making mechanisms, catalyzing the co-construction of digital ecosystems among institutes, enterprises, and communities. In this process, tensions arising from uneven technological diffusion—such as regional disparities in sports service access and compensatory challenges in human-machine interaction—are dynamically mediated through strategies like hybrid service design and resource reallocation. Ultimately, this leads to the formation of an integrated cost control system that achieves cost reduction, quality improvement, and capacity expansion in a synergistic manner.

Figure 1: A Model of the Dynamic Elastic Cost Generation Mechanism for Social Services at Sports Vocational Institutes Driven by Digital Technology

5. Model Interpretation

5.1. Model Overview

This study centers on the core category of the dynamic cost elasticity generation mechanism driven by digital technology within social services provided by sports vocational institutes. The theoretical model takes vocational training in sports as the core scenario, deeply integrating specialized technical services such as sports rehabilitation and injury prevention, and systematically illustrates how digital technologies restructure the cost structure of services through layered penetration and cyclical interaction. The model consists of three major dimensions—technological innovation, organizational capability evolution, and industry-education ecological collaboration—while embedding a conflict mediation mechanism as the dynamic axis that runs through the full cycle of sports service delivery. Together, they form an upward spiral system of “technological cost reduction – organizational adaptation – ecological value co-creation.”

5.2. Model Dimensions and Their Connotations

In the dimension of technological innovation, sports vocational institutes utilize virtual simulation to construct sports rehabilitation training scenarios, reducing traditional physical venue rental costs by nearly 90%. AI-based physical fitness assessment systems replace manual testing, tripling service efficiency. Blockchain technology is employed for the digital credentialing of referees, cutting dispute resolution costs by approximately 60%. These technological breakthroughs directly reduce explicit costs in sports-related social services and, through cloud-based resource sharing, remove scale limitations. For example, the marginal cost of youth physical fitness training and community-based injury prevention services approaches zero. The selection of technological tools is closely tailored to the characteristics of sports services—such as VR motion capture systems designed specifically for basketball tactical training, and wearable devices that monitor elderly fitness data in real-time to inform community health solutions.

This dimension highlights the transformation of sports faculty from passive technology users to active innovators. Rehabilitation instructors conduct weekly data review sessions to analyze student interaction data from virtual simulation courses and dynamically adjust the difficulty curve of training sessions. The fitness instruction team has developed a hybrid “AI coach + community facilitator” model, reducing offline labor costs by 60% while maintaining a human-centered service experience. This adaptive transformation is deeply embedded in the context of vocational training—for instance, in the retraining of retired athletes, instructors use big data to analyze skill gaps and match them precisely with corporate job demands, improving job placement conversion rates by 45%. On the organizational level, agile response mechanisms are established to link injury prevention knowledge bases with regional disease profiles, enabling dynamic optimization of community service offerings. This marks a strategic shift from scale expansion to quality-driven cost control.

This dimension represents the co-construction of a digital service ecosystem by institutes, sports technology enterprises, and community service organizations. Jointly developed VR rehabilitation equipment-sharing platforms between institutes and companies have improved cross-campus resource utilization rates by over 50%. A unified event service platform consolidates referee scheduling, venue management, and other components, significantly compressing the preparation cycle for large-scale sporting events. In the field of injury prevention, institutions have collaborated with top-tier hospitals to develop online diagnostic systems that use AI-based imaging recognition to provide graded injury assessments, offering real-time expert guidance to athletes in remote areas. This collaborative ecosystem restructures cost models through a bilateral market mechanism. For instance, an intelligent recruitment platform accurately matches the supply and demand for fitness coaches, reducing the typical three-month recruitment cycle to just seven days and lowering talent search costs by 72%.

There is a tightly woven interplay among the three dimensions: the cost-reduction impact of virtual simulation technologies compels faculty to enhance their digital teaching capabilities; data-driven decision-making mechanisms accelerate the development of industry-education platforms; and the economies of scale generated by ecological collaboration feed back into technological innovation. Throughout the model, the conflict mediation mechanism plays a central role. To address low participation in online training in western regions, institutes have implemented a combination of 5G network subsidies and mobile service stations with on-site guidance, achieving inclusive service delivery within a controllable cost range. In response to the decline in instructional effectiveness due to inadequate VR simulation precision, the adoption of a dual-track system of “virtual rehearsal + physical correction” has balanced technological efficiency with educational quality.

6. Conclusion

This study, grounded in the grounded theory methodology, systematically constructs a theoretical model for cost control in social services at sports vocational institutes driven by digital technology. The findings demonstrate that technologies such as virtual simulation and AI-based scheduling can significantly reduce training and labor costs through process optimization and resource integration. For instance, one sports vocational institute introduced virtual simulation to replicate sports injury scenarios, reducing rehabilitation training costs by 40%. Furthermore, the proposed “dynamic cost elasticity generation mechanism” effectively balances efficiency and equity, enabling cost reduction, quality improvement, and capacity expansion within a digitally co-constructed ecosystem of institutions, enterprises, and communities. For example, a VR rehabilitation equipment-sharing platform developed jointly by a sports vocational institute in Guangdong and its corporate partners has improved cross-campus resource utilization by over 50%. Future research could expand the sample scope and further explore how technological heterogeneity affects cost structures across diverse service contexts. Additionally, investigations into the application of emerging technologies in sports-related social services could offer sustained momentum for the high-quality development of social services at sports vocational institutions.

Funding Project

Guangdong Vocational Institute of Sport 2025 Institutional (2024KYGH007)