How does policy mix credibility affect citizen participation? Evidence from pilot of household waste sorting policy

A burgeoning collaborative government-citizen public service delivery mode is hindered by insufficient policy mix credibility for boosting citizen participation. One reason is the unclear understanding of systematic pathways linking policy mix credibility and citizen participation. This article focuses on the relationship between policy mix credibility and citizen participation behavior based on the policy feedback theory. It also introduces citizen participation willingness as a mediator, and ICT tool functionality as moderators to further understand their boundary effects. Using a panel data from four follow-up surveys during the waste sorting policy pilot in Chongqing, China, and employing the difference-in-difference method, we found that policy mix credibility influences citizen participation behavior through citizen participation willingness. And the translation of willingness into actual participation action depends on policy resources represented by the ICT tool functionality. The findings solve the theoretical perplexity about the role of policy mix credibility in citizen participation in public service provision and provide new ideas for mobilizing it.