As a key engine for the transformation and upgrading of the modern economic system, new quality productive forces (NQPF) hold significant strategic value in addressing the challenges of corporate recovery. Although existing studies have focused on the antecedents of firm growth, theoretical explorations on how distressed firms can break through development constraints by leveraging NQPF remains insufficient. Using data from listed companies from 2011 to 2022, this paper examines the impact of NQPF on the value creation capability of distressed firms. The study finds that the cultivation of NQPF helps enhance the value creation capability of distressed firms and empowers them to realize a transformational rebirth. The “ability match” resulting from executives’ R&D backgrounds and the “resource empowerment” generated by government subsidies enhance the effect of NQPF on the value creation capability of distressed firms. Further research indicates that breakthrough innovation, resource allocation efficiency, and flat organizational transformation are the key mechanisms by which NQPF boosts the value creation capability of distressed firms. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the value creation effect of NQPF is more significant in distressed firms dominated by private capital, operating in high-tech industries, or located in regions with a higher level of digitalization. This paper breaks through the traditional factor-driven paradigm, incorporates ability match and government incentives into the analytical framework for the evolution of NQPF, and verifies the core paths of technology empowerment, resource allocation, and organizational change. It not only addresses the research gap in how firm growth and recovery theories explain the mechanism of NQPF, but also provides a novel theoretical perspective for the recovery process of distressed firms in a complex environment.