Abstract: Based on 137 in-depth interviews and a sample of 43 authoritative newspaper articles, this paper uses the grounded theory to refine the digital empowerment elements driving the digitized integration of rural industries through digital technology. Furthermore, a mechanism model illustrating the role of these elements is constructed. The results show that: (1) The intrinsic nature of digital technology driving the digitized integration of rural industries can be deconstructed into five digital empowerment elements: digital infrastructure, the supply of data resource, the honeycomb structure of industrial main bodies, the ability of data association, and the ability of data production. (2) Through organizational empowerment, structural empowerment, and contextual empowerment, digital technology systematically promotes the digitized integration of rural industries by deploying data resources, reconstructing subject relationships, and enhancing data correlation and production capacities. (3) The mechanism behind digital technology driving the digitized integration of rural industries follows the path of “data resource action → data capability generation → data value realization.” (4) The five digital empowerment elements operate as follows: the supply of data resource constructed by digital infrastructure facilitates the honeycomb structure of industrial entities, enhances the ability of data association and the ability of data production, ultimately contributing to the digitized integration of rural industries.

Key words: digital technology, digital empowerment, rural industry integration, digital integration development