Abstract: In the context of further integration of digital economy and real economy, digital economy has become the key force driving Chinese modernization. Consequently, a thorough examination of enterprise digital transformation behaviors holds significant importance. An empirical study based on the data from A-share non-financial listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2007 to 2021 shows that there is a significant industry peer effect in the digital transformation of enterprises, revealing the phenomenon of industry interaction and clustering in the digital transformation of enterprises. The mechanism analysis results show that competitive pressure is the core driving force of the peer effect in the digital transformation industry of enterprises, which is mainly manifested as the better the information environment and the more intense the market competition, the more significant the peer effect in the industry. The expansion analysis reveals that the higher the performance level and geographical proximity of the peer enterprises, the more significant the industry peer effect, which conforms to the law of logical imitation and the principle of internal first and external second. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis results indicate that the industry peer effect of digital transformation is more significant in non-state-owned enterprises and high-tech enterprises with relatively fierce competitive environments.

Key words: digital transformation, industry peer effects, information theory, competition theory