Research on the Digital Economy, Technological Innovation, and Transformation and Upgrading of the Manufacturing Industry in Shandong Province

Based on panel data from 16 cities in Shandong Province from 2013 to 2022, and grounded in theoretical analysis, this paper constructs a benchmark regression model, a mediating effect model, and a heterogeneity test for empirical analysis. The results show that: (1) the digital economy has a significant positive effect on promoting the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry in Shandong Province; (2) the digital economy can drive the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry through technological innovation; and (3) the impact of the digital economy on the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry in Shandong Province is evidently heterogeneous.