Abstract:     The digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises is not only related to the rise and fall of the manufacturing industry but also decides whether countries can seize the new leadership in the digital age. Industrial digitalization has captured wide concern in academia and industry. At present, there is controversy about the core of digitalized transformation and the undertaker. Some scholars believe that industrial digitalization requires government intervention. Governments can introduce policies to enhance business viability, and governments can increase investment in digital infrastructure. However, some scholars oppose government intervention in the digital transformation process. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the driving force for the digital transformation of enterprises. More precisely, what is the relationship between internal digital transformation and external empowerment, alternatives or complements? Can enterprises realize the spontaneous evolution from internal digitalization to external digitalization? 
     This paper explored the above questions from both empirical and theoretical perspectives. From the empirical point of view. This paper used the questionnaire survey data of 977 manufacturing enterprises in China, Germany, and Brazil. This paper explored the main trends of industrial digital transformation on the enterprise level and provided an empirical basis for the debate on whether to enhance the self-viability of enterprises or a cooperation-supporting environment. The relationship between internal digitalization and external digitalization of manufacturing enterprises was clarified. From the theoretical point of view. This paper extended transaction cost theory, resource-based view, and resource-dependent view to digitization research. This paper explored the relationship between internal digitization and external digitization from the perspective of efficiency and capability and explored the heterogeneous characteristics of the process from the perspective of power, in which internal digitization promotes external digitization. It provided a new perspective and reference for digital transformation for manufacturing enterprises and enriched the related research on digitalization and industrialization theory.
     The research drew three conclusions: (1) The internal digitalization of manufacturing enterprises promotes external digitalization. Relying on the endogenous capacity, the enterprise can realize the spontaneous evolution from internal digital integration to external digital linkage. The direct impact of the introduction of digital technology into the enterprise is to improve the accuracy of the production process and reduce the resource allocation cost. Along with the internal digital integration, the organizational structure suited to the traditional market goes ineffective. To reduce costs and improve the efficiency of resource allocation, enterprises will spontaneously apply digitalization to the process of external cooperation. (2) If the scale of the enterprise is large and the technical level is high, the positive impact of internal digitization on external digitization will increase. Given that organizational boundaries should maximize the control of external forces, large-scale enterprises and high-tech enterprises with stronger control over external forces may be more inclined to apply digitization to cooperative networks to continuously expand organizational boundaries to obtain more knowledge and resources. The larger the scale and the higher the technical level of the enterprise, the greater the positive impact internal digitalization has on external digitalization. (3) Analyze country-level differences. Internal digitization has a positive effect on external digitization in the German and Chinese samples, but this effect is not significant in the Brazilian sample. Brazil has a low degree of internal digitalization, and the digital transformation is dominated by small-scale and low-tech industries, so the external enabling effect of digitalization in Brazil is not significant.
     Finally, according to the research results, this paper puts forward the following practical suggestions: (1) Enterprises should pay attention to the integration of digital resources and traditional resources. (2) In the process of digital transformation, the government′s top-down administrative measures are no longer efficient, and the government needs to transform its functions from a controller to a service provider. (3) The government should focus on providing the market environment, rather than intervening in the development stage through selective industrial policies.

Key words: manufacturing enterprise, industrial digitization, internal digital transformation, external digital empowerment