Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the driving force of innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development in China. In the era of digital economy, with the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, data resources have become the key for SMEs to gain competitive advantages. In practice, some SMEs have seized the opportunities of the times and achieved rapid development through digital transformation, but more SMEs still face significant challenges in the process of digitization, with phenomena such as reluctance, inability, and fear of digital transformation being widespread. At the same time, in the face of complex and volatile market, technology, and institutional environment, the “specialized, refined, differentiated, and innovative (SRDI)” development path is considered an important strategic pathway for high-quality growth of SMEs in China. Existing studies have attempted to explore the impact and boundary conditions of the digital economy on the growth of “SRDI” SMEs, confirming that the business environment has a synergistic effect on the digital economy to enhance the cultivation effectiveness of “SRDI” SMEs. However, most existing studies focus on the macro-level influence of the digital economy on the development of “SRDI” SMEs, without delving into the micro-level analysis of the role of digital technology application, nor examining the internal mechanisms and boundary conditions by which the digital technology application drives the “SRDI” development of SMEs. Therefore, based on the theory of firm endogenous growth mechanism, this paper constructs a theoretical framework of the process by which the application of digital technology empowers the growth of SMEs, and uses questionnaire survey data for empirical analysis to reveal the internal mechanisms and key contexts of the aforementioned process, namely how the application of digital technology promotes enterprise growth by enhancing the “SRDI” strategic orientation of SMEs, as well as the moderating effect of external market conditions (intensity of market competition) and SMEs’ ability to acquire ecosystem resources (acquisition of ecosystem resource). Empirical analysis reveals that the digital technology application can promote the growth of SMEs, and this promotion is achieved by strengthening their “SRDI” strategic orientation. However, the impact of digital technology application on SMEs’ “SRDI” strategic orientation is moderated by external market conditions and the SMEs’ ability to acquire ecosystem resources. Specifically, the more intense the market competition or the easier the access to ecosystem resources, the weaker the impact of digital technology application on the “SRDI” strategic orientation. The theoretical contributions of this paper mainly include: First, by focusing on the impact of digital technology application on the growth of SMEs, this paper enriches the research on the driving factors of SME growth. Second, from a strategic perspective, this paper reveals the internal mechanism by which digital technology application empowers the growth of SMEs. Lastly, this paper identifies the important situational factors for the promotion of “SRDI” development of SMEs through the application of digital technology. This paper also makes some practical contributions: First, SMEs in the era of digital economy can embark on the path of “SRDI” development by actively applying digital technologies. Second, SMEs that adhere to the “SRDI” strategic orientation should not blindly pursue digital transformation but should consider it strategically.