Rural Industrial Integration and Economic Performance of Leading Agricultural Enterprises: Firm-Level Heterogeneity in Jiangxi, China

Rural industrial integration has become a key strategic direction for promoting agricultural transformation and rural revitalization, with the economic performance of leading agricultural enterprises serving as a critical metric for evaluating its success. However, empirical evidence on the characteristics and boundary conditions of how rural industrial integration affects the economic performance of these enterprises remains limited. This study investigates this relationship using panel data from 821 leading agricultural enterprises in Jiangxi Province from 2021 to 2023, analyzed with a random-effects model. The results reveal a significant positive statistical association between the degree of rural industrial integration and firm economic performance, which remains robust across multiple reliability checks. Further analysis indicates that this positive association varies considerably across different firm characteristics, exhibiting four forms of contingent heterogeneity: “size-reverse,” “leverage-positive,” “age-U-shaped,” and “subsidy-dampening.” Based on these findings, two policy recommendations are proposed: first, implement a differentiated support strategy that prioritizes guiding small-sized enterprises and moderately leveraged firms into rural industrial integration activities, together with phase-specific support measures for firms at different life-cycle stages; second, improve the allocation efficiency of fiscal subsidy funds, alongside the supporting systems and long-term mechanisms for rural industrial integration.