Digital transformation has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of traditional industries, necessitating institutional entrepreneurship to overcome existing constraints. Despite its significance, the process of institutional entrepreneurship during digital transformation remains underexplored in current literature. This study leverages institutional entrepreneurship theory and enterprise survey data to investigate how digital leadership impacts digital transformation performance. Our findings reveal that digital leadership significantly enhances digital transformation outcomes by fostering institutional change activities. Furthermore, the capability for information search is found to positively moderate the relationship between digital leadership and institutional change activities. By integrating institutional entrepreneurship theory into the realm of digital transformation, this research broadens the theoretical framework and offers fresh insights. It also advances the application and development of institutional entrepreneurship theory within the context of digital transformation, providing valuable guidance for enterprises seeking to improve their digital transformation performance.