THE LINKAGE BETWEEN OPEN INNOVATION AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN VIETNAM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62985/j.huit_ojs.vol26.no3E.685Keywords:
Open innovation, digital transformation, resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, emerging markets, Vietnam.Abstract
This study investigates how open innovation contributes to digital transformation among publicly listed firms in Vietnam, a context characterized by limited resources and nascent digital capabilities. By enabling access to external knowledge and complementary assets, open innovation is expected to facilitate firms’ digital capability development and organizational adaptability. Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework that combines open innovation theory, the resource-based view, and dynamic capabilities theory, this study analyzes survey data collected from 312 firms using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The data were collected over a 12-week period (October to December 2025) through online questionnaires distributed via Google Forms and Qualtrics. The findings provide robust empirical evidence that open innovation has a positive and significant effect on digital transformation. In contrast, firm size and industry type do not significantly moderate this relationship. This research contributes to literature by empirically bridging open innovation and digital transformation within a unified framework, while highlighting the strategic role of external knowledge in enhancing digital capabilities in emerging market contexts.
References
[1] H. W. Chesbrough, Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business Press, 2003. Accessed: Jul. 01, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.com/books?hl=vi&lr=&id=4hTRWStFhVgC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=1.%09Chesbrough,+H.W.+Open+innovation:+The+new+imperative+for+creating+and+profiting+from+technology.+Harvard+Business+School+Press+(2003)&ots=XvYz_Rq3DI&sig=zesBJ8Zx6OBTZz5F-GGY0GoY3io
[2] E. K. Huizingh, “Open innovation: State of the art and future perspectives,” Technovation, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 2–9, 2011, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2010.10.002
[3] K. Laursen and A. Salter, “Open for innovation: the role of openness in explaining innovation performance among U.K. manufacturing firms,” Strateg. Manag. J., vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 131–150, Feb. 2006, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.507
[4] Z. Asim and S. Sorooshian, “Exploring the Role of Knowledge, Innovation and Technology Management (KNIT) Capabilities that Influence Research and Development,” J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex., vol. 5, no. 2, p. 21, Jun. 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc5020021
[5] A. Ferraris, G. Santoro, and S. Bresciani, “Open innovation in multinational companies’ subsidiaries: the role of internal and external knowledge,” Eur. J. Int. Manag., vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 452–468, Jan. 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2017.085583
[6] D. B. Ho, C. D. Duong, M. L. Tran, T. S. Luong, and T. P. H. Tran, “Big data analytics powered by artificial intelligence and entrepreneurial resilience: A moderated mediation model of technological turbulence and business innovation model,” J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex., vol. 11, no. 3, p. 100611, Sep. 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2025.100611
[7] P. Qiu and B. Chang, “The impact of digital transformation on open innovation performance: The intermediary role of digital innovation dynamic capability,” PLOS One, vol. 20, no. 3, p. e0317785, Mar. 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317785
[8] T. H. Nguyen, X. C. Le, and T. H. L. Vu, “An extended technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework for online retailing utilization in digital transformation: empirical evidence from Vietnam,” J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex., vol. 8, no. 4, p. 200, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8040200
[9] K. C. Nguyen, N. Ngoc-Long, T. D. Ho, and T. Van Hai, “Digital transformation, organizational agility, and firm performance in emerging markets: Evidence from Vietnam’s machinery sector,” Probl. Perspect. Manag., vol. 23, no. 3, p. 342, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.23(3).2025.25
[10] J. Uotila, “Punctuated equilibrium or ambidexterity: dynamics of incremental and radical organizational change over time,” Ind. Corp. Change, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 131–148, Feb. 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtx018
[11] A. A. Al-Tit, S. Al-Ayed, A. Alhammadi, M. Hunitie, A. Alsarayreh, and W. Albassam, “The impact of employee development practices on human capital and social capital: the mediating contribution of knowledge management,” J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex., vol. 8, no. 4, p. 218, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8040218
[12] J. Barney, “Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage,” J. Manag., vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 99–120, Mar. 1991, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
[13] A. Priyono and A. Hidayat, “Dynamic capabilities for open innovation: A typology of pathways toward aligning resources, strategies and capabilities,” J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex., vol. 8, no. 4, p. 206, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8040206
[14] A. Bharadwaj, O. A. El Sawy, P. A. Pavlou, and N. v Venkatraman, “Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights,” MIS quarterly, vol. 37, no. 2. Management Information Systems Research Center, University of Minnesota, pp. 471–482, 2013, doi: https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2013/37:2.3
[15] G. Vial, “Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda,” J. Strateg. Inf. Syst., vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 118–144, Jun. 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2019.01.003
[16] X. He, M. Rizov, and X. Zhang, “Workforce size adjustment as a strategic response to exchange rate shocks: A strategy-tripod application to Chinese firms,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 138, pp. 203–213, Jan. 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.013
[17] E. Autio, S. Nambisan, L. D. W. Thomas, and M. Wright, “Digital affordances, spatial affordances, and the genesis of entrepreneurial ecosystems,” Strateg. Entrep. J., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 72–95, Mar. 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1266
[18] S. Nambisan, M. Wright, and M. Feldman, “The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes,” Res. Policy, vol. 48, no. 8, p. 103773, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.03.018
[19] K. S. Warner and M. Wäger, “Building dynamic capabilities for digital transformation: An ongoing process of strategic renewal,” Long Range Plann., vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 326–349, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2018.12.001
[20] J. Reis, M. Amorim, N. Melão, and P. Matos, “Digital Transformation: A Literature Review and Guidelines for Future Research,” in Trends and Advances in Information Systems and Technologies, vol. 745, Á. Rocha, H. Adeli, L. P. Reis, and S. Costanzo, Eds., in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol. 745. , Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018, pp. 411–421. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77703-0_41
[21] J. Cenamor, V. Parida, and J. Wincent, “How entrepreneurial SMEs compete through digital platforms: The roles of digital platform capability, network capability and ambidexterity,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 100, pp. 196–206, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.03.035
[22] W. Sun, X. Jin, S. H. Kim, and D. Yang, “The Imperative of Digital Transformation and SMEs’ Inbound Open Innovation Strategies: The Moderating Role of Partner Diversity and Technological Uncertainty,” Systems, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 19, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/systems14010019
[23] C. Xu, X. Chen, and J. Chen, “Effect of digital transformation on open innovation,” Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag., vol. 37, no. 13, pp. 4113–4126, Dec. 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2024.2438097
[24] T. Beck, A. Demirgüç‐Kunt, and V. Maksimovic, “Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?,” J. Finance, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 137–177, Feb. 2005, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2005.00727.x
[25] L. Li, F. Su, W. Zhang, and J. Mao, “Digital transformation by SME entrepreneurs: A capability perspective,” Inf. Syst. J., vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 1129–1157, Nov. 2018, doi: https://doi.org/ 10.1111/isj.12153
[26] G. L. Tortorella, R. Giglio, and D. H. Van Dun, “Industry 4.0 adoption as a moderator of the impact of lean production practices on operational performance improvement,” Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manag., vol. 39, no. 6-7–8, pp. 860–886, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.08.021
[27] D. J. Teece, G. Pisano, and A. Shuen, "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strateg. Manag. J., vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 509–533, 1997, doi: https://doi.org/
10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7%3C509::AID-SMJ882%3E3.0.CO;2-Z
[28] C. L. Wang and P. K. Ahmed, “Dynamic capabilities: A review and research agenda,” Int. J. Manag. Rev., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 31–51, Mar. 2007, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2007.00201.x
[29] A. Hanelt, R. Bohnsack, D. Marz, and C. Antunes Marante, “A Systematic Review of the Literature on Digital Transformation: Insights and Implications for Strategy and Organizational Change,” J. Manag. Stud., vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 1159–1197, Jul. 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12639
[30] Y. Liao, F. Deschamps, E. D. F. R. Loures, and L. F. P. Ramos, “Past, present and future of Industry 4.0 - a systematic literature review and research agenda proposal,” Int. J. Prod. Res., vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 3609–3629, Jun. 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2017.1308576
[31] A. Correani, A. De Massis, F. Frattini, A. M. Petruzzelli, and A. Natalicchio, “Implementing a Digital Strategy: Learning from the Experience of Three Digital Transformation Projects,” Calif. Manage. Rev., vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 37–56, Aug. 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125620934864
[32] G. C. Kane, D. Palmer, A. N. Phillips, D. Kiron, and N. Buckley, “Strategy, not technology, drives digital transformation,” MIT Sloan Manag. Rev., 2015, Accessed: Jul. 01, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/projects/strategy-drives-digital-transformation/
[33] thuvienphapluat.vn, “Decree 80/2021/ND-CP guiding the Law on Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,” LAW LIBRARY. Accessed: Jul. 01, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Doanh-nghiep/Decree-80-2021-ND-CP-elaboration-Law-on-Provision-of-Assistance-for-Small-and-Medium-Enterprises/487551/tieng-anh.aspx
[34] U. N. S. Division, International Standard industrial classification of all economic activities (ISIC). United Nations Publications, 2008.
[35] J. F. Hair, G. T. M. Hult, C. M. Ringle, M. Sarstedt, N. P. Danks, and S. Ray, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R: A Workbook. in Classroom Companion: Business. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7
[36] L. S. Aiken, S. G. West, and R. R. Reno, Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Park, CA, USA: Sage Publications, 1991. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.com/books?hl=vi&lr=&id=LcWLUyXcmnkC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=35.%09Aiken,+L.S.+Multiple+regression:+Testing+and+interpreting+interactions.+Newbury+Park,+CA:+sage+(1991).+&ots=fqje1fTYYh&sig=2V_MMpX5zQzPkh2X363_vpY9GN4
