Technology - organization - environment (TOE) framework: proposed for Vietnamese business in the digital age based on SDGs

Abstract

In recent years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented transformation and ecommerce has become a significant player in this shift in the digital age. The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework has been instrumental in understanding the impact of technology on organizational performance as well as providing a framework to evaluate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the online retailing world. An extended technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework that coincides with the implementation of SGDs is used in the study to identify the motivations and factors that influence the business performance among Vietnamese companies in the formative digital transformation stage. According to the deductive approach and the quantitative method, data is collected with a sample size of 300 (n=300) through a questionnaire. The collected data is processed by the research team through the steps of testing, reliability assessment, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multivariate regression analysis to determine and measure the impact of cause - effect variables in the research model. The results posit that important factors of technological context (i.e., relative advantage, compatibility, and observability), organizational context (i.e., top management support, business orientation, and technological orientation), and the environmental context (i.e., business trend awareness, governmental support, and legal framework) substantially boost the digital adoption among Vietnamese businesses. Additionally, firm age is an essential control variable that strongly influences firms’ engagement. Unexpectedly, firm size, sameindustry competition, and control variables (i.e., number of employees) do not significantly affect. Ultimately, theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Thus, concurring with the research result, the authors have inferred underlying implications as well as made recommendations for businesses in utilizing the potential of the TOE framework based on the SDGs.