Digital transformation as a moderator of green innovation and export performance: Evidence from Vietnamese exporting firms

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
This study examines the relationships among green innovation, digital transformation, and export performance in Vietnamese exporting firms, with particular attention to the moderating role of digital transformation. Data were collected through a structured survey conducted between April and December 2025. The final sample comprised 292 valid firm-level responses, with one respondent representing each exporting firm. Respondents were managers, executives, or functional staff directly involved in export operations, production, logistics, or strategic decision-making. Ordinary least squares regression with an interaction term was employed to test the proposed relationships. When digital transformation was at its sample mean, green innovation was positively and significantly associated with export performance (B = 0.169, p < 0.001). Correspondingly, when green innovation was at its sample mean, digital transformation was positively and significantly associated with export performance (B = 0.235, p < 0.001). The interaction between green innovation and digital transformation was positive and statistically significant (B = 0.587, p < 0.001), indicating that the association between green innovation and export performance became more positive as digital transformation increased. Conditional-slope analysis revealed a crossover interaction: the relationship was negative at a selected lower level of digital transformation, positive at its sample mean, and substantially stronger at a selected higher level. The model explained 44.6% of the variance in export performance. These findings highlight the complementarity of green and digital capabilities and suggest that digital transformation is an important enabling condition for translating green innovation into stronger export-related outcomes in an emerging economy.

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    • Figure 1. Proposed research model
    • Figure 2. Residual diagnostic plots for the regression model
    • Figure 3. Interaction between green innovation and digital transformation in predicting export performance
    • Table 1. Profile of surveyed exporting firms (N = 292)
    • Table 2. Profile of survey respondents (N = 292)
    • Table 3. Measurement items, sources, and reliability of constructs
    • Table 4. Results of joint principal component analysis
    • Table 5. Regression results for export performance as the dependent variable
    • Table 6. Conditional slopes of GI at selected values of DT
    • Conceptualization
      Phan Thu Trang, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Pham Thanh Tam, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Data curation
      Phan Thu Trang, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Formal Analysis
      Phan Thu Trang, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Vo Huu Khanh, Pham Thanh Tam, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Investigation
      Phan Thu Trang, Vo Huu Khanh, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Methodology
      Phan Thu Trang, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Pham Thanh Tam
    • Supervision
      Phan Thu Trang, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Pham Thanh Tam, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Validation
      Phan Thu Trang, Vo Huu Khanh, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Writing – original draft
      Phan Thu Trang, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Vo Huu Khanh, Pham Thanh Tam, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Writing – review & editing
      Phan Thu Trang, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Vo Huu Khanh, Pham Thanh Tam, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Project administration
      Cuong Hung Nguyen, Pham Thanh Tam, Pham Thi Oanh
    • Visualization
      Vo Huu Khanh