Digital Transformation and Economic Performance: The Mediating Role of Absorptive Capability in Supply Chains

The accelerating digital transformation of supply chains has created new opportunities and challenges for firms, particularly in emerging e-commerce markets. This study investigates how three key dimensions of digital transformation, strategic digital mindset, process digitalization, and digital technology adoption affect economic performance, and whether absorptive capability mediates these relationships. Drawing on the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, the research develops a structural model tested with survey data from 233 middle- and senior-level managers of e-commerce enterprises in Vietnam. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the results reveal that all three digital transformation dimensions significantly enhance both absorptive capability and economic performance. Moreover, absorptive capability exerts a direct positive effect on performance and mediates the impact of digital transformation on economic outcomes. These findings suggest that technology adoption alone is insufficient; firms must foster a strategic mindset and develop absorptive routines to translate digital initiatives into sustainable economic value