How Digital Transformation and Data-Driven Capabilities Foster Competitive Advantage: The Mediating Role of Organizational Agility in Vietnamese SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in digitally evolving markets face increasing competitive pressure and must continuously adapt to technological change. This study examines how digital and knowledge-based capabilities—digital transformation, big data analytics capability, IT capability, and artificial intelligence capability—together with the knowledge resource of intellectual capital, enhance competitive advantage, with organizational agility acting as a mediating mechanism. Grounded in the resource-based view and dynamic capability perspective, the research analyzes survey data from 463 SME owners and senior managers in Vietnam using PLS-SEM. Results show that both technology-related and knowledge-oriented capabilities significantly improve organizational agility and competitive advantage. Organizational agility also serves as a key pathway through which digital investments translate into superior competitive outcomes, partially mediating these relationships. The study contributes an integrated capability-based framework and offers practical implications for managers and policymakers seeking to strengthen SME competitiveness in digital markets.