The global economy is entering a phase where uncertainty has become the new normal. In that context, transformation is no longer an option but a condition for businesses to maintain competitiveness and long-term development.

For Vietnamese businesses, the challenge is not only to withstand volatility but also to turn adaptability into a sustainable competitive advantage. Sustainable transformation should therefore be seen as a process of upgrading adaptive governance capacity, from correctly identifying changes to redesigning business models.

Strategic awareness

Strategic awareness is the ability to correctly identify changes in the rules of competition. Businesses today are judged by cost, speed, or product quality, as well as data transparency, social responsibility practices, and the ability to maintain stable operations amid volatility.

Investors, customers, and partners increasingly care about how businesses create value: the origin of materials, energy consumption, labor conditions, or the ability to control supply chain risks. These factors are becoming new competitive standards.

However, many businesses still see ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) as compliance cost, digitalization as buying technology, and resilience as the ability to survive a crisis. As a result, businesses may use the language of sustainability and digital tools, yet their internal governance models remain largely unchanged.

True strategic awareness requires a shift in mindset. The issue is not choosing between growth and sustainability, but designing a value-creation model in which sustainable development becomes a condition for long-term growth. 

Businesses that save energy will cut costs; businesses that are transparent with ESG data will increase trust; and businesses with resilient supply chains will reduce disruption risks.

Adaptive execution capability

While strategic awareness helps businesses understand the new rules of the game, adaptive execution capability helps turn that understanding into action. The challenge for many Vietnamese businesses now lies in the lack of a clear execution architecture built on three pillars: data, processes, and accountability.

Many businesses have data but it is scattered across departments and formats. When data on production, energy, labor, or customers is not standardized, businesses struggle to measure ESG performance, track risks, or make timely decisions. Thus, digital transformation must start with a reliable, continuous, and verifiable data foundation.

Next is processes. Technology only creates value when it helps standardize operations, reduce errors, automate repetitive work, and turn operational data into governance data. If processes are not properly designed, digitalization only increases costs without improving efficiency.

Finally, accountability. Sustainable transformation cannot be assigned to a dedicated unit that lacks authority and cross-department coordination. Every ESG indicator, every emissions data point, or every digital initiative needs an owner, an update mechanism, and a clear verification system.

Adaptive execution capability is the move from “knowing change is needed” to “knowing how to change,” helping businesses build an operating foundation strong enough to adapt to volatility.

Strategic innovation

If strategic awareness is recognition, and adaptive execution capability is action, then strategic innovation is a deeper step: redesigning the enterprise’s value-creation model.

At this stage, sustainable transformation is no longer about meeting standards or adding “green” activities, but integrating ESG, digitalization, and resilience into core business strategy. Businesses compete not only on low cost or flexibility, but on market trust, reliable data, higher productivity, and the ability to restructure faster amid volatility.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, strategic innovation can start with practical changes such as standardizing customer data, controlling energy use, reducing material waste, improving products, ensuring traceability, or raising labor standards. The value of these activities is truly realized only when they are connected into a new way of operating.

For large enterprises, strategic innovation must go further, toward restructuring business models and roles in the value chain.

Strategic innovation is the shift from “adapting to survive” to “adapting to gain advantage,” helping businesses turn survival resilience into the capacity to redesign value and strengthen long-term competitive position.

Creating more value

In an era of uncertainty, sustainable transformation does not allow businesses to merely react or endure volatility. What matters is learning faster after each shock, restructuring faster after each change, and creating more value through each adaptation.

This path does not stop at meeting ESG standards, deploying digital technology, or strengthening resilience, but aims at a comprehensive upgrade of adaptive governance capacity. When ESG builds trust, digitalization improves operational efficiency and resilience supports restructuring, businesses can convert their adaptability into sustainable competitive advantage.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Chi Anh, Rector of the School of Business Administration (SBA), VNU Hanoi University of Economics and Business

Dr. Pham Manh Hung, School of Business Administration (SBA), VNU Hanoi University of Economics and Business