Purpose This study aims to examine how digital transformation and financial availability synergistically foster proactive climate change adaptation, and how ownership structure (domestic versus foreign) influences these connections. Design/methodology/approach Employing a quantitative approach, this study collected 286 survey responses from enterprises in Vietnam. The data was analyzed through the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and PLS multi-group analysis to investigate the measurement and structural models and the ownership-based comparative analysis in interaction paths. Findings The findings reveal that digital transformation and financial availability positively promote proactive adaptation to climate change and, more importantly, that these resources enable synergistically proactive climate change adaptation. The study highlights significant distinctions in the mechanisms that promote proactive climate change adaptation between domestic and foreign firms. Originality/value Drawing on the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, contingency theory and innovation diffusion theory, this study contributes to the existing literature by focusing on enterprise proactive climate change adaptation in emerging nations. It explores how digital transformation and financial availability enhance proactive climate change adaptation. The study fills a research gap by accounting for sub-group differences between domestic and foreign firms in these relationships.
Truong et al. (Wed,) studied this question.