V  ietnam has affirmed that science, technology, and innovation are the foundation and key drivers of socioeconomic development. Resolution 57-NQ/TW, issued on June 10, 2024, on promoting science, technology, and innovation for industrialization and modernization through 2030 with a vision to 2045, together with Resolution 52-NQ/TW issued in 2019 on proactive participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has created a consistent policy framework that supports innovation and digital transformation across the economy.

In practice, according to Nguyen Thanh Dong from Dai Nam University, from 2018 to 2024 many Vietnamese enterprises began building internal innovation capacity by investing in R&D infrastructure, public-private partnerships, and open innovation models across sectors such as smart manufacturing, e-commerce, digital finance, and high-tech agriculture.

Examples include Viettel Group establishing the Viettel Innovation Lab in 2023, which has supported more than 100 research teams testing AI and IoT solutions and co-developing products; FPT Corporation launching the FPT.AI Residency program and the akaBot platform to commercialize AI and robotic process automation; and VinFast under Vingroup expanding R&D in electric vehicles, batteries, and artificial intelligence while strengthening partnerships with universities inside and outside the country.

These models represent a growing trend in which enterprises become knowledge integrators that transform scientific knowledge into economic value and disseminate it across society.

According to the World Bank, enterprises that invest in innovation have labor productivity 1.7 to 2.2 times higher than those that do not. This shows that innovation is not only a development tool but also a long-term competitive strategy for businesses.

However, according to the Vietnam Enterprise Digital Transformation Report 2024, only about 30 % of small and medium-sized enterprises reach an above-average level in their digital transformation journey. Average R&D investment remains below 0.5 % of revenue, far lower than the ASEAN average of 2 to 3 %. This shows that although enterprises are expected to play a central role in the national innovation ecosystem, this potential has not yet been fully realized.

In addition, internal enterprise capacity in R&D and innovation management remains limited. Financial, tax, and investment mechanisms have not created sufficient incentives. Sustainable linkages among businesses, institutes, and universities are still weak. A wide gap between large enterprises and SMEs in resources, strategy, and readiness to innovate also constrains progress.

Large enterprises are transforming more quickly and proactively. About 85% of businesses with more than 300 employees have implemented ERP or CRM systems, while the rate for small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees is only 17%. Leading sectors in digital transformation include finance and banking, telecommunications, e-commerce, and digital education, while agriculture, logistics, and construction remain slow to adopt new technologies.

Shortages of technology talent, high investment costs, and a weak innovation culture remain major obstacles.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration/Economics at Hanoi Open University, traditional growth models based on low-cost labor and natural resource exploitation are reaching their limits. For Vietnam to break through, the country must create a new development space built on knowledge, data, technology, and creativity. Only by developing strong internal technological capacity and robust innovation capabilities can Vietnam reduce its dependence on outsourced technologies and participate more effectively in global value chains.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong emphasized that to escape the “technology outsourcing trap” and gradually build endogenous technological innovation capacity, Vietnam must significantly reform its policies on science and technology investment. The focus must shift from merely supporting technology application to creating the conditions for developing new technologies and core technologies. At the same time, Vietnam must identify breakthrough policy mechanisms to transition from a technology consuming economy to a technology creating economy. International experience shows that the model of a “facilitating State, enterprise at the center, and universities as knowledge drivers” is the essential foundation.

To strengthen the central role of businesses in the innovation and digital transformation ecosystem, Nguyen Thanh Dong said that Vietnam needed to improve financial and tax incentives for R&D, including cost deduction models similar to those in South Korea and Singapore. He added that public-private partnerships should be expanded through “research commissioning” projects linking enterprises with universities. He also emphasized that SMEs should receive support through inclusive digital transformation programs to narrow capacity gaps, train business leaders in innovation management, creative thinking, and data governance, strengthen intellectual property protection, and develop open data platforms to increase transparency across the innovation ecosystem.