International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 13, Issue 5 (May 2026), Pages: 165-181

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 Original Research Paper

Digital transformation and customer orientation in manufacturing enterprises: A dynamic capabilities perspective

 Author(s): 

Yingyu Huo 1, Kanakarn Phanniphong 2, *

 Affiliation(s):

1Chakrabongse Bhuvanarth International College of Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS), Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Bangkok, Thailand
2Faculty of Business Administration and Information Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Bangkok, Thailand

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0569-0373

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.05.016

 Abstract

Driven by globalization and digitalization, competition in the manufacturing industry has become increasingly intense. Developing a customer orientation (CO) strategy helps enterprises improve market competitiveness, satisfy customer needs, increase profitability, and achieve sustainable development. At the same time, digital transformation (DT) has created major changes in the global economy. The extensive use of digital technologies has reshaped enterprise resources and capabilities, resulting in significant changes in organizational structures, business models, and strategic decision-making processes. However, existing studies mainly focus on the outcomes of CO at the micro level, while limited attention has been given to its antecedents, particularly at the macro and meso levels. Therefore, based on dynamic capability (DC) theory, this study empirically examines the impact of DT on CO and explores its underlying mechanisms in manufacturing firms. The study uses panel data from A-share listed manufacturing companies in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen during the period 2015–2023. The results show that DT significantly enhances the development and implementation of CO strategies in manufacturing enterprises through innovative capability (IC), absorptive capability (AS), and adaptive capability (AD). Among these dynamic capabilities, IC has the strongest mediating effect, whereas AS has the weakest. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effect of DT on CO is significant across manufacturing firms of different sizes, with only minor differences among them. Furthermore, the effect of DT on CO is stronger in skill-intensive enterprises than in capital-intensive and labor-intensive enterprises.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Digital transformation, Customer orientation, Dynamic capabilities, Manufacturing enterprises, Innovation capability

 Article history

Received 17 December 2025, Received in revised form 7 May 2026, Accepted 15 May 2026

 Acknowledgment

No Acknowledgment. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

Huo Y and Phanniphong K (2026). Digital transformation and customer orientation in manufacturing enterprises: A dynamic capabilities perspective. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(5): 165-181

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