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Figure 2. Ecosystem model for fostering enterprise strategic AI capability
Source: Proposed and developed by the authors based on Teece et al. (1997),
Warner & Wäger (2019), Kampylis et al. (2015), OECD (2019, 2021), UNESCO (2022),
Krakowski et al. (2023), Chowdhury et al. (2023), Bankins et al. (2024), Kolbjørnsrud
(2024), Ritala et al. (2024), Hillebrand et al. (2025), Climent et al. (2024), Füller et al.
(2024), and Decision No. 127/QĐ-TTg (Prime Minister of Vietnam, 2021)

The next layer consists of enabling conditions and implementation infrastructure,
including data infrastructure, interoperability, connectivity standards, financing
mechanisms, and sandbox arrangements, which allow firms to access, experiment with,
and scale AI applications. The outermost layer is policy and institutions, especially legal
and ethical frameworks for AI, which shape principles and ensure stability, transparency,
and safety for the ecosystem as a whole.
Viewed holistically, the concentric structure reflects interdependence among these
layers of conditions. Strategic AI capability can only be formed when the firm’s internal
capability operates in alignment with linkage networks, implementation infrastructure,
and the institutional environment. In this sense, Figure 2 complements Figure 1 by
extending the analysis from the internal transformation chain within the firm to the
ecosystem conditions that support the transformation of AI into innovation and
sustainable competitive capability.
From a practical standpoint, the model implies that promoting AI for enterprises in
Vietnam should follow an ecosystem logic. In addition to strengthening data governance
capability and strategic restructuring within firms, it is necessary to reinforce linkages
with universities, research institutes, and intermediary organizations; develop data
infrastructure and connectivity standards; and continue to improve legal and ethical
frameworks for AI. Only when these layers of conditions operate in an integrated manner
can AI move beyond the role of an operational tool and become a true strategic capability
of the enterprise.
6. Conclusion
In a context where artificial intelligence is reshaping the ways firms compete,
manage, and create value, this study advances one central argument: AI does not directly

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