| Abstract | In an era of global disruption and societal transition, organizations face growing pressure to reconcile economic growth with social legitimacy and long-term sustainability. Prior studies suggest that corporate purpose enhances organizational resilience and stakeholder trust, while innovation strengthens adaptability and competitiveness. Yet a critical gap remains in understanding how the two interact in practice—particularly how Purpose-Driven Innovation (PDI) becomes a strategic capability that improves business performance in medium-sized enterprises (MSEs) within emerging economies. This dissertation examines how PDI is conceived, aligned with corporate strategy and stakeholder values, and institutionalized to enable sustainable business growth. It adopts an in depth qualitative case study of Rạng Đông JSC, a pioneering Vietnamese enterprise with over six decades of continuous transformation. Drawing on Dynamic Capability and Organizational Ambidexterity, it traces how PDI is strategically articulated and aligned, enabled by organizational climate and leadership, and translated into sustainable value creation across the firm's transformation journey. The findings show that PDI at Rạng Đông is not a discrete initiative but a holistic management system through which corporate purpose, innovation, and technology are continuously integrated and renewed. The analysis identifies four interdependent dimensions—Value Driven Thinking, Innovation as a Collaborative Continuum, Experience-Driven Impact, and Technology-Enabled Transformation—synthesized into the VIET–PDI framework, which positions purpose-driven innovation as an integrative, adaptive capability that drives continuous transformation and sustained impact. Theoretically, the study repositions purpose from a symbolic or normative construct to a strategic guiding logic that activates and integrates dynamic capabilities. Practically, it introduces the PDI Measurement System (PDIMS) to operationalize purpose-driven innovation by aligning strategy, collaboration, and performance evaluation across economic, social, and technological dimensions. Ultimately, the Rạng Đông case shows how PDI can help MSEs in emerging economies align national aspirations, technological transformation, and human development, offering scholars and practitioners a transferable framework and practical tools for sustainable competitiveness amid rapid change and institutional transition. |
