Perceived Sustainable Digital Transformation Adoption in Retail: A Capability-Mediated Technology–Organization–Environment Perspective

The increasing emphasis on sustainability and digitalization is reshaping retail environments, requiring organizations to respond simultaneously to technological change and sustainability-oriented pressures. However, the relationships between these external demands and the perceived sustainable digital transformation adoption, as well as the role of internal organizational conditions in these relationships, remain insufficiently understood. This study develops a conceptual model examining the direct and indirect associations among external sustainability pressures, digital capability, organizational readiness, and perceived adoption in Romanian retail organizations. Digital capability and organizational readiness are conceptualized as distinct internal enabling conditions within an extended Technology–Organization–Environment framework, while perceived sustainable digital transformation adoption is defined as the reported outcome. The model is evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and cross-sectional survey data from 363 retail professionals representing 363 distinct Romanian retail organizations. The results indicate that the direct associations of digital capability and organizational readiness with perceived adoption are larger than the direct association of external sustainability pressures with perceived adoption. External sustainability pressures show a statistically significant but small direct association, together with significant indirect associations through digital capability and organizational readiness. The findings are consistent with a capability-mediated interpretation; however, the cross-sectional design and self-reported data do not establish causal or temporal relationships.