Digital Platform Capability and Enterprise Digital Transformation in Azerbaijan’s Organic Product Value Chain

Based on survey data from 320 Azerbaijani enterprises operating across the organic product value chain—including producers, sellers, and key supporting firms such as logistics, financial, and ICT service providers—this study investigates how digital platform capability influences firms’ innovation and performance outcomes and their perceived high-quality economic development within an emerging digital economy context. Four constructs—Digital Platform Capability, Enterprise Digital Transformation, Innovation and Performance Outcomes, and Perceived High-Quality Economic Development—are measured using multi-item Likert scales. Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) are employed to test the proposed relationships. The results show that Digital Platform Capability exerts a strong positive effect on Innovation and Performance Outcomes (β = 0.574) and on Perceived High-Quality Economic Development (β = 0.512). In addition, Innovation and Performance Outcomes have a direct positive impact on Perceived High-Quality Economic Development (β = 0.313). Mediation analysis further indicates that Enterprise Digital Transformation partially mediates this relationship, transmitting approximately 52% of the total effect of Innovation and Performance Outcomes on Perceived High-Quality Economic Development. These findings underscore digital transformation as a key structural mechanism through which firm-level innovation and performance contribute to broader perceptions of high-quality economic development. The study provides novel empirical evidence from Azerbaijan and offers practical implications for digital policy design and enterprise strategies aimed at promoting innovation-driven, inclusive, and sustainable growth.