Emerging technology adoption for risk management in Malaysian manufacturing SMEs: an integrated TAM–RBV–Institutional Theory Framework

Digital transformation is rapidly reshaping how manufacturing SMEs manage operational uncertainty, cybersecurity threats, and supply chain disruptions within increasingly complex industrial environments. However, existing studies largely examine emerging technology adoption from isolated technological or operational perspectives, providing limited explanation of how institutional pressures, organizational capabilities, and behavioral evaluations collectively shape resilience-oriented adoption decisions. This study develops an integrated conceptual framework by synthesizing the Technology Acceptance Model, Resource-Based View, and Institutional Theory to explain emerging technology adoption for risk management among Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. The framework proposes that external institutional pressures and internal organizational capabilities influence managerial evaluations of technology usefulness and ease of use, thereby shaping adoption intention and implementation outcomes. The study further reconceptualizes organizational resilience as a digitally enabled strategic capability embedded within organizational transformation processes, rather than merely a reactive disruption outcome. By integrating behavioral, organizational, and institutional perspectives into a unified model, the study contributes to digital transformation and risk management literature while extending current understanding of resilience-oriented technology adoption in manufacturing SMEs. The proposed framework also provides a conceptual foundation for strengthening digitally enabled resilience and technology-driven risk governance within evolving IR4.0 manufacturing ecosystems.