Design/methodology/approach: This cross-sectional study was conducted using a quantitative approach. The target population consisted of staff and lecturers from 14 Vietnamese universities in the southern and central regions of Vietnam. A total of 497 participants received online and printed surveys. After excluding 35 incomplete responses, 462 valid cases were analyzed. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22 and SMARTPLS 3.0 software.

Findings: The findings reveal that factors from the technology acceptance model remain valuable in predicting staff and lecturers’ adoption of digital transformation. Additionally, factors from perceived risk theory and self-determination theory, including perceived risk and technology self-efficacy, also influence digital transformation adoption. Attitudes toward digital transformation play a partial mediating role in the relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived risk, technology self-efficacy and digital transformation adoption.

Originality/value: The study presents a new model that combines the technology acceptance model, perceived risk and self-determination theories into an integrated framework aimed at predicting staff and lecturers’ adoption of digital transformation. This study addresses research gaps by responding to previous authors’ calls to integrate additional theories with the technology acceptance model and perceived risk theory to better predict individuals’ intentions and behaviors. The findings highlight the importance of both contextual and internal factors in understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that drive staff and lecturers’ adoption of digital transformation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/K-12-2024-3234