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The purpose of this paper is to examine whether higher levels of transparency, accountability, and participation have a statistically significant association with corruption, and whether corruption is highly correlated with lower public service quality in the context of Vietnam’s transition economy.

Using individual-level survey data from Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index, the research employs an ordered probit model to test whether greater transparency, accountability, and participation is associated with lower levels of corruption. Moreover, district-level data are used to test the relationship between corruption and quality of public services particularly in healthcare and primary education.

Results show that a higher level of transparency, participation, and accountability is associated with a lower level of corruption, and that corruption is negatively associated with public service quality.

The use of cross-sectional data does not allow the establishment of causal relationships among variables.

The research suggests that fostering accountability to citizens and non-state sectors and promotion of genuine participation from these actors are critical for the future anti-corruption agenda.

In developing countries, whether corruption enhances efficiency of service provision is highly debatable. This research contributes to this debate by suggesting that corruption significantly decreases the quality of public service, and that improving local governance helps reduce corruption.

This paper aims to investigate the efficiency and performance of the Islamic banking industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors used a two-stage data envelopment analysis to first estimate the efficiency of 78 Islamic banks (IBs) across 15 countries for the 2005–2020 period (a total of 782 bank-year observations) and then to examine their determinants, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors found that the Islamic banking industry performed at a moderate level during the 2005–2020 period, providing evidence that IBs are resilient to the financial shocks created by COVID-19. The authors also found that bank-level characteristics (such as bank size) and country-level characteristics (such as inflation) can contribute to the bank’s operational efficiency.

The results of this study suggested that banking management and government macroeconomic policy, especially in terms of precautions and continuous support, are important for IBs to improve their performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the efficiency and performance of IBs amid COVID-19.

This study aims to analyse the consumption inequality between farm and non-farm households in rural Vietnam, using the data from the 2016 Vietnam household living standards survey.

The present paper applies the “recentered influence functions (RIF)” in “Oaxaca-Blinder (OB)” type decomposition as proposed by Firpo et al. (2018) to allow for the flexible distribution of the outcome variables and the non-randomness of non-farm employment that violates the classical linearity assumption.

Non-farm households have significantly higher per capita consumption expenditure than farm households for the entire distribution. The gap in expenditure is large at low percentiles and narrowing with higher percentiles. At 10th percentile, the gap is estimated at 27.1%, but it is decreasing to 11.1% at 90th percentile. Most of the gaps are explained by the differences in the observed characteristics between farm and non-farm households such as ethnicity, education, income, internal transmittances and household composition. Non-farm households are endowed with more productive factors that result in higher per capita consumption expenditure.

Gaps in ethnicity and education are found to be key predictors of the inequality in consumption expenditures between farm and non-farm households, then, government policies that are aimed at increasing access to non-farm employment and education for ethnic minorities and for rural poor households are pathways to improve rural household welfare and hence reduce inequality.

This study investigated the impacts of the environment, social and governance (ESG) and its components on global bank profitability considering the COVID-19 outbreak.

This study used a system generalized method of moments (GMM) proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) to investigate the relationship between ESG and bank profitability using an unbalanced sample of 487 banks from 51 countries from 2006 to 2021.

The findings generally found that ESG activities may reduce bank profitability, thus supporting the trade-off hypothesis that adopting ESG standards could increase bank costs while lowering profitability. In addition, there is a U-shaped relationship between ESG and bank profitability, suggesting that ESG activities can help improve bank performance in the long term. Such an effect is the first time observed in the global banking sector. This study’s results are robust across different models and settings (e.g., developed vs. developing countries, different levels of profitability, and samples with vs without US banks).

This study provides empirical evidence to support many countries' sustainable development policies. It also provides empirical incentives for bank managers to be more ESG-oriented.

This study provides a better understanding of the roles of ESG activity and its components in the global banking system, considering the recent crises.

Consumer green behavior is a spotlight topic in both theoretical and practical business environments. This study aims to investigate the primary drivers of green intention behaviors among Generation Z customers by integrating the Social Cognitive Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Additionally, perceived environmental responsibility serves as a moderating factor.

The study polled 283 Generation Z people who have purchased green products in Vietnam. Using the PLS_SEM model, we employ mediation and moderation analysis to investigate and evaluate the hypotheses.

Our findings reveal that both environmental concern and perceived marketplace influence have direct effects on attitudes toward green products as well as indirect effect on green purchase intention. Unlike previous studies, perceived environmental responsibility behaves as a moderated factor, driving the relationship between consumers' attitudes and green purchase intentions.

The outcomes of this study provide helpful implications for managers in improving green products based on the green purchase behavior of young customers.

By merging the Social Cognitive Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior to analyze the antecedent variables of attitude and intention, this study contributes to the pro-environmental literature. It explains the underlying mediation processes of organisms and behavioral reactions, emphasizing the role of perceived environmental responsibility in regulating these frameworks. The results are critical in promoting green production and consumption in communities.

This study aims to examine connections between five variables, including innovation in environment-related technology (EI), trade openness (TRADE), CO₂ emissions (CO₂) and foreign direct investment (FDI) from 1994 to 2019.

This study used an extended joint connectedness technique and the time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) method. The analysis focuses on the variables of innovation in environment-related technology (EI), trade openness (TRADE), CO₂ emissions (CO₂) and foreign direct investment (FDI) using data from 1994 to 2019.

The results demonstrate that innovation in environment-related technology and an openness to the global network captured by FDI are identified as crucial net transmitters of shocks. In addition, an openness to the global trade network captured by TRADE turns from a transmitter to a receiver of shocks and vice versa. Moreover, it can be seen that the impact of EI was significant in the first five years of the observed period, and it transmitted the largest shock in 1997.

With regard to policy implications, the findings offer valuable insights for investors and policymakers. As the tradeoff between business efficiency and environmental sustainability diminishes, it is essential for Vietnam’s economy and enterprises to embrace green and sustainable growth in line with global trends. In a world characterized by uncertainties and risks, enterprises need to develop strategies to manage risks and shocks arising from geopolitical tensions, input material supply, financial–monetary instability and natural disasters.

This study contributes to the existing literature in two significant ways. First, as previously emphasized, this paper represents the first attempt to investigate the relationship between economic globalization and environmental innovation. Second, this study proposes a novel methodology that is better suited for analyzing volatility interlinkages across different market types.

This study aims to investigate into the adsorption mechanism of heavy metal ions Pb²⁺ and methylene blue (MB) dyes on an adsorbent-web formed from kapok fibres (KP) and polypropylene fibres (PP).

Initially, the KP underwent pre-treatment with NaClO₂ solution, and their morphology and structure changes were examined through scanning electron microscope images. Subsequently, the KP fibres were blended with PP fibres at a ratio of 70 / 30 and processed through a laboratory carding machine to form a fibre web, which was then secured using a heat press to fabricate the adsorbent-web. The resultant adsorbent-web was subjected to evaluation for the adsorption process.

The findings revealed that the adsorbent-web produced via the dry-laid method exhibited promising attributes, and the adsorption process conformed to the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir isotherm model. Parameters such as adsorbent-web porosity, solution pH, and adsorption thermodynamics exerted notable influences on the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent-web. Notably, the adsorbent-web demonstrated remarkable reusability and desorption capacity. In the fifth cycle, the adsorption capacity of adsorbent-web for MB and Pb²⁺ ions only decreased by 9.13% and 11.48%, respectively, compared to the first cycle. The desorption efficiency of the adsorbent-web exceeded 90% for MB and over 73% for Pb²⁺ ions.

This study makes a significant contribution to the practical application of KP as an adsorbent-web for treating waste from the textile dyeing industry.

In the competitive realm of destination branding, understanding the factors that lead tourists to develop a deep emotional connection with a destination’s brand is essential. At the heart of this emotional bond lies destination brand love – an exceptionally profound sentiment transcending mere satisfaction or preference. This concept has recently garnered attention from both tourism academia and industry practice. However, there remains a void in exploring the factors and mechanisms that pave the way for tourists to develop deep affection for a destination’s brand. This study examines the influences of self-congruence and destination immersion on destination brand love. In addition, the linkages from the four facets of self-congruence to destination brand love via the mediating role of destination brand immersion are also scrutinized.

With data collected from 421 tourists in Vietnam, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was applied to test the research model and hypotheses.

The results reveal that (1) ideal and ideal social self-congruence impact destination brand love, (2) all four facets of self-congruence impact destination brand immersion and (3) there is an indirect effect of the four facets of self-congruence on destination brand love, mediated by destination brand immersion.

The study’s findings provide evidence that destination characteristics must be symbolic of the destination brand and consistent with its image among tourists, which is essential in understanding the complex behavior of tourists. Indeed, the results indicate that facets of self-congruence significantly influence both destination brand immersion and destination brand love. Therefore, destination marketers should develop marketing strategies that emphasize personal relevance to the tourist destination to increase their sympathy and love for the destination.

Adapting self-congruence theory and the psychology of flow theory, this study presents a model that elucidates both the direct and indirect relationships among the four facets of self-congruence: destination brand immersion and destination brand love based on the aspects of congruence between tourists and destinations. From this, it helps to explore the factors and mechanisms that pave the way for tourists to develop deep affection for a destination’s brand.

This research aims to investigate the relationships between organizational learning (OL), corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate financial performance (CFP) and sustainable corporate performance (SCP) within the context of food-manufacturing family enterprises in Vietnam. Specifically, the study strengthens the combination of these three factors that collectively contribute to enhancing SCP. Furthermore, the research explores the role of service quality (SQ) and green brand innovativeness (GBI) as strategic levers for achieving a competitive edge in SCP within family enterprises.

This study was used the quantitative method to evaluate the influence of CSR, OL, CFP, SQ and GBI on the SCP of family enterprises. The study sample comprised 456 responses from top and middle management of organizations and used the smart partial least squares SEM (version 3.3.2) to analyze the data in the year 2024.

The study provides significant positive relationships between OL, CSR and CFP in contributing to enhancing SCP within family enterprises. Results suggest that firms with strong OL, CSR and CFP collectively could improve SCP. Furthermore, SQ and GBI emerged as integral factors in differentiating family enterprises in terms of SCP. While SQ plays a significant role in building customer loyalty and trust, GBI is crucial for positioning family enterprises as a sustainable one in the market. Thus, this study contributes to the existing academic knowledge by providing insights into how family enterprises can effectively balance economic, social and environmental objectives for long-term sustainability.

While previous studies have explored these factors independently, this study offers a novel perspective by examining their performances correlatively. The outcomes of this study provide valuable guidance for family enterprises’ managers, CEOs and business leaders to make strategic sustainability plans and create competitive edge when it comes to SCP.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the attitudes, skills and knowledge-based researchers’ competencies (ASK-RC), academic affiliation (AA) and knowledge management (KM) and its effect on promoting the growth of scholarly international publications (SIPs).

This research takes a quantitative approach relying on primary data gathered through a questionnaire-based survey. The study’s target population includes lecturers, managers and researchers involved in research activities in educational institutions. To operationalize the research framework, this study used social cognitive theory (SCT) and the academic community served as an empirical field of study.

The primary findings of this research are twofold: ASK-RC and AA are positively and statistically significantly associated with SIP; KM moderates the influence of ASK-RC on SIP.

This research adds to the current body of literature on research productivity by providing new information and empirical evidence on improving research productivity and international publication. Moreover, this research offers a new approach to the existing literature stream by operationalizing an underexplored framework from the lens of SCT. This study explains why scientific research productivity is becoming increasingly important to academia and stakeholders. Because scientific works are motivated by the goal of addressing general socioeconomic and environmental concerns, it is possible to address this concern based on SCT. Therefore, this research offers theoretical and managerial implications that may interest academics, professionals and policymakers.