Thang Dang, Thai Tri Dung, Vu Thi Phuong and Tran Dinh Vinh
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices on firm outcomes at the firm level in Vietnam.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices on firm outcomes at the firm level in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a fixed-effects framework for the estimation using a panel sample of manufacturing firms from small- and medium-sized enterprise surveys between 2009 and 2013.
Findings
The paper finds that, on average, a firm that provides the training for new workers gains roughly 13.7, 10 and 14.9 percent higher in output value per worker, value added per worker and gross profit per worker, respectively, than the counterpart. Moreover, an additional ten-day training duration for new employees on average leads to a 4.1 percent increase in output value per worker, a 3.0 percent rise in value added per worker and a 3.0 percent growth in gross profit per worker. The paper also uncovers that a marginal 10 percent of HRM spending results in about 2 and 1.6 percent rises in output value per worker and value added per worker, respectively.
Originality/value
Using the case of Vietnam, this paper shows the important roles of HRM practices in explaining firm outcomes.
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Ngoc Dung Tran, Phuong Hoa Dinh, Dinh Hoang Uyen Nguyen and Van Vinh Nguyen
This paper aims to investigate “corporate governance” of the English East India Company (EIC) in the late 17th century through a case study of the Tonkin factory (1672–1697).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate “corporate governance” of the English East India Company (EIC) in the late 17th century through a case study of the Tonkin factory (1672–1697).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws upon British primary materials relating to the Tonkin factory to examine and analyze the EIC’s style of management in Tonkin (Vietnam) and Bantam (Java). Qualitative and comparative methods are applied to the analysis of reports, records and letters written by EIC staff.
Findings
The paper finds that the EIC faced principal-agent problems as it had difficulties administering its distant agents and subsidiaries in the 17th century. London was strategically weakened, both by the limiting power of regional headquarters and by its use of experienced factors. Before 1682, London failed to temper the Bantam Council’s influence, and there were serious internal conflicts and power struggles between English Tonkin employees seeking to improve their positions. After 1686, London successfully forced Madras to adopt a noninterventionist stance in Tonkin’s business, but it faced the problem of “adverse selection.”
Originality/value
This paper provides evidence from the Tonkin factory (1672–1697) to show the EIC’s governance in the perspective of the agency theory.
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Hung Gia Hoang and Duc Van Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that shape the adoption of mobile phones for vegetable marketing by Vietnamese smallholders.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that shape the adoption of mobile phones for vegetable marketing by Vietnamese smallholders.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was given to 185 smallholders randomly chosen from 345 vegetable smallholders in the Vinh Thanh district of Vietnam. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and a binary logistic regression were applied to analyse the data.
Findings
The research results show that the smallholders’ adoption of mobile phones for vegetable marketing is significantly affected by their number of extension contacts, distance from smallholders’ homes to local markets, community-based organisation participation, gender, training/credit programme participation, age, education level, income and farm size (χ2 = 143,111, p < 0.000).
Practical implications
A combination of factors related to socio-economic, situational and institutional characteristics of smallholders should be considered when promoting smallholders’ uptake of mobile phones for vegetable marketing in developing nations.
Originality/value
This research provides useful insights into the determinants of mobile phone adoption for vegetable marketing by smallholders and highlights areas that need to be considered when designing policies to improve the uptake of information and communication technologies in developing countries.
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Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, Nguyen Van Song, Tran Quang Bach, Đinh Trung Thanh, Nguyen Cong Tiep, Dinh Van Tien, Thai Van Ha and Nguyen Thi Luong
The research aims to assess the relationship between ecological innovation, green productivity, sustainable development and agricultural productivity in Vietnam. The agricultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The research aims to assess the relationship between ecological innovation, green productivity, sustainable development and agricultural productivity in Vietnam. The agricultural sector of Vietnam has been observed with new opportunities which have fostered its productivity and growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a range of methods where initially, the researcher used descriptive analysis, cointegration and unit root tests. Secondly, Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) is used to assess the short and long run effects. The QARDL methodology is employed to capture the relationship between variables. Through this approach, the researcher is able to examine the scale of the interaction between dependent and independent variables.
Findings
The unique findings drawn through statistical techniques are also a great addition to the context of literature related to Vietnam’s agricultural productivity. Practical insights can also not be denied as the study provides beneficial guidelines for Vietnam’s agricultural sector to refine agricultural productivity.
Research limitations/implications
Scholars are advised to use strong literary techniques to overcome these limitations and give a more thorough investigation into the same ideas. The availability and dependability of data was one of the primary challenges in carrying out this study. Vietnam has made significant advances in the collection and documentation of agricultural data, but there might still be gaps in the availability of thorough and current data on ecological innovation, green production and sustainable development.
Originality/value
Vietnam’s unique socioeconomic, cultural and environmental features influence how ecological innovation, green productivity, sustainable development and agricultural production are interconnected. Consequently, consideration should be taken when applying the results to various scenarios.
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This paper aims to provide a deep understanding of rural household livelihoods in the Mekong Delta and to explore how they can cope with climate stressors at the ground level.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a deep understanding of rural household livelihoods in the Mekong Delta and to explore how they can cope with climate stressors at the ground level.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs the sustainable livelihood framework at a household and also an individual scale. The general data obtained from a survey of 2,100 households provide an overview of their livelihoods. Qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted, as case studies, to comprehensively assess 100 households in one commune affected by annual floods and an additional 100 households in another commune affected by sea level rises. Livelihood profile analysis is beneficial to identify specific livelihood change patterns that have taken place in these specific cases.
Findings
There are four types of livelihood adaptation to climate stressors: (1) change of structure of agricultural systems, (2) change of employment locations, (3) resettlement with strong impact on livelihoods and (4) out-migration. The household livelihood resources and the local economic structures have significant roles in driving adaptive solutions.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides detailed profiles of the livelihood change considered as passive adaptation of smallholders in the Mekong Delta.
Originality/value
It contributes to the knowledge of rural households in multiple aspects with regard to how they cope with climate change via reflection on their livelihoods.
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Le Thi Hong Na and Jin-Ho Park
Among others in South Vietnam, the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long is the only one that has preserved its original form and layout. As such in 1991, the temple was recognized by…
Abstract
Purpose
Among others in South Vietnam, the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long is the only one that has preserved its original form and layout. As such in 1991, the temple was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a national-level historical and cultural relic. Nevertheless, the temple has been neither studied nor documented to any great depth. Only a few historical descriptions for local tour guidebooks and photo catalogs exist. Therefore this paper aims to initially record heritage values, spatial characteristics and the process of major changes, while documenting the current state of the temple structure and carrying out on-site inspections to survey the buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper outlines the collection of survey data through field survey and provides an overview of the existing significant heritage factors of the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long by comparative examination in relation to other surviving temples and analyzing its unique spatial characteristics and indigenous cultural decorations in detail.
Findings
Although the layout of the temples was influenced by the Chinese Confucius's principles and the notion of Feng Shui, it is evident from the study that the design of the temple has many architectural elements that reveal Vietnam's unique culture and local features. In particular, the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long was a symbol of feudal education, symbolizing sacred traditional values in the field of education for the people of Vinh Long province. Stone steles recorded names of all contributors related to the construction and restoration of the temple with sincere gratitude. Moreover, many of the decorative motifs contain many indigenous cultural and artistic values of Vietnam, reflecting traditional Vietnamese beliefs and ethnographic features.
Research limitations/implications
By comparatively analyzing the temple with others, it reveals the unique spatial features, layouts, changes and evolutions of the temple. Unlike the oldest and the largest Temple of Literature in Hanoi, the temples in the South are much smaller in terms of complex sizes and the number of buildings. They are mostly composed of a singular structure, the Attained Talent House, with some basic gates and water features interwoven within the landscape of the site. Based on the elementary layout, some subsidiary buildings were added according to the needs and site conditions, and in accordance with the bilateral axis.
Social implications
The awareness and preservation of the architectural features of the local temple are needed to protect heritage monuments and to enhance cultural resources as part of securing Vietnamese ideology for a longer period of time. While the interest in historic preservation and conservation activities of heritage buildings in Vietnam has slowly grown in attention over the last decade, it is evident that many opportunities remain. It is hoped that this research is a small step toward further research, education and advocacy in the preservation of historic buildings in Vietnam.
Originality/value
The introduction of Chinese Confucian thought to Vietnam was one of the most substantial influences in Vietnamese intellectual history. Despite being an important part of the nation's architectural, cultural and intellectual heritage sites, the study and documentation of the Temples of Literature have been relatively neglected or marginalized. Accordingly, this study is significant to reveal not only the values and unique heritage characteristics of the temple, but also to prioritize resources for continued study and preservation.
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Lobel Trong Thuy Tran, Ho Thi Vinh Hien and John Baker
Although a supportive workplace is increasingly considered important for employees' performance, much of the evidence remains speculative, for example, it lacks offsetting…
Abstract
Purpose
Although a supportive workplace is increasingly considered important for employees' performance, much of the evidence remains speculative, for example, it lacks offsetting mechanisms. This study addresses circumstances when perceived support helps and when it hurts work performance, depending on the mediating effects of job autonomy, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction under the boundary conditions of perceived helpfulness of social media platforms and felt stress.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data using a questionnaire protocol that was adapted and refined from the original scales in existing studies. The sample consists of 900 employees from the public healthcare industry in Vietnam. To test the hypotheses, the partial least squares (PLS) technique was used.
Findings
This study finds that job autonomy, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction are important for the perceived support and work performance relationship in which perceived helpfulness of social media platforms plays a critical confounding role. The findings also confirm that felt stress negatively moderates the relationship between job satisfaction and work performance, weakening the effect job satisfaction has on employee work performance.
Originality/value
This study specifies the boundary conditions under which work performance is mostly affected while enhancing the understanding of how to reinforce intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. The findings offer organizational and human resource management (HRM) scholars and practitioners a closer look at perceived helpfulness of social media platforms and support the suggestions that autonomy-supportive workplaces are superior.
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Huu Minh Nguyen, Thi Hong Tran and Thi Thanh Loan Tran
“The world needs science, science needs women” is the message given by UNESCO in the program for the development of women in science” (UNESCO, 2017). In Vietnam, women’s…
Abstract
“The world needs science, science needs women” is the message given by UNESCO in the program for the development of women in science” (UNESCO, 2017). In Vietnam, women’s participation and achievements in scientific research is considered a great and important resource for industrialization and modernization. Even so, are there gender differences in scientific achievement in the social science research institutes in Vietnam? What factors influence the scientific achievement of female social researchers? The answers will be based on data from a 2017 survey with a sample of 756 researchers, of which 77.6% were female. The survey was conducted by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, a leading, ministry-level national center for the social sciences in Vietnam. This chapter analyzed the scientific achievements of researchers through their position as principal investigators of research projects and their publications, and factors that may impact this. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of factors that may affect the scientific achievement of researchers found that gender differences in academic achievement in the social sciences in Vietnam was still prevalent. Female researchers’ scientific achievements were lower than those of their male counterparts. The contribution to science of Vietnamese female researchers was limited by many different factors; the most important were the academic rank of the researchers and gender stereotype that considered housework the responsibility of women.
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Nguyen Trong Hoai, Luong Vinh Quoc Duy and Damien Cassells
Internationalization is viewed as an important strategy in the context of a country in transition from central planning to market orientation. Efforts to internationalize…
Abstract
Purpose
Internationalization is viewed as an important strategy in the context of a country in transition from central planning to market orientation. Efforts to internationalize universities are being carried out at both national and institutional levels. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there has been no study to investigate how individual institutions approach internationalization and what they gain from that process. This paper aims to investigate the enhancement of teachers’ and students’ knowledge and skills using internationalization in Vietnam universities as a strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews with leaders from 12 universities were conducted to investigate their perceptions, strategies and perceived outcomes of the internationalization process of their universities. Data analysis involved coding the transcripts of interviews into themes.
Findings
Results show that current approaches to internationalized activities in Vietnamese universities are ad hoc in nature, while resources and language incompetence of staff and students are limited. In line with other previous studies, limited resources and lack of English competence among educators and students were found to be the key obstacles and challenges for internationalized activities. The authors also note an issue that apparently has not been raised elsewhere in the relevant research literature, which is the challenge for the sustainability of knowledge production via research and publications.
Originality/value
Findings from this study not only contribute to Vietnamese universities but also to other developing institutions which do not have strong international exchange programs or have not experienced strong benefits from international exchange programs.
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Thi Kieu Van Tran, Ehsan Elahi, Liqin Zhang, Habibullah Magsi, Quang Trung Pham and Tuan Minh Hoang
The purpose of this paper is to estimate a recent trend in climate change and its impact on livelihood of community living in Nam Dinh province, Vietnam. Further, it aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate a recent trend in climate change and its impact on livelihood of community living in Nam Dinh province, Vietnam. Further, it aims to increase the government attention for adaptation measures by providing awareness of climate change and its negative impacts on livelihood.
Design/methodology/approach
For study purpose, cross-sectional and secondary data sets were used. The community perceptions about climate change were recorded by face-to-face interviews of 500 respondents from Nam Dinh province, Vietnam in April 2015 by using a well-structured questionnaire, whereas secondary data were collected from the statistical yearbook of General Statistics Office of Vietnam. To accomplish the study objectives, Cobb–Douglas production function and Likert scale were used to estimate the community perceptions of climate change and impact of climate change on livelihood, respectively.
Findings
Results depict that climate change negatively impacted on the productivity of rice and livestock. Particularly, frequently occurring of droughts, floods and salinity intrusion negatively impacted on rice productivity, while livestock productivity is decreased by frequent occurring of flood storms in study area.
Originality/value
The study results suggest a government support is essential to achieve sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities living in the Red River Delta, particularly some adaptation measures in the context of climate change are required in study area.