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This study aims to answer the following questions: How do consumers’ perceptions of brand coolness affect brand relationship outcomes and how do brand coolness effects differ between product brands and service brands?

A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 1,500 consumers assigned to assess one of 20 popular product and service brands in Vietnam. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Data analysis reveals that both dimensions of brand coolness (i.e. self-oriented and other-oriented coolness) exert positive impacts on brand relationship outcomes (i.e. brand satisfaction, brand love and brand advocacy) through brand attitude (i.e. the evaluative mechanism) and self-brand connection (i.e. the identity mechanism). While the identity mechanism of brand coolness effects is more prominent in product brands, the evaluative mechanism is more pronounced for service brands.

This research provides practical guidance for brand managers to build strong customer relationships by leveraging their brand coolness and the mechanisms underlying coolness effects. This study suggests a tailored application of brand coolness dimensions to different branded entities.

This research contributes to the brand coolness literature by validating a two-dimensional brand coolness structure encompassing self-oriented and other-oriented coolness, in accordance with a value-based conceptualization of the concept. For mass brand studies, this study recommends the exclusion of rebellious and subcultural attributes, as well as the utility of pre-determined brands as evaluated objects, in measuring brand coolness. This study also illuminates dual mediation mechanisms and moderation of the branded entity underlying brand coolness effects on consumer–brand relationships.

Danang – a heritage gateway, a socioeconomic urban of Central Vietnam – has been known as a livable city, a fantastic destination and a leading position in the Provincial Competitive Index. Since branding Danang appears to be unfocused, it is suggested that the city follow a strategy to meet the shared expectations of stakeholders instead of trying to create separate images toward different audiences. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Therefore, this study selects the bottom-up approach from the viewpoint of Danang students whose requirement is consistent with those of investors, citizens and tourists.

The finding represents the initial associations of students about Danang as a livable, friendly, dynamic, modern coastal city of tourism and development with many opportunities, potential, attraction, integration and hometown feel. These salient images are exceeded from city characteristics, such as natural endowment, leisure places, beautiful scenes, diverse cuisine, peaceful, suitable living environment, orderly traffic, infrastructure and local people. Besides, crowded caused by development and population growth leads to an unpleasant feeling about narrow spaces but can be overwhelmed by the bustle. Although the result shows the success of Danang in communication, it also figures out the loss of the livable image in local students’ minds.

Hence, Danang must boost the positive effects of tourism development and limit its negative side. University–city cooperation through co-branding strategies can be considered a solution.

The study contributes not only to branding Danang but also to the literature because this is the first complete application of the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique in city branding.

“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.

This paper aims to explore how entrepreneurial culture (EC) and psychological empowerment (PE) support innovative work behaviour (IWB) of employees in organizations. First, it examines the impact of EC on IWB. It also explores the mediating effect of PE to support the EC – IWB relationship. Accordingly, it suggests a mechanism model to explain the relationship between EC and IWB.

This is an empirical research using quantitative methods. Data were collected via both face-to-face and online surveys from 308 employees in Vietnamese enterprises. The partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was applied to test hypotheses in the research model.

Significant R-square values were achieved for both EC – PE and PE – IWB relationships, according to the PLS-SEM. The most interesting finding is the full mediating role of PE in the relationship between EC and IWB. Despite the non-significance in the direct impact of EC on IWB, the role of EC in promoting IWB is important in an indirect way through PE. The significant role of PE in facilitating IWB has been proven.

This research is one of the initial attempts to empirically build the roadmap from EC, as a typical type of organizational culture, through the mediating effect of PE to improve IWB. This roadmap provides top managers with a hierarchical view that effectively cascading interventions from the organizational level, such as EC, through a significant mediator as PE at the group level, and then down to IWB as a result at the individual level.