Corruption among small and medium firms in Vietnam: the glass half empty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure TFP growth and job reallocation in the Vietnamese manufacturing industry after the Doimoi period. Design/methodology/approach The study uses firm-level panel data from Vietnam’s annual enterprise survey data for 2000–2016 period in the Vietnamese manufacturing industry using Olley–Pakes static and dynamic productivity decomposition methods. Findings The aggregate productivity estimated from the WRDG method increased 2.323 percent, of which over 40 percent is due to the reallocation toward more productive firms. Olley–Pakes dynamic decomposition according to ownership, scale and industry shows that the contribution of private and state-owned firms and the contribution of small and medium firms and large firms to the TFP growth are 133, −33 percent, 58.56 and 41.44 percent, respectively. The within-firm productivity and net entry components are the main reasons for TFP growth rather than reallocation. The results show that the composition of the aggregate TFPs, estimated from WRDG, OP, LP and ACF, is correlated very high (over 80 percent) except for net entry components. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of this study is that the authors compute an aggregate productivity index using actual employment-based shares (still misallocation in labor), rather than optimal employment-based shares (no misallocation in labor). Originality/value Job reallocation between industries is attracting attention in developing countries, especially transition economies. However, knowledge about job reallocation among industries is limited. This paper assesses the level of job reallocation among private and state-owned firms, small and medium firms and large firms in Vietnam.

Does managerial personality matter? Evidence from firms in Vietnam

Using novel data from micro, small, and medium firms in Vietnam, we estimate the relationship between behavioural and personality traits of owners/managers—risk attitudes, locus of control, and innovativeness—and firm-level decisions. We extend the analysis beyond standard metrics of firm performance such as revenue and growth to study intermediate investments, including product innovation, worker training, and adoption of workplace safety measures that are potentially conducive to observed firm performance. Our results show that innovativeness and locus of control are positively correlated with revenue while risk aversion predicts lower revenue. Risk aversion is positively correlated with the adoption of safety measures. Innovativeness, as expected, is associated with an increased probability of product innovations. An internal locus of control predicts higher probability of investments, innovations, and worker training. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that innovativeness and risk aversion matter more for firm outcomes in provinces characterized by better business climate. Our results are robust to a variety of checks. We contribute to a nascent and rapidly growing literature on the importance of managerial capital by shedding light on the role of managerial personality characteristics for decision-making in firms in a dynamic transition economy.

The paper studies the transactional and transformational styles of leadership and established the effective style that influences organizational effectiveness. It aimed at exploring and elaborating the styles of leadership (Transactional and Transformational) for managing small and medium firms in Manipur during Covid 19 pandemic. The study adopts survey and interview techniques and 98 employees from 25 small and medium firms in Manipur, India are considered as sample. The data are analysed using ordinal regression and the spearman correlation coefficient. It has been found that 55% of leadership effectiveness is subject to exhibition of either transactional or transformational leadership style. It has been found that leadership effectiveness is increased by 2.213 for every unit increase in transformational leadership style. On the other hand for every unit increase in transactional leadership style, effectiveness increased by 1.329. The result shows that transformational leadership style is more effective than transactional style in managing the Small and Medium firms in Manipur
 This study is an attempt to determine effective leadership style whether transactional or transformational for managing small and medium firms in Manipur during Covid 19 pandemic. A sample of 98 employees from small and medium firms in Manipur was taken for the research using Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire MLQ (Form 5x-Short). The data were analysed using ordinal regression and the spearman correlation coefficient. It has been found that 55% of leadership effectiveness is subject to exhibition of either transactional or transformational leadership style. The study highlighted that leadership effectiveness is increased by 2.213 for every unit increase in transformational leadership style as compare to transactional style. However, for every unit increase in transactional leadership style, leadership effectiveness increased by 1.329. The above comparison shows that transformational leadership style is more effective than transactional leadership style in Small and Medium firms in Manipur. This study is an attempt to determine effective leadership style whether transactional or transformational for managing small and medium firms in Manipur during Covid 19 pandemic. A sample of 98 employees from small and medium firms in Manipur was taken for the research using Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire MLQ (Form 5x-Short). The data were analysed using ordinal regression and the spearman correlation coefficient. It has been found that 55% of leadership effectiveness is subject to exhibition of either transactional or transformational leadership style. The study highlighted that leadership effectiveness is increased by 2.213 for every unit increase in transformational leadership style as compare to transactional style. However, for every unit increase in transactional leadership style, leadership effectiveness increased by 1.329. The above comparison shows that transformational leadership style is more effective than transactional leadership style in Small and Medium firms in Manipur.

Driving sustainability: Role of economic incentives, and environmental awareness in electronic sector.

Investment in stone mining projects is always associated with risks as there might have relatively greater uncertainty of expected level of extraction. This study examines the degree to which firms operating in stone mines are facing risks and obstacles regarding their investment and profit, conditional on the investment climate indicators, ownership structure, and firm’s performance. Studies on investment climate are mainly based on macro level data, and firm level studies are relatively sparse (Dao, 2008; Cull and Xu, 2003; 2005). This sparseness may result from the dearth of micro-level data. This study provides findings that also fill-up this gap in the literature. The analyses are based on data collected in 2010 and 2011 and from 633 small, medium and large stone mining firms from Sylhet Division in Bangladesh. 112 of large firms reported that the source of their initial investment came from either bank loan or remittances or both, while in case of medium firm partnership between mine owners and individual investor who bears the mine digging and extraction costs played the dominant role (73 out of 209). However, 49.49 % of the small firms reported that either usury or microfinance through NGOs were the major source of their initial investment. The estimates obtained from ordered probit and IV-ordered probit models show that most sets of variables have statistically significant impacts on ownership and firm performance. Our findings suggest that factors like credit facilities, red tape captured by delay, regulatory burden, weak infrastructure, illegal payments such as bribe paid to the public officials, and acute labour shortages are responsible for changes in production and cost; and thus in investment climate. As property rights are defined and ownership structures are fully explored, the stone crashing firms are relatively risk free. In case of small and medium firms, firm’s location plays an important role. Experience matters for large firms. With the finding that acute labor shortages is a significant bar to profitable investment climate, large scale labour migration from less developed parts of the country to the mining areas would be one of the best feasible solutions. Bribe or illegal payment made by firms should be mitigated through increasing level of inspections by the administration. Our result accounts for the heterogeneity of firms and may be important for policy makers to develop clear, consistent and unambiguous approaches to fostering a favourable investment climate for firms under consideration especially for small firms.

This study adopts an integrated approach to employee voice (EV) and analyses the impacts of direct and indirect EV mechanisms on firm innovation in small and medium‐sized firms separately. It also proposes a new categorization for direct EV, by distinguishing between verbal and written mechanisms, allowing us to take the level of formality of different EV mechanisms into account. The analysis of 17,890 European firms shows that verbal, written and indirect EV mechanisms are all positively related to a higher propensity of firm innovation in both small and medium firms. However, for verbal EV mechanisms the relationship is significantly stronger for small firms than medium firms. The results also reveal that medium firms derive higher benefit than small firms while combining and balancing EV mechanisms with different levels of formalization (i.e. verbal and indirect voice). However, the former also suffers from excessive formalization of employees’ involvement in the innovation process (e.g. through written and indirect voice). Overall, this study supports recent calls for the need to adopt an integrated, pluralistic approach to EV and has important implications for EV research in small and medium firms.

Does Bribery Sand the Wheels? New Evidence from Small and Medium Firms in Vietnam

The purpose of this study is to explore the influences of transformational leadership on organizational learning and how it relates to innovation speed and innovation quality. The paper uses structural equations modeling (SEM) to investigate the correlation between the constructs based on analyzing the empirical data collected from 250 small and medium firms in Vietnam. The results support positive and significant effects of transformational leadership on organizational learning and two aspects of innovation namely innovation speed and innovation quality. It also confirms that organizational learning acts as a mediator between transformational leadership and two types of innovation. The findings, therefore, provide clearer understanding of the relationship between transformation leadership, organizational learning and aspects of innovation. It provides managers the useful knowledge and specific pathway to enhance firm’s innovation capability to effectively response to the rapid changes of business environment.

The Effect of Bribery on Firm Innovation: An Analysis of Small and Medium Firms in Vietnam

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the link between behavioural and personality traits of firm representatives and bribery in the case study of Vietnam; second, to study whether corruption is associated to firm performance through managers’ personality traits.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses novel data from micro, small and medium firms in Vietnam for investigating the relationship between behavioural and personality traits of representatives of firms and bribery. Stratified sampling method is employed to ensure an adequate number of firms in each province with different ownership types. Ordinary least squares and logistic estimation techniques are used in this analysis.FindingsThis paper finds that traits of risk loving and innovativeness are positively associated to the likelihood of paying bribe whereas managers’ internal locus of control is negatively related to the probability of paying bribe. This paper reveals that managers, who have risk loving characteristics and get engaged to bribe payments, are related to lower firm performances.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the fact that this paper provides robust and statistically significant empirical analysis, results from this paper are constrained with use of cross-sectional survey data, which has been conducted in 2015. Although this paper can provide strong correlations, it does not establish causal linkages and one should therefore be careful in interpreting the observed patterns as causal impacts.Originality/valueThe role of managerial personality traits in corruption interactions has not yet been explicitly proposed and empirically investigated. This paper attempts to fill this void by examining the relationship between managerial traits and corruption tendencies among SMEs in Vietnam.

This study explores the status of open innovation in small and medium firms that operate in emerging or growth technological industries that have been designated as new growth engines in the Daegu–Gyeongbuk district in South Korea. Chesbrough (2003, 2006a,b) had demonstrated that the motive power of growth and development of big enterprises, be it in hi-tech or lowtech industries of USA, is ‘open innovation’. Studies that followed examined the relationship between open innovation and industry performance had focused considerably on developed/mature industries. Though they analysed open innovation of small and medium firms, their analysis was limited to statistical relationships between open innovation and industry performances. Through the case studies this study’s findings indicate that small and medium firms in South Korea seem to be dynamically adopting open innovation in the process of changing their business lines to more prospective hi-tech areas for their existence. It also seems that continuous growth and development could not be expected with closed innovation, and that the existence of small and medium firms can be threatened during verification period because it takes considerable time to get approval or support form markets or science and technology business circle.

This study focuses on determining the impacts of organizational culture on the accounting information system and the operational performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City. The paper is organized in five parts: introduction, literature review, research methodology, research results, and conclusion and policy implications. Based on the samples of 353 respondents working in small and mediumsized enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City, the research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to find the answers for research questions. Group discussion, which yields final observed variables of the factors of organizational culture is used for qualitative method. Statistics, assessment of the reliability of Cronbach's Alpha scale, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used for quantitative procedure. The results show that mission, involvement and inconsistency in organizational culture positively affect the accounting information system of small and medium-sized firms in Vietnam. In addition, mission, involvement, adaptability and consistency in organizational culture are found to have positive impacts on the firm operational performance. Another finding of the study is that the accounting information system has a positive effect on operational performance of small and medium-sized firms in Vietnam.

This study aims to examine the obstacles and potential advantages that small and medium firms encounter when using capital budgeting techniques. The present study employs a design that involves doing a comprehensive literature analysis to analyze various papers and prior research. The present study reveals a number of problems encountered by small and medium firms in the process of adopting capital budgeting techniques. One of the most significant obstacles that has a profound impact is the deficiency in understanding capital budgeting. The implementation of capital budgeting procedures is infrequently observed among small and medium firms, resulting in limited impact. Despite the potential benefits it offers to the development of small and medium firms, capital budgeting facilitates crucial decision-making processes pertaining to investments, long-term planning, and investment assessment for business owners. The practical implication of this study suggests that owners of small and medium firms should consider enhancing their financial knowledge or seeking professional experience in the areas of finance and management.

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