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Drawing from institutional theory and organizational learning perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to examine how social norms of corruption in home countries and those in host localities influence firm bribery behavior. It also investigates factors that moderate the influence of these norms.

The study is based on survey data of foreign invested firms (FIFs) in Vietnam, conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry between 2010 and 2018 along with Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. The authors run ordinary least squares regressions to test the hypotheses.

The study provides evidence that social norms of corruption in both home countries and host localities influence firms’ bribery behavior, but their effects are moderated by different sets of factors. Specifically, the use of local leadership augments the impact of the host province’s corruption norms on the firm’s bribe payments. By contrast, the relationship between the home country’s corruption norms and a FIF’s bribe payment is weaker if local leadership is used, and stronger if the FIF’s home country belongs to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Repeated cross-sectional data do not allow us to genuinely keep track of the changing roles of home country and host province corruption norms over time. In addition, the use of perception measures for corruption norms is subject to potential biases.

As the hiring of local executives weakens the impact of the home country’s norms which are embedded in the MNCs’ general practices, a stronger learning measure and regular review of the headquarters’ policies and practices is needed to ensure the overseas branch’s compliance. For policymakers, it is critical to recognize that local corruption plays a role in shaping FIFs’ bribery behavior.

While the effect of social norms of corruption on firm bribery behavior has been recognized, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines the learning processes FIFs may take to make sense of and cope with these norms, and also the first one to specify factors that moderate the influence of these norms.

Dehydrated bacterial cellulose’s (BC) intrinsic rigidity constrains applicability across textiles, leather, health care and other sectors. This study aims to yield a novel BC modification method using glycerol and succinic acid with catalyst and heat, applied via an industrially scalable padding method to tackle BC’s stiffness drawbacks and enhance BC properties.

Fabric-like BC is generated via mechanical dehydration and then finished by using padding method with glycerol, succinic acid, catalyst and heat. Comprehensive material characterizations, including international testing standards for stiffness, bending properties (cantilever method), tensile properties, moisture vapor transmission rate, moisture content and regain, washing, thermal gravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and colorimetric measurement, are used.

The combination of BC/glycerol/succinic acid dramatically enhanced porous structure, elongation (27.40 ± 6.39%), flexibility (flexural rigidity of 21.46 ± 4.01 µN m; bending modulus of 97.45 ± 18.20 MPa) and moisture management (moisture vapor transmission rate of 961.07 ± 86.16 g/m²/24 h; moisture content of 27.43 ± 2.50%; and moisture regain of 37.94 ± 4.73%). This softening process modified the thermal stability of BC. Besides, this study alleviated the drawbacks for washing (five cycles) of BC and glycerol caused by the ineffective affinity between glycerol and cellulose by adding succinic acid with catalyst and heat.

The study yields an effective padding process for BC softening and a unique modified BC to contribute added value to textile and leather industries as a sustainable alternative to existing materials and a premise for future research on BC functionalization by using doable technologies in mass production as padding.

Cambodian and Laotian students (CLS) are among the largest groups of international students in intra-ASEAN student mobility as well as in Vietnamese higher education institutions (HEIs). However, little has been researched on the factors influencing CLS’s decision to choose Vietnam as destination country. The purpose of this study is to investigate why CLS decide to go overseas and choose Vietnam as their host country among other opportunities as well as their perceptions of the decision.

Using qualitative methods and employing purposive sampling, data were collected by semi-structured interviews from CLS studying in a HEI in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The data were analysed against the push–pull framework to understand factors influencing the participants’ decision.

The findings show that CLS in the study were “pushed” by the perceived higher value of a foreign qualification and family encouragements. In terms of pull factors, they were attracted to choose Vietnam as the host country most observably due to scholarship opportunities. However other pull factors were also significant, especially the lack of certain skills in home countries and its congruence with Vietnam’s competitive strength in offering courses for those skills. In retrospect, the participants expressed a sense of optimism, though there was also certain reservation.

The small sample restrict the generalisability of the findings.

As an exploratory study, the findings can lay the ground for largerscale studies investigating CLS mobility in Vietnam and be employed for inbound student mobility policymaking reference for HEIs in Vietnam as well as in other developing countries.

This study investigates why Cambodian and Laotian international students decide to go to Vietnam, a developing country in the lesser-known part of international student mobility landscape. This is a topic that remains under-researched in the Asia-bound student mobility literature. Insights from the study can not only contribute to the scholarly gap but also offer implications for HEIs in Vietnam and other Asian countries.

Drawing on scholarships of workplace romance, LGBT at work and sexual fluidity, this present research aims to investigate the effect of female sexually fluid romantic relationships at work on their work and life.

The authors used qualitative approach and interviewed 30 female workers who experienced sexual fluidity at work.

From interviews with 30 female employees in Vietnam who experience fluidity in their romance, the authors find out positive and negatives effects on their psychology at work (affective/behavioral/cognitive change and mental health), work outcome (job attitudes and performance/productivity) and relations with coworkers.

This research discovers common and distinct features in the workplace romance of female sexually fluid employees. The research finding supports queer perspective which is exerting more salient impacts on our contemporary society and workplace.

The authors estimated the hidden overhead (capital diversion or wasteful use of capital) of Vietnam state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The authors used a panel data set of 10,200 Vietnam SOEs observed over the period 2010–2018. The authors modeled and estimated the hidden overhead by using a stochastic production frontier. The hidden overhead parameter is modelled as the technical inefficiency in the production function.

Vietnam SOEs are very capital intensive. The hidden overhead (or the wasteful use of capital) is very high with an average rate of 69%.

Alternative estimation methods should be used to account for endogeneity in production inputs. Lack of comparison with the Vietnam private firms.

The paper proposes an original way to quantify hidden overhead (or capital diversion) in the Vietnam SOEs. The finding (a capital diversion rate of 69% on average) is astonishing. It calls for an urgent and profound reform of the Vietnam SOEs.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the contribution of capital formation, labor, and technological progress to the growth of the Vietnamese economy, the impact of economic reforms (doi moi) since the end of 1986, and the rates of returns to capital and labor.

Cobb‐Douglas production functions are built for Vietnam's economy and then estimated using annual data for 1975‐2005.

The two major findings are that: technological progress was statistically absent in the growth of the Vietnamese economy throughout the period studied; and the most important source of economic growth is capital accumulation, accounting for between 84 percent and 89 percent of Vietnamese economic growth throughout the period 1975‐2005, and between 85 percent and 90 percent in the reform period (1986‐2005).

This paper is the first of its kind in the Vietnamese literature that successfully sheds light on, among other things, the roles of capital and technological progress in the Vietnamese economy during the period 1975‐2005. It also makes clear that Vietnam's economic growth has been fueled mainly by foreign funds and, thus, the continued heavy reliance of the economy on this financial source will make its growth unsustainable. In order to achieve sustainable growth in the coming decades, Vietnam must shift to rely more on productivity growth, which has been absent so far, and less on factor accumulation growth.

The health and environmental hazards associated with synthetic dyes have led to a revival of natural dyes that are non-toxic, environmentally benign and coupled with various functions. The study aims to investigate and develop the potentiality of a popular herb called Chromolaena odorata (C. odorata) as a sustainable and stable dyestuff in textiles.

Natural colorant extracted from C. odorata leaves is used to dye the worsted fabric, which is one of the premier end-use of wool in fashion, via the padding method associated with pre-, simultaneous and post-mordanting with chitosan, tannic acid and copper sulfate pentahydrate. The effects of extraction, dyeing and mordanting processes on fabric’s color strength K/S and color difference ΔE_CMC are investigated via International Commission on Illumination’s L*a*b* color space, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, color fastness to washing, rubbing, perspiration and light.

The results obtained indicate extraction with ethanol 90% with a solid/liquid ratio of 1:5 within 1 h, and coloration with a liquor ratio of 1:5 (pH 5) within 2 h under padding pressure of 0.3 MPa are the most effective for coloring worsted fabric.

The C. odorata’s application as a highly effective dyestuff possessing good colorimetric effectiveness has expanded this herb's economic potential, contributing partly to economic growth and adding value to wool in global supply chain.

C. odorata dyestuff has prevailed over other natural colorants because of its impressive color fastness against washing, rubbing, perspiration and especially color stability for pH change.

This study aims to reveal the impact mechanism of franchisor-owned resources, franchise relationship quality and franchisee's dynamic capabilities on franchisee performance, with the moderating role of cultural sensitivity.

The sample consisted of 290 middle managers and team leaders at 113 hotels and food and beverage settings participating in the international- and domestic franchises in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is used to analyse the data.

The result reveals that franchisor-owned resources, franchise relationship quality and franchisee's dynamic capabilities significantly impacted franchisee performance. Furthermore, cultural sensitivity has a beneficial role in the effect of franchise relationship quality on franchisee performance.

This study develops an integrated analytical framework of franchisee performance from the franchisee's perspective, contributing to integrating international business theory in franchising studies, namely the resource-based view, dynamic capability view and relationship-marketing theory.

The textile industry has consumed large quantities of water and discharged large volumes of wastewater in the dyeing process. The study aims to characterize self-dyed silk with Rhodamine B (RhB) for fashion applications to reduce textile hazards to the environment and increase the added value of silk.

Bombyx mori was fed with RhB-colored mulberry leaves (1500 ppm). The effects of self-dyeing were investigated via color strength K/S, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, tensile strength, color fastness to washing, rubbing, perspiration and light.

Self-dyed silk possesses effective coloration and impressive color fastness (4–5/5), higher crystalline index (CrI) (73.26 ± 2.28%), less thermal stability and tenacity, slight change in amino acid composition compared with the pristine and no existence of harmful aromatic azo amines and arylamine salts.

The application of self-dyed silk with RhB dye has expanded new technology into fashion industry, contributing partly to economic growth and adding value to silk in the global supply chain. Besides, the self-dyeing will yield practical values in the reduction of dyeing discharge in textile industry.

Self-dyed silk was characterized for textile applications in comparison with pristine silk in terms of color strength and fastness as well as determined its polymeric properties relating to crystallinity, morphology, chemical composition, tensile properties and thermal stability which have not been investigated before.

This chapter explores the influences of Vietnamese culture coupled with national policies on gender equality on academic women’s advancement into senior leadership positions.

In-depth interviews with 20 mid-level women leaders and five top-level leaders were conducted at four different higher education institutions in the Mekong Delta (MD) in southern Vietnam. In addition, document analysis and participant observations contributed to the overall analysis, which allowed for the cross-check of data from multiple sources to investigate the participants’ understanding, perception, conceptualization, and interpretation of their experiences of advancing in their careers.

Findings show that there is a large gap between the policies and gender practices. Gender equality does not exist in reality, regardless of tremendous efforts from the Vietnamese government and policy makers to ensure it in all spheres of life. Additionally, patriarchal hierarchy remains dominant in the institutional administrative system, and Vietnamese Confucian ideology continues to confine and adversely affect both men’s and women’s perceptions of women’s social roles, status, and forms of social participation. Nevertheless, academic women still develop professionally and find their own ways to advance to a few key leadership positions at their institutions.

The sample of this study is limited to academic women in the MD in Vietnam. Future research should include more women and universities and colleges, from not only the southern part but also other regions of Vietnam. Further, international and comparative studies should be conducted to see differences in experiences of academic women from several Southeast Asian countries as they move up their career ladder.

Because there have not been any empirical studies about women and leadership in academia in the MD, this study serves as a resource and foundation for improving gender policies and practices as well as future research on this topic and gender issues of colleges and universities in Vietnam.