Business Leadership in the Digitalization Process: the Case of SMEs in Vietnam

Our abstract has been accepted for the Digitalization of Small-and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Developing Countries”  to be held at Foreign Trade University (FTU) on November 23 – 24, 2020, supported by Viettel and the Asian Development Bank Institute.

Business Leadership in the Digitalization Process: the Case of SMEs in Vietnam, Trung Nguyen, John Walsh and Thinh Hoang, School of Business and Management, RMIT Vietnam

Abstract

Digital transformation (DT) involves leveraging digital technologies to enable major business improvements. It can provide firms with competitive advantages, connectivity enhancement, scalability and new business models. However, there are a number of challenges in the DT process which has resulted in a majority of the projects of this type failing to achieve their targets. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are not an exception to this. While SMEs can be more flexible and fast in adopting new technologies, they face even more serious challenges when becoming digitalized. Common barriers include insufficient attention given to it by leadership, poor corporate governance, insufficient resources, little to no presence of digital platforms and data, a scarcity of digital talent and the threat of cyber-attacks. These problems seem more obvious in the context of a developing country such as Vietnam where micro- and small enterprises are dominant. This paper aims to explore the challenges facing leadership and governance of SMEs in Vietnam when pursuing a DT strategy. It is found that it is vital to go forward with more data-driven decision making processes and the adoption of new ways of communication and new business models. However, business leaders should understand better their own situation and the difficulties they are facing in order to put the right strategy in place. This study draws upon a quantitative project on the digitalization of firms in Vietnam by the RMIT-KPMG Centre of Governance, with a view not only to shedding light on these challenges but also providing suitable recommendations for SMEs in Vietnam. It also contributes to the emerging literature of the interplay of digitalization and leadership in SMEs.

Keywords: corporate governance, digitalization, leadership, SMEs, transformation

Review of Patent Ready by Gregory Kavounas

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Review of Jagersma’s On Becoming Extraordinary

As capitalism continues to evolve and spread itself over more and more aspects of human life, it is inevitable that commercial organizations will find ways to profit from those different activities. One such area is the provision of advice – management consultancy, in other words. What previously might have been sought through social networks and personal contacts is now dominated by what author Pieter Klaas Jagersma calls professional service firms.

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Review of William F Brandt Jr.’s COMPASS: Creating Exceptional Organizations

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Sino-Thai Relations in Historical Perspective: The Implications for Contemporary Organizational Management

This paper, by Sirirat Ngamsang and myself, has been accepted for publication at the forthcoming ICGBE Conference to be held in Bangkok in June this year.

Abstract:

Thailand and China have had a relationship for many centuries, initially as a result of Siam (now Thailand) joining the tributary system that permitted participation in the designated Chinese markets. The relationship has also taken place at an individual level as the result of untold thousands of Chinese migrants who have travelled to the south in search of a better life. On various occasions in history, the presence of Chinese migrants has provoked a discourse of conflict, in which the migrants were considered to present a ‘problem’ and, infamously, ‘the Jews of the East.’ National relations were halted during the Japanese invasion of China and then the Civil War that led to the Communist Revolution. Thailand’s presence in the American-led capitalist world prevented formal communications and this remained the case until the normalization of relations after the Open Door Policy was announced. During that period, many Chinese migrants and their family members were suspected of collusion with a potential Communist insurgency in Thailand and this encourage further integration into Thai society while, also, inhibiting the creation of a political party aiming to represent ethnic Chinese interests. Normalization of relations has been followed by rapid increase in trade and investment on a bilateral basis and the signing of various international agreements have deepened and broadened the forms of cooperation that have been possible. Chinese corporations have been accompanied by Confucius Institutes, which are non-governmental organizations promoting Chinese language teaching and cultural exchange. This paper explores the changing nature of Sino-Thai relations through history and uses this analysis to discuss the implications for organizational management in the present.

Keywords: China, historical relations, migration, organizational management, Thailand

Review of B.L. Brown’s Halo-Orangees Published at Bookideas

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What Is a Case Study?

A case study is a method of studying phenomena, particularly complex phenomena in the world of society and the social  sciences which can only rarely be modeled accurately by quantitative  means. The purpose of the case study is, therefore, to investigate  through the lens of a single unit the impact of larger changes and effects.

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Business Research Methods: Hypothesis Formation

In business research, progress is made by testing hypotheses and, specifically, in the form of null hypotheses. What, then, is a hypothesis? In formal terms, it is the suggestion that there is a relationship between two variables. The relationship is not specified and could take one or more than one of a number of different forms.

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Entrepreneurship: Franchising

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Entrepreneurship: Industrial Markets

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