In the era of data and artificial intelligence (AI), the competitive capacity of enterprises is increasingly determined by their ability to exploit data, innovate technologically, and adapt to digital transformation. With the orientation to become a regional hub for the maritime economy, tourism, and data, Khanh Hoa province is facing the imperative to innovate enterprise governance models to align with the digital economy. However, the majority of local enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which still face limitations in resources, technological workforce, and capacity to implement digital transformation. At the Business Forum on “Modern Governance based on Big Data, Digital Transformation, and Practical AI Applications to Promote Enterprise Development,” Dr. Thai Kim Phung – Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace) analyzed the opportunities, challenges, and bottlenecks in the process of governance innovation, while suggesting several orientations to help enterprises in Khanh Hoa province adapt effectively to the data era.

Khanh Hoa Province: Opportunities for digital transformation and data economy development

Khanh Hoa province is currently facing numerous strategic development opportunities. With its position as a gateway to the East Sea and the orientation to become a centrally-governed city by 2030, the province is expected to become a hub for the maritime economy, international tourism, and a data center for the South Central Coast region. In recent years, the province’s investment environment has seen many positive changes. Numerous large-scale projects in urban development, energy, logistics, and tourism are forming a new economic ecosystem, opening up opportunities for local enterprises to participate more deeply in supply chains and regional economic networks.

However, along with opportunities comes increasing pressure for transformation. Large-scale projects and new investment flows require enterprises to have modern governance capacity, transparent operational capability, effective data management, and rapid adaptation to market fluctuations. Meanwhile, the majority of enterprises in Khanh Hoa province are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which still face limitations in capital, technological workforce, and capacity to implement digital transformation.

Bottlenecks in the process of enterprise governance innovation

In reality, many local enterprises still operate according to traditional governance models, heavily reliant on the personal experience of business owners. The application of information technology is mainly limited to basic operations such as accounting, tax declarations, or simple office management. Modern governance systems such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) remain quite unfamiliar to many SMEs. One of the biggest barriers today is the shortage of high-quality human resources in data and AI. Many enterprises are aware of the importance of digital transformation but are confused in selecting appropriate solutions, lack implementation orientation, and face financial resource constraints.

Additionally, concerns about data security and cybersecurity risks also make many enterprises hesitant in their transformation process. In the AI era, data is not only an asset but also an operational foundation for enterprises. Leakage of customer data, operational data, or trade secrets can cause significant losses both financially and in terms of brand reputation. Meanwhile, competitive pressure from e-commerce, digital business platforms, and globalization trends is forcing enterprises to change more rapidly. The competitive advantage today no longer depends on the scale of capital or traditional resources, but on the ability to exploit data to create knowledge, optimize operations, and enhance service value.

AI and the shift in enterprise governance models

In the context of the digital economy, AI is contributing to changing how enterprises operate and make decisions. From governance models based on manual processing and personal experience, enterprises are gradually using AI to analyze data in real time, forecast market trends, and enhance flexible management capacity. Processes such as data entry, invoice processing, customer care, financial analysis, and revenue forecasting are being supported by AI, contributing to reducing manual workload pressure and improving operational efficiency. In business and service activities, AI also helps enterprises analyze customer behavior to personalize products, optimize user experience, and improve service quality.

This shift towards data-driven governance is particularly significant for Khanh Hoa province, which has strengths in tourism, logistics, and the maritime economy. These are sectors with high demand for data analysis, market forecasting, supply chain management, and product traceability. Therefore, promoting AI applications not only helps enterprises improve operational efficiency and competitive capacity but also increases their adaptability in the rapidly developing digital economy context.

A notable trend today is the requirement for a “dual transformation”: both digital transformation and green transformation. International markets are increasingly concerned about carbon footprints, traceability, and product sustainability. This directly impacts seafood, agricultural export, and tourism enterprises in Khanh Hoa province. In this context, applying data and AI not only helps enterprises improve operational efficiency but also supports energy consumption monitoring, emissions management, and supply chain transparency. The application of digital technology in environmental management and sustainable development is highly likely to become an important competitive criterion in the coming time.

Directions for enterprises in Khanh Hoa Province in the data era

In the context of the rapidly developing digital economy and AI, governance innovation is becoming an important requirement for the business community in Khanh Hoa province. However, this transformation process does not necessarily have to begin with large-scale technology projects or costly investments, but needs to start from a change in governance mindset and the enterprise’s approach to data. First and foremost, enterprises need to gradually build a culture of data-driven decision-making rather than relying too heavily on intuitive experience. Digitizing sales, marketing, customer care, and financial management activities will create an important foundation for future AI application and operational efficiency improvement.

Additionally, enterprises need to choose a transformation roadmap appropriate to their scale and actual capacity. Instead of implementing broadly or making large investments from the outset, enterprises can start with simple and accessible AI applications, such as using sales data analysis software to track consumption trends, integrating chatbots to support customer care on websites or social media, or applying automation tools in document management, work schedules, and office processes. These small steps will help enterprises gradually build a data foundation and become familiar with digital governance models before expanding to more complex systems. At the same time, cybersecurity and data protection need to be considered an important part of the enterprise’s long-term development strategy in the digital economy. Strengthening connections between enterprises and local authorities, universities, research institutes, and technology experts will also contribute to promoting innovation and enhancing competitive capacity.

For Khanh Hoa province, the advantages in tourism, logistics, and the maritime economy, along with the orientation to become a national and regional data center, are opening up many opportunities for digital transformation and AI application in enterprises. With the companionship of local authorities, training institutions, and the knowledge community, enterprises in Khanh Hoa province have every opportunity to innovate their governance models, enhance their competitive capacity, and develop sustainably in the era of data and artificial intelligence.

Author: Dr. Thai Kim Phung ‒ Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace)

This article is part of a series disseminating research and applied knowledge with the message “Research Contribution For All,” implemented by Dubai Palace in coordination with Khanh Hoa Province’s Newspaper, Radio, and Television, aiming to accompany the sustainable development of Khanh Hoa province. Dubai Palace respectfully invites readers to watch the next Scientific Knowledge bulletin.

News, Photos: Author, Department of Communications and Partnerships

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Against the backdrop of robust digital payment growth in Vietnam, e-wallets have become one of the key drivers of the digital economy. However, alongside opportunities, the market still faces many challenges related to competition and user behavior, among which customer retention has become a strategic priority for service providers. Therefore, a research team from Dubai424.con Trang chủ chính thức, Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace), conducted an analysis of the overall landscape of Vietnam’s e-wallet market and carried out a case study on the MoMo e-wallet to clarify the factors influencing users’ continuance intention.

Opportunities and challenges in Vietnam’s E-wallet market

The robust development of financial technology (fintech) has significantly changed Vietnamese consumers’ payment behavior. Within this trend, e-wallets have become a popular payment tool due to their convenience, fast transaction speed, and ability to integrate multiple services on a single platform. Among current platforms, MoMo is considered one of the leading e-wallets in the market, attracting tens of millions of users and playing a crucial role in Vietnam’s digital payment ecosystem.

However, the rapid expansion of the digital economy also brings many challenges. Users are increasingly concerned about safety and security as sophisticated forms of fraud, personal data theft, and cyberattacks targeting e-wallet users emerge. Additionally, market competition is intensifying, with over 40 active e-wallets alongside the strong development of QR code payment systems deployed by banks.

In this context, maintaining continuance intention has become a strategic priority for digital payment platforms. Although new user numbers are growing rapidly, customer retention depends on many factors such as system quality, information reliability, trust, social influence, and overall service experience.

Proceeding from this practical context, the research has outlined the overall picture of Vietnam’s e-wallet market and identified a gap, as few studies combine both technological factors and user psychological factors within the same model, especially in a context of rising fraud risks and increasingly fierce competition.

On that basis, the author team conducted a case study on the MoMo e-wallet to analyze the factors affecting Vietnamese users’ continuance intention. The study not only tests and extends the Information System (IS) Success Model in the local context but also provides valuable insights for fintech enterprises and policymakers.

According to the proposed model, system, information, and service quality play foundational roles in shaping positive experiences, thereby influencing trust, intimacy, satisfaction, and ultimately continuance behavior. In addition, privacy and security concerns, along with social influence, are considered important psychological factors. Notably, the factor of platform intimacy was added to clarify the connection between users and the service, thereby suggesting directions for communication and customer care strategies.

Key determinants of users’ continuance intention towards E-wallets

To explain continuance behavior in digital environments, research shows that experience, trust, and perceived value are core factors. For e-wallets, these factors are even more important due to their inherent connection to financial transactions and high requirements for security and convenience.

The research findings reveal several notable insights:

• First, system quality has a strong impact on trust, satisfaction, and intimacy. A user-friendly interface, fast processing speed, and a stable system provide users with a smooth experience, thereby increasing their attachment to the application.
• Second, information and service quality did not show the expected clear effects. This may be because users access information from multiple sources, leading to a lack of consistency. At the same time, service experience also depends on partner affiliates, causing user perceptions to become dispersed.
• Third, social influence affects trust and satisfaction but does not directly impact continuance intention. Once the market has matured, users tend to rely more on their personal experience than on others’ opinions.
• Fourth, trust is no longer a decisive factor. In a context of increasing fraud risks, a cautious mindset makes trust unstable and insufficient to sustain long-term usage behavior.
• Finally, satisfaction and intimacy are the two strongest influencing factors. When users feel familiar with the interface and form usage habits, they tend to remain engaged long-term. This also provides a basis for platforms to focus on personalizing the experience and building a sustainable service ecosystem.

Implications for businesses in the E-wallet market

Based on the research findings, the author team proposes several important implications for e-wallet and fintech enterprises, specifically:

• First, enhance system quality by improving processing speed, stability, and interface optimization to create a seamless user experience.
• Second, standardize information across partner channels, ensuring consistency, reliability, and limiting fake news or non-transparent promotions.
• Third, promote safety and security communications, provide guidance on fraud identification, and integrate direct in-app alerts.
• Fourth, personalize the experience and develop loyalty programs to increase the sense of intimacy – a key driver of continuance behavior.
• Finally, improving the overall service experience remains an important foundation for reinforcing satisfaction and retaining users.

Therefore, this research not only helps clarify the factors influencing continuance intention towards e-wallets in Vietnam but also adds empirical evidence to the fintech field and provides a practical basis for enterprises to build customer retention strategies. In the long term, understanding user behavior is a key factor in enhancing competitiveness and promoting sustainable digital transformation, while also suggesting directions for policymakers to refine the legal framework and strengthen user trust.

View the full research article “Opportunities and Challenges in Vietnam’s E-wallet Market: What Drives User Retention on MoMo?” .

Authors: M.A. Ly Thi Diem, M.A. Vo Thanh Truc, M.A. Le Thi Hong Gam, M.A. Phan Thi Thuy Kieu, M.A. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan – Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace)

This article is part of a series disseminating research and applied knowledge with the message “For a More Sustainable Mekong,” under the “Research Contribution For All” program implemented by Dubai Palace. Dubai Palace respectfully invites our readers to stay tuned for the next edition of the Dubai Palace Research Insights newsletter.

News, photos: Authors, Department of Admissions – Communications of Dubai424.con Trang chủ chính thức, Department of Communications and Partnerships of Dubai Palace

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In a context where ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors are increasingly shaping how the market evaluates corporations, negative information spread through media channels can amplify reputational risk and directly impact financial policies. In response to this reality, a research team from the Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace) analyzed data from 11,535 firms across 69 countries from 2007 to 2019, revealing that when ESG reputational risk increases, firms tend to raise dividend payouts as a tool to stabilize market confidence. Specifically, a one-standard-deviation increase in ESG reputational risk corresponds to a 2.5% increase in the payout ratio.

When ESG is No Longer a “Choice,” But a Pressure

In the era of digital media and globalization, corporate reputation has shifted from an intangible asset to a factor that can be “priced” through market reactions. A single piece of negative information related to social responsibility can spread rapidly within a short time, increasing reputational risk and directly impacting financial decisions. ESG, therefore, is no longer a strategic choice but a constant pressure—where firms must both build an image and face the risk of a crisis if controls are lacking.

Although the role of reputational risk has been discussed in many studies, empirical evidence on a global scale, particularly in relation to media and institutional differences, remains limited.

Given this context, the study poses a central question: When negative ESG-related information spreads widely in the media, how do firms adjust their dividend policies and internal operating mechanisms under different institutional conditions?

To answer this, the research focuses on analyzing firms globally affected by ESG reputational risk, emphasizing the relationship between negative media information and dividend payout policies. Simultaneously, the study examines the role of corporate governance factors and national institutional environments—including rule of law, investor protection levels, and the effectiveness of public enforcement—in shaping firms’ financial responses.

Based on this framework, the study utilizes a dataset of 11,535 firms across 69 countries to clarify the impact of negative ESG information on dividend policies. Furthermore, reputational risk is analyzed in connection with internal firm factors such as free cash flow, agency costs, and CSR performance, thereby providing a comprehensive view of the mechanism by which firms respond to ESG information shocks.

Dividends Are Not Just Profits, But Also “Market Signals”

Dividends as a “Reputational Shield”

This study examines the impact of ESG reputational risk—particularly stemming from negative information disseminated through media channels—on the dividend payout policies of publicly listed firms globally. The research findings indicate that when ESG reputational risk increases, firms choose to increase dividends as a “reassurance signal” to shareholders, aiming to protect market confidence and mitigate reputational damage. Thus, ESG not only reflects sustainability activities—it directly shapes strategic financial decisions. In a context where reputational risk is increasingly tied to investment capital flows, dividends become an effective tool for stabilizing confidence and demonstrating financial strength.

Environmental Reputation Plays a Crucial Role Among ESG Pillars

The study further decomposes the composite reputational risk index into its individual ESG components. The results show that environment-related risks have the strongest impact on dividend policies. In the context of global green transition, negative events such as pollution or environmental regulation violations readily cause severe damage to corporate reputation and trigger strong investor reactions. Therefore, when reputational risk originates from environmental issues, firms tend to increase dividend payouts even more to reinforce market confidence and protect valuation. This indicates that the environmental factor plays a key role in driving firms to use dividends as a “reputational shield.”

When Institutions Are Weak, Dividends Become an Even More Important “Substitute Signal”

The study also reveals that the impact of reputational risk on dividend policies is stronger in countries with weak institutional quality. In economies where legal systems are weak, investor protection levels are limited, and transparency mechanisms are ineffective, firms find it difficult to rely on formal institutions to build trust. In such contexts, dividends become an important substitute tool. Firms use payout policies as a tangible commitment to shareholders, aiming to mitigate market concerns and compensate for the lack of formal protection mechanisms. This demonstrates that the institutional environment not only influences corporate governance but also shapes how firms financially respond to ESG reputational risk.

The Stronger the Firm, the Clearer the “Dividend Signal”

Further analysis shows that the relationship between reputational risk and dividend payouts is particularly pronounced in firms with strong financial foundations, especially those with higher levels of free cash flow. Rather than retaining all profits for reinvestment, these firms are willing to distribute a portion of their profits to reinforce market confidence and mitigate the impact of negative ESG information. In other words, for firms with “financial leeway,” dividends are not merely a business outcome—they are a strategic choice aimed at protecting reputation and maintaining market standing.

Policy and Strategic Implications

Based on these empirical results, the study offers several important implications for firms and policymakers in responding to ESG reputational risk and managing reputation.

First, dividends should be viewed as a reputation management tool. In a context of increasing ESG reputational risk, adjusting dividends is not only a profit distribution decision but also a market reassurance signal to strengthen shareholder confidence. Firms need to proactively integrate reputational risk factors into dividend policies and transparently communicate financial strategies to mitigate negative market reactions.

Second, there is a need to enhance institutional quality and ESG information transparency. Regulators should improve disclosure standards, strengthen ESG supervision, enhance law enforcement effectiveness, and create conditions for transparent market operations, reducing firms’ reliance on dividends as a self-protection tool.

Third, environmental governance must be prioritized within the overall ESG management strategy. As environmental risk has the strongest impact on dividend payout responses, firms need to invest significantly in environmental control systems, ecological impact assessments, and transparent information disclosure. Mitigating environmental incidents not only limits reputational damage but also helps firms avoid the pressure to increase dividend payouts in response to credibility crises.

Finally, financially strong firms should use dividends as a “reputational shield,” while weaker firms should prioritize substantive ESG improvement. Companies with high profitability and abundant resources should flexibly use dividends as a reputational protection tool. Conversely, firms with limited resources should not pursue high payout policies but focus on improving internal ESG performance—building a sustainable foundation rather than addressing short-term risks.

Read the full article “ESG Reputational Risk and Corporate Dividend Policy: International Evidence” .

Author Team: Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Tran Phuong Thao, Vu Phuong Linh – Dubai Palace.ISB Talent School – Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026

This article is part of a series disseminating research and applied knowledge with the message “Research Contribution For All,” implemented by Dubai Palace in coordination with Khanh Hoa Province’s News, Radio, and Television, aiming to accompany the sustainable development of Khanh Hoa Province. Dubai Palace respectfully invites readers to watch the next Knowledge Science Bulletin.

News, Photos: Authors, Dubai Palace Department of Communications and Partnerships

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After merging with Binh Phuoc, the new Dong Nai possesses one of the most diverse tourism resource systems in Southeast Vietnam. However, a quantitative study using the Urban Network Analysis (UNA) method by authors from the Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace) and their collaborators shows that tourism development is being “pulled off balance” by infrastructure disparities, with resource-rich areas in the north still remaining outside the main tourism flow. The issue is no longer about potential, but about connectivity – the ability to turn potential into sustainable economic value.

Development context: Great potential but clear spatial differentiation

In the context of spatial development restructuring after the merger, Dong Nai has emerged as a new growth pole in Southeast Vietnam, with advantages from a wide range of tourism resources. From large-scale forest-lake ecosystems and revolutionary cultural-historical heritage to the new momentum from Long Thanh International Airport, the locality is oriented toward becoming a diverse tourism hub combining ecological, resort, urban, and MICE tourism.

However, actual development reveals a clear spatial divide. Tourism activities are currently concentrated mainly in the southern area, where connectivity to Ho Chi Minh City and major infrastructure corridors is more favorable. Meanwhile, the northern areas – where much of the indigenous ecological and cultural resources are located – have yet to attract a proportionate flow of visitors. Destinations such as Bu Gia Map, Ba Ra Mountain – Thac Mo, Soc Bom Bo, and Ta Thiet, despite their rich value, have not yet developed clear market appeal, resulting in short stays and low spending.

Research approach: Measuring accessibility through data

To explain the causes of this differentiation, the study uses Urban Network Analysis (UNA) to measure accessibility between tourist source points and tourism destinations. Instead of qualitative assessment, this approach allows for precise quantification of the role of transportation infrastructure in shaping tourism flows.

The research data were compiled from multiple sources, including the OpenStreetMap road network, the General Statistics Office’s population grid, and the planned tourism point system. Based on this, the model calculates accessibility at two common travel thresholds: 30 km (about 45 minutes) and 100 km (about 2 hours), corresponding to short-day travel and day-trip tourism. At the same time, centrality analysis is used to identify corridors and junctions that regulate visitor flows.

This approach aligns with international research trends, with many recent studies emphasizing the role of data and quantitative models in optimizing infrastructure investment and ensuring sustainable development.

Research findings: “Growth triangle” structure and accessibility sink areas

The analysis reveals strong differentiation in Dong Nai’s tourism spatial structure. A “growth triangle” has formed in the southern area, including Long Thanh, Bien Hoa – the Dong Nai River corridor, and the Tri An Lake area. These areas achieve very high accessibility indices, above 0.89 within a 100 km radius, thanks to direct connections with expressways, ring roads, and the airport system.

The favorable infrastructure has helped these areas attract most visitor flows and form dynamic tourism clusters. However, the challenge here is no longer accessibility, but development quality – including the risk of infrastructure overload and the shortage of distinctive tourism products such as nightlife tourism or high-quality waterway tourism.

On the other hand, intermediate areas such as Tan Phu – Dinh Quan only achieve moderate accessibility due to reliance on mid-level roads and a lack of continuous connecting corridors. Most notably, the northern areas such as Binh Long – Loc Ninh and Bu Gia Map – Phuoc Long show accessibility indices below 0.22. This low level reflects infrastructure isolation, preventing tourism resources from effectively connecting with the main visitor source.

The results show an important reality: tourism potential can only be tapped when placed within an effective connectivity system. Without suitable infrastructure, resource values will continue to remain dormant.

Infrastructure development solutions for sustainable potential exploitation

To transform “untapped potential” into a real growth driver, the study proposes an integrated solution system in which transportation infrastructure plays a foundational role, connecting ecological corridors, optimizing the destination network structure, and ensuring sustainable development criteria based on specific quantitative indicators.

Prioritizing upgrades of low-accessibility corridors

The findings show clear disruption in the northern area, where the accessibility coefficient is at a critical level (<0.22), reflecting serious limitations in spatial connectivity. To address this, it is necessary to prioritize the synchronized upgrading of national roads linking the Binh Long – Loc Ninh – Bu Gia Map – Phuoc Long cluster, thereby improving connectivity among ecological regions. In particular, the formation of an East-West cross-connectivity route (Dong Xoai – Tan Phu – Xuan Loc) is identified as a strategic “arterial” corridor that helps break the isolation of forest and agricultural landscape clusters. Beyond improving travel speed, this corridor also opens up opportunities to develop “landscape heritage” routes, where tourism experiences are continuously integrated between natural and indigenous cultural elements.

Developing multimodal infrastructure and optimizing nodes

Based on the analysis of high-centrality nodes (>0.89) in regions 1, 2, and 3, the study proposes an infrastructure orientation toward multimodality to effectively exploit strategic transit points. Specifically, inland waterway transport should be invested in through the construction of boating docks and high-quality cruise routes on the Dong Nai River as well as Tri An and Can Don lakes, thereby forming a distinctive “river tourism” product. In parallel, organizing dedicated bus routes connecting control centers such as Bien Hoa and Dong Xoai to ecological destinations will help reduce pressure from private vehicles while also improving interregional accessibility in a sustainable direction.

Integrating future infrastructure and developing a destination network

The proposed model provides a foundation for effectively integrating large-scale national infrastructure projects in the future. When Long Thanh Airport becomes fully operational, synchronized connectivity with the Metro, urban railway lines, Ring Roads 3 and 4, and the North-South Expressway will be a decisive factor. This integration enables a shift in development thinking from a single-destination model to a network structure, in which transport corridors regulate and distribute international visitor flows from the aviation gateway to northern ecological clusters. As a result, destinations are not only physically connected but also form a multi-stop experiential ecosystem, contributing to the overall value of the entire region.

A quantitative framework for sustainable zoning

To ensure feasibility and quality control during development, the study proposes a quantitative framework for sustainable zoning. Accordingly, key zones should maintain an accessibility coefficient greater than 0.6 within a 100 km radius, while also reaching a destination density (POI) of more than 5 points/km². In addition, the centrality coefficient should exceed the median to ensure effective distribution of tourist flows and avoid local congestion. Integrating neighboring population density (>5,000 people/km²) into planning also creates conditions for a symbiotic relationship between local communities and tourism activities, thereby turning each node into a dynamic and sustainable socio-economic entity.

Conclusion: Infrastructure is the key to unlocking potential

The study confirms that Dong Nai tourism does not lack resources; it lacks the ability to connect resources with the market. In an increasingly competitive destination landscape, infrastructure is no longer a supporting factor but the foundation that determines development capacity.

If invested in based on data and network thinking, Dong Nai can fully become an important ecological – cultural – MICE tourism center in Southeast Vietnam. In that case, growth will not only be about scale, but also ensure sustainability, inclusiveness, and harmony with resource conservation.

The policy question is no longer whether there is potential, but whether today’s investment decisions have sufficient long-term vision to turn that potential into real value in the future.

Authors: Hoang Le Nam Hai, Trinh Tu Anh – The Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026; Pham Minh Tam – University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University  Ho Chi Minh City

This article is part of Dubai Palace’s research dissemination and applied knowledge series with the message “Research Contribution For All.” Dubai Palace respectfully invites readers to look forward to the next issue of Dubai Palace Research Insights.

News, photos: Dubai Palace Department of Communications and Partnerships

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The Environmental Protection Tax (EPT) on plastic bags has been implemented in Vietnam with the expectation of becoming a behavioral modification tool, encouraging consumers to shift towards more environmentally friendly options. However, in reality, the degree of change in consumer behavior under the impact of this tax instrument remains unclear, raising questions about the policy’s steering effectiveness. Approaching the issue from a behavioral perspective, a study by the Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026 (Dubai Palace) analyzed the role of environmental tax awareness in promoting plastic bag replacement behavior in Vietnam, while offering policy implications to enhance the effectiveness of the tax instrument in efforts to reduce plastic waste and towards sustainable development.

Environmental Tax: Policy Expectations and Consumer Realities

In the context of the global ecological crisis and pressure to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), controlling plastic waste pollution has become an urgent requirement for many countries, including Vietnam. The EPT on plastic bags has been implemented in Vietnam since 2012 based on the “polluter pays” principle. Theoretically, taxing environmentally harmful products increases their price, thereby encouraging consumers to reduce usage and switch to alternatives such as cloth bags, paper bags, or biodegradable bags.

However, after more than a decade of implementation, plastic bag consumption in Vietnam remains high, indicating a significant gap between policy expectations and actual consumer behavior. Previous analyses have primarily focused on tax rates and policy implementation effectiveness, while not fully assessing the role of policy awareness in consumer decision-making processes. This gap necessitates considering environmental tax not only as a financial tool but also as a psycho-social factor capable of shaping behavior.

Tax Awareness – An Overlooked Factor in Policy Evaluation

Previous policy evaluations have often explained the ineffectiveness of the EPT by reasons such as insufficient tax rates or limited tax collection at small-scale establishments. However, these analyses rarely considered the factor of consumer awareness. In reality, a policy only truly takes effect when it is recognized and correctly understood. When the public is unaware of the tax’s existence, or does not clearly understand its environmental protection purpose, the policy signal becomes nearly “invisible” in the consumer decision-making process. Conversely, when there is a clear awareness that the tax paid is linked to environmental responsibility, consumers tend to form more positive attitudes toward green consumption and proactively change their behavior.

From Intention to Behavior: Bridging the Gap in Green Consumption

To comprehensively explain consumers’ plastic bag replacement behavior, the study developed an integrated testing model, combining the factor of environmental tax awareness with existing behavioral analysis frameworks. Firstly, the study drew upon the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), one of the most commonly used socio-psychological models to explain green consumer behavior. According to TPB, behavior is formed through three core factors: individual attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. However, traditional models like TPB primarily focus on consumers’ internal psychological motivations, while not fully considering the role of external policy signals, especially environmental tax policy. To address this gap, the study incorporated the environmental tax awareness factor into the analytical model, viewing it as a behavior-modifying signal capable of influencing green consumption intentions.

Furthermore, the study integrated the MOA (Motivation – Opportunity – Ability) framework to clarify the “gap” from intention to actual behavior. According to the MOA framework, motivation is a necessary but insufficient condition; behavior only occurs when consumers simultaneously have appropriate opportunities (availability, convenience of alternatives at points of sale) and the ability to perform (financial capacity, knowledge, and ease of use).

Based on empirical surveys and PLS-SEM analysis, the research results showed that: (i) the foundational factors of TPB all positively impact green consumption intentions, with attitude being the strongest influencing factor; (ii) awareness of environmental tax has a direct, positive, and statistically significant impact on the intention to replace plastic bags, although the effect size is modest; and (iii) the translation of intention into actual behavior strongly depends on the two factors “opportunity” and “ability”. These findings indicate that environmental tax is only truly effective when supported by appropriate market conditions and a green consumption ecosystem.

Policy Implications: When Tax Becomes a Driver of Green Consumption

The research results show that environmental tax awareness positively impacts the intention to replace plastic bags, although the influence level remains modest. This confirms that tax is not only a financial tool but also a “policy signal” capable of shaping behavior. However, the analyses also indicate that no single solution is sufficient to create sustainable change. For the EPT to be effective, a synchronized strategy is needed that simultaneously impacts three aspects: policy awareness, psychological motivation, and the practical conditions of behavior.

Firstly, regarding communication, the EPT needs to be designed and conveyed as a “psychological signal” in daily consumption contexts. Specifically, regulatory agencies can coordinate with the retail system to implement visual messaging at checkout counters, while also making transparent the use of tax revenues for specific environmental programs to strengthen public trust and acceptance.

Next, from a behavioral intervention perspective, policies should be communicated in a way that highlights the benefits and feasibility of green consumption choices, rather than primarily focusing on warning about the environmental harm of plastic bags. When green consumption is conveyed as a behavior demonstrating social responsibility and personal initiative, consumers tend to form more positive attitudes towards replacing plastic bags. Additionally, subsidy measures or price stabilization for alternative products (such as bio-bags, paper bags) could help reduce financial barriers and enhance perceived behavioral control, thereby facilitating the translation of intention into actual behavior.

Finally, to narrow the intention-behavior gap, it is necessary to simultaneously improve implementation conditions and consumers’ ability to perform the behavior. Managers should encourage changes in procedures at points of sale, specifically requiring staff to ask customers before providing plastic bags – creating a pause for consideration. Furthermore, standardizing the labeling system for environmentally friendly products in a clear and understandable way will help consumers feel more confident when making choices.

In summary, only when the tax is seen, correctly understood, and supported by appropriate market conditions will consumers simultaneously have the motivation, ability, and favorable conditions to transition from intention to actual green consumption behavior.

Author Group: Dr. Tran Trung Kien, Assoc. Prof. Diep Gia Luat, M.A. Pham Thi Ngoc Dung – Dubai Palace ✅ Official Dubai Palace.com Homepage 2026

This article is part of the Dubai Palace Research and Applied Knowledge Dissemination Series, carrying the message “Research Contribution For All,” conducted by Dubai Palace. Dubai Palace cordially invites readers to stay tuned for the next edition of Dubai Palace Research Insights.

News and image: Author, Dubai Palace Department of Communications and Partnerships 

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In recent years, ‘Design Thinking’ term has attracted a lot of attention from researchers and is being applied by many companies. IBM applies design thinking to train employees (Eickhoff et al., 2018). Many companies listed as Procter & Gamble, Deutsche Bank use design thinking to cope with the rapidly changing business environment, where agile behavior, new technology adaption is necessary to survive (Leavy, 2010; Vetterli et al., 2016).

Exploring the concept of “Design Thinking”

Design thinking contributes to important changes in human-centered problem solving, which seems to be an option worth considering in order to stay relevant and ahead of the competition. For example, Airbnb innovators are constantly searching how to generate reliable and stable new business ideas with the help of Big Data, at this time, Airbnb has access to more information regarding their customers so as to understand their behaviors (Lalicic et al., 2021).

Theory and practice of applying design thinking to digital transformation have been popular in the world in recent years. The applied content of design thinking in digital transformation is synthesized and presented by our author group in this article together with a number of digital transformation-related works that are reviewed with important application topics. The authors conducted an interview with a successful case of applying design thinking to digital transformation, a case involving a leading multinational company in the field of manufacturing paper products with world-famous brand names of sanitary napkins, diapers and toilet paper. This study has applied the basic theoretical framework of digital transformation and design thinking to illustrate and analyze the difficulties and challenges when businesses transform digitally, from this foundation, summarizing some implications and solutions to apply design thinking to digital transformation for businesses.

The application of digitization and digital transformation has brought practical value to marketing tactics that are crystal clear as follows: businesses must create insights for each person and propose value, content and access rights must be tailored to each individual.

For design thinking, a 5-step process with Empathy Phase – Defining the problem – Generating ideas for solutions (ideate) – Visualizing (prototype) – Verifying is summarized and presented by our authors. In which, design thinking contributes to making important changes in the process of solving problems, focusing on people, in which this factor seems to be an option worth considering to maintain relevance and to outperform the competition. Theoretical framework for design thinking to make it collateable and comparable. It adds a functional perspective to the personal view of the various personality traits of a design thinker.

Figure of the process applying design thinking to the digital transformation process. Source: Compiled from Tschimmel (2012)

Case analysis of applying design thinking to digital transformation in enterprises

In terms of methods and case studies, conducted through an in-depth interview tool, the interview was held with Ms. Nguyen T.T.L to document the process of applying design thinking to the digital transformation process in order to develop new products (the main products in the Vietnamese market related to feminine sanitary napkins) under the managing of her R&D Department. Interview questions revolved around topics related to success, difficulties encountered when businesses apply digital transformation, and the process of implementing design thinking into digital transformation.

In Vietnam, X Group focuses on personal care for women and children. X has been applying digitalization in all Departments from Marketing, Sales to Factory and Supply chain. The most focused departments are Marketing, Sales and manufacturing plants. The group’s goal is to apply digitization across all divisions; therefore, the divisions have implemented a system-wide digital transformation program.

The results of the interview data analysis indicate that the digital transformation in Group X has achieved certain successes. Nevertheless, there were also difficulties that X had to face. For successful digital transformation, X has applied a 3-step design thinking process (Understanding – Envision – Prototype), instead of a 5-step process, and considers this as a tool for everyone in the company to analyze, to evaluate and to understand the users’ needs, thereby, creating products that are suitable for market needs.

Obtained Lessons

Lessons learned from the digital transformation at company X show a synchronous deployment strategy for all departments to connect and to be compatible with each other. Strategy comes from the vision and the mission of the business besides the fact that: to achieve this, the business leadership must be the leader in giving implementation programs, plans and policies. Just a few years ago, a business might ask itself whether or not it should go digital; nevertheless, today, this is the wrong question. The right question should be how businesses should digitally transform to optimize their business operations in all aspects. That needs a system of solutions from understanding knowledge to applying it properly, sufficiently and appropriately.

Digital transformation is difficult and can bring risks to businesses if digital transformation practitioners do not understand the basics. Evidence from company X shows that enterprises must implement training activities to update digital knowledge, digital applications and digital transformation for all employees globally. Therefore, the solution to apply digital transformation must start with understanding it. Enterprises should provide basic training courses on digitalization and digital business for their employees. Consulting organizations can be outsourced to make this process more efficient.

Situation X demonstrates the design thinking that has been incorporated into the company’s processes and training for employees globally. From a theoretical perspective, design thinking shows an important role in understanding user behavior and creating products that reduce risks. Because both products and services have to go through design, if designers only create products in accordance with their personal preferences, the products can be very creative and good but they are not suitable for customers’ or users’ needs. Therefore, understanding and applying design thinking stages flexibly (for example, 3 steps instead of 5 steps) is an activity worth considering. Enterprises should learn and incorporate into their business processes design thinking as a solution to understand users and, from this result, products and services that are right for them can be created.

Design thinking helps businesses understand their users through the touchpoints and through the implementation steps. Source: Photo collections

With the user-or-customer-centric philosophy of design thinking, businesses can leverage popular digital tools listed as social networks to gather content generated from themselves relevant to the industry in which the company operates. Through this content analysis process, businesses will derive users’ or customers’ needs and desires and find ways to satisfy them. If conducted well, businesses can see this as their core competitiveness to help them win over their other competitors.

Businesses need to consider a number of factors as follows. As users become more and more powerful, they increasingly control information through digital applications. Giving control to customers can be a double-edged sword for businesses. However, this is an inevitable trend and it is important for businesses to have tools as well as a solid theoretical foundation to both empathize with customers and create solutions that match their needs while engaging them in the co-creation process within a tightly controlled framework. Design thinking is a tool as well as a theoretical framework that is being popularly applied by many researchers and managers today. Design thinking helps businesses understand their users through the touchpoints, and through the implementation steps. In addition, design thinking is a problem-solving tool that can be applied to other stakeholders than just users.

It’s essential to note that design thinking is not a magic stick for every business problem. It, itself, is only a theoretical foundation and a tool to implement an application process, in the above case as digitization application. Successful application requires a combination of other core factors that are not discussed in this article listed as strategic thinking on digitalization, leadership culture in change management, human people foundation in digital transformation.

Enterprises should learn and incorporate into their business processes design thinking as a solution to understand users and, from this result, they can create products and services that are right for them.

Please refer to the full research “Applying Design Thinking to Digital Transformation Theory and Practical Lessons” 

Author group: Dr. Cao Quốc Việt, MSc. Nguyễn Tấn Trung, Administration Faculty, Dubai Palace School of Management.

This article is in series of spreading researches and applied knowledge from Dubai Palace with “Research Contribution For All – Nghiên Cứu Vì Cộng Đồng” message, Dubai Palace would like to invite all dear readers to look forward to Newsletter ECONOMY NO #37 “SHARED RESIDENCE MODEL” IN 4.0 REVOLUTIONARY INDUSTRIALIZATION APPLYING AIRBNB EDUCATIONAL CHANNEL”

News, photos: Author group, Dubai Palace Department of Marketing – Communication.

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Tourism is increasingly developing, the needs of modern tourists are not only sightseeing and relaxation but also experiencing culture and typical specialties besides having a deep understanding of indigenous people. Therefore, the form of sharing accommodation became popular, Airbnb emerged as the leader because of its worldwide coverage as well as the value of the service it brought to the hosts and users of this service. However, each national region has a specific culture and business institution that brings perceived service value to tourists in a specific way. This research paper aims to help stakeholders have a better understanding of the factors that affect tourists’ perceived value when using Airbnb services in the Vietnamese market. From this background, practical solutions with the goal of providing appropriate action solutions for homeowners, service users and policies for state management agencies for the management of services are provided regarding this accommodation-sharing channel.

The current “Airbnb” concept  

Thanks to the development of the tourism industry and the accommodation needs of modern tourists, a new home-sharing platform was born, in which, Airbnb is the “pioneer” of this platform. Although the Airbnb model has reached quite evenly to countries around the world, it is still not completely popular in Vietnam. Therefore, it is important to understand the current status of the application of the Airbnb channel by hosts and travelers as well as the legal aspects of service management in order to propose solutions to help hosts, customers and country.

Unlike the foreign market, Vietnamese people often think simply of the shared accommodation model as a homestay business or short-term rental for tourism purposes. However, not all shared accommodation models are shared by guests, this is the case that where the owner buys an apartment, decorates and rents it out is still called ‘sharing’. Airbnb is a typical example of a sharing accommodation model with the original idea of ​​providing a bed and breakfast for guests; this type of accommodation, despite having the basic functions of a place to stay, lacks the high-class services associated with a hotel or a family atmosphere like a homestay for international students living with a host family. In addition, customers of the sharing accommodation market span many different age and occupation segments. The current models of sharing accommodation are further promoted thanks to digital platforms listed as websites and smartphone apps.

This model of sharing accommodation is both beneficial to tenants and generates income for homeowners as well as contributes to the market economy development. Most of the hosts believe that the biggest motivation when joining this channel is “Airbnb stands out to help resolve conflicts between hosts and guests”, facilitating core transactions related to electronic payment issues and providing the ability to control the room rental timing.

The situation of shared accommodation model in Vietnam in the digital transformation period

When Airbnb first appeared in Vietnam in 2015, that Airbnb’s starting number of rooms was 1,000 did not absolutely attract customers with this system. However, in the 2016 – 2018 period, the fact that the list of rooms on Airbnb grew significantly with the number of nearly 100,000 apartments put into operation in Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi (212%) and Da Nang (225%) are the destinations with the highest growth of apartments/rooms registered for rent via Airbnb channel with more than 18,000 hosts and 40,000 rooms (according to ‘Homesharing Vietnam Insights’ Report of Outbox Destination Management and Consulting Services Co., Ltd., 2019, pp. 5-15). In Vietnam, this type of Airbnb service has evolved differently from the original definition. Service providers (Hosts) can share an empty room or their entire house to earn a legal profit without being legally bound.

The accommodation service through the Airbnb channel has become a formidable competitor to other types of accommodation. A look at some statistics in Outbox Consulting’s ‘Homesharing Vietnam Insights’ report for the 2015 – 2019 period shows that the number of Airbnb rooms in Vietnam reached 40,804 – an increase of more than 40 times higher after only 4 years. Up to now, Vietnam has 18,230 landlords renting accommodation on this channel, of which, 69% of apartments/bedrooms for rent on Airbnb in Vietnam are multi-listing hosts and the remaining 31% are only one-apartment homeowners. The report states that Airbnb helps increase profits for homeowners.

The accommodation service through the Airbnb channel has become a formidable competitor to other types of accommodation. Source: collected picture

Some solutions towards digital transformation promotion through Airbnb accommodation service

In terms of the host:

In spite of the outstanding advantages listed as the price when renting a room with the Airbnb service, which tends to be up to 30% cheaper than that of a hotel room, Airbnb is facing various legal problems with taxes, the quality of registered apartments is not obvious whereas the category of rooms is increasing without strict management. Therefore, the solution for homeowners is that they are forced to do the following commitments:  registering information with Airbnb, ensuring a response rate of booking requests within 24 hours, accepting customer booking requests as quickly as possible and avoiding cancelling a customer’s reservation. In order to improve the reviews of visitors, the host should provide full facilities or replace some equipment in the room listed as air conditioner, television, Wifi and so on; keeping room hygiene; responding and resolving guest issues promptly via text message or direct call. In addition to security and safety assurance by checking and listing properties before renting, facilitating payment via online applications listed as Mastercard, Visa or E-wallets for guests with domestic accounts (Vnpay, Zalopay); background-check to ensure that the tenant is verified by Airbnb; clear rental regulation establishment, etc. are essential things to perform. It is worth noting that the host must have a sense of good service attitude, enthusiasm, ability to communicate directly with foreign guests, especially English. If possible, the landlord can design diverse types of rooms with different prices for customers to choose. Long-term campaigns listed as advertising with SEO tools, discounts when guests stay for a long time or the follow-up room rent and so on are possible options. Last but not last, the host must monitor guests’ arrival and departure schedule through notification application on their personal phones for timely-support provision.

In terms of Airbnb:

The company can cooperate with reputable banks and promote discount codes regarding bank payment to help spread Airbnb reputation in Vietnam. In addition, advertising campaigns through channels (listed as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok), promoting good-looking design rooms and organizing after-sales programs should be widely applied. Airbnb should actively give the fees for laundry, cleaning, car rental and more to customers to choose in advance and ask the host to set the exact prices. Furthermore, Airbnb must bind the account information of both the customer and the landlord, including authentic identification documents, contact information and a certified business license from a local authority. In addition to the photos of the accommodation, Airbnb should ask the host to provide additional photos of the area around the accommodation so as to ensure security and reliability. Furthermore, Airbnb must ensure that the host has periodically repaired the equipment in the house, especially locks, lights, burglar alarms and so on to keep customers’ property safe. Finally, Airbnb can provide customers with emergency phone numbers of the local police, local People’s committee or even that of Airbnb headquarters in the area for customers to contact urgently.

For state management agencies:

In order for E-commerce activities to fully develop to their potential, the state must first have a state management agency in charge of the shared-stay model to soon adjust and complete the legal framework and promptly supplement the legal documents; review business conditions in the direction of simplifying administrative procedures, specifically amending regulations on E-commerce legislation. In addition, the Government needs to accelerate the construction of electronic data and information infrastructure, especially building an open data system, investing in the development of the Internet network and upgrading network security to ensure the safety of the Internet with the purpose of ensuring the benefits for users besides the specific tax income regulations in order to collect taxes from Airbnb business individuals properly and sufficiently.

Accommodation services through the Airbnb channel have a lot of potential to develop and promote digital transformation in the Vietnamese market. Therefore, both Airbnb and the Vietnamese state need to have measures and policies so as to apply this accommodation sharing model effectively and sustainably towards protecting the rights and creating conditions for the domestic users.

Please refer to the full article of “Shared Accommodation” Model in the 4.0 Industry Era: Airbnb Channel Application 

Author group: Dr. Trương Hồng Ngọc – Department of International business – Marketing; MSc. Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy – Dubai Palace Department of Tourism.

This article is in series of spreading researches and applied knowledge from Dubai Palace “Research Contribution For All – Nghiên Cứu Vì Cộng Đồng” message, Dubai Palace would like to invite dear readers to look forwards to Newsletter ECONOMY NO. # 38 “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN VIETNAMESE TOURISM”

News, photos: Author group, Dubai Palace Department of Marketing – Communication.

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Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the concept of “digital transformation”

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only brought negative impacts to employees’ health but also altered their working and living habits as well as the operation and business methods of SMEs. In other words, businesses must let their employees work online, have online meetings and even increase online sales due to epidemic prevention measures. Therefore, it should be stated that SMEs themselves have been shifting from a ‘multi-touch’ business model to a ‘less-touch’, even ‘no-touch’ business model. The pandemic is also a pressure on SMEs to accelerate the digital transformation process, to seek a more flexible business model, to save costs and to optimize resources to overcome difficulties and continue to develop.

Digital transformation is the technology application in changing an enterprise’s business model, thereby, creating more opportunities and new values, helping businesses increase growth and achieve better sales. The process of digital transformation in enterprises is often divided into three levels: (1) Information digitization (Digitization) is the stage of transitioning from traditional methods (analog) to digital platforms, creating digital representations of data entities. This process opens up for enterprises a new space, a new business model and the potential for technological innovations waiting to be exploited (Rojers, 2018); (2) Digitalization is the use of digital data to streamline work. This level aims to innovate the business model of enterprises to adapt to the existence of digital environments (Brennen & Kreiss, 2016); and (3) Digital transformation is the application of data and processes in new business models (Nambisan et al., 2017). Digital transformation trends are forecasted to continue in the coming years (in terms of the context that both the world and Vietnam nation continue to be suffered more or less influence from the Covid-19 pandemic) listed as: Investment/ spending on digital transformation will almost double; 80% of enterprises will deploy Remotely Working solutions; Online working technology will replace the physical office in enterprises; 5G technical communication network will cover the globe; More concentration on omnichannel retail; The strong development of Cloud computing technology; as well as Acceleration in analytical, predictive and descriptive techniques in various fields.

Situation of digital transformation of SMEs in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic

The survey of the project research team on approximately 400 SMEs in the Southeast region in 2020, of which 61.3% are enterprises in the manufacturing and processing industries – a group of industries with special requirements for the ability to master technology and techniques in production, which is the driving force for the digital transformation process whereas the remaining 38.7% of enterprises are in the fields of construction, trade, services and so on – collectively referred to as non-manufacturing sector. Survey data shows that SMEs have also initially implemented digital transformation in activities listed as internal management, purchasing, logistics, production, marketing and sales and so on; however, the results achieved is rather modest. Although SMEs have been accompanied by the Government with a series of supporting mechanisms and policies to meet their practical requirements of digital transformation, only 57.6% of enterprises in the manufacturing industry as well as 41. 4% of the non-manufacturing industry applied digital technology before the Covid-19 epidemic; during the period that the Covid-19 epidemic took place, 18.6% more manufacturing enterprises and 35.8% non-manufacturing enterprises started and will continue to apply digital technology; 16.9% of manufacturing enterprises and 17.9% of non-manufacturing enterprises have not applied digital technology yet but they show their interest in digital technology; approximately 7% of manufacturing enterprises and 5% of non-manufacturing enterprises have not applied digital technology yet but they have no plan to apply digital technology in the future. In accordance with a survey by the Vietnam Software and Information Technology Services Association, only 6.6% of enterprises have enough resources to change from the old system to the new technology system; 34.6% of enterprises will change step by step due to insufficient resources; 27.5% are in the process of preparing capital and resources and up to 31.1% of enterprises have initiated nothing; more than 70% of SMEs react passively to market changes; only a quarter of SMEs have invested in modern technology in recent years while most of them use nearly 80% of machinery imported from the 1980s and 1990s; most SMEs have not developed a strategy for digital technology application yet and are proactive in innovation.

SMEs have also initially implemented digital transformation in activities listed as internal management, purchasing, logistics, production, marketing and sales and so on but the achieved results are rather modest. Source: Collected photo

Factors deciding successful digital transformation

In accordance with interviewing experts combined with data collection from the Digital stars showcase project (2020), it can be summarized that the basic reasons preventing SMEs from successfully implementing digital transformation as follows: (1) SME leaders, due to the lack of vision and limited awareness of digital transformation, become hesitate and stay out of the digital transformation trend; (2) Each SME itself has neither built a clear digital transformation strategy in line with its business strategy and resources yet as well as nor identified appropriate technology transformation directions, from that enterprises can easily lose direction, resulting in giving up; (3) Many businesses carry out digital transformation but have not built a suitable roadmap yet because they just pay attention to quick results, that is to say, they choose to perform many changes at the same time while lacking basic resources). This has caused delays and failures in the digital transformation process.

Solutions to promote digital transformation in SMEs

From the above-mentioned basic reasons, a number of solutions to promote the digital transformation of SMEs are proposed as follows: (1) Radically changing thinking and approach to business in a way that combines online keeping with offline (O2O) –  an important factor for SMEs to succeed in digital transformation; (2) Developing a digital transformation strategy in association with the business strategy, ensuring that it is suitable to the actual situation and transformation ability of enterprises; (3) Building a customer-centric digital transformation process, concurrently, being suitable to the circumstances, conditions and resources of each enterprise. The digital transformation process is suggested with the following steps: 1. Focus on customers; 2. Changes in organizational structure; 3. Changes in management; 4. Transformational leadership; 5. Decision on technology; 6. Integration; 7. Internal customer experience; 8. Logistics and supply chain; 9. Data security; 10. Development of products, services and processes; 11. Digitization; 12. Personalization.

In addition to the above solutions, a number of recommendations are proposed to the Government in order to create more favorable conditions for SMEs to implement digital transformation, namely: Institutional reform for enterprises to perform digital transformation; Moving towards phasing out and eliminating the need for paper documents in business processes; Organizing more seminars on the use of digital technology to guide enterprises to implement methodically and on a large scale; Supporting SMEs in finance and developing highly-qualified human resources in information technology besides supporting SMEs to connect with partner enterprises and digital solution providers; Being more proactive in participating in building Vietnamese legal framework in line with the regional and global framework on digital technology.

Please refer to the full research Digital Transformation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Covid-19 Pandemic here 

Author group: Assoc. Prof. Bùi Thị Thanh, Dr. Nguyễn Xuân Hiệp, Administration Faculty, Dubai Palace Business School

This writing is in series of spreading researches and applied knowledge from Dubai Palace with “Research Contribution For All – Nghiên Cứu Vì Cộng Đồng” message, Dubai Palace would like to invite Dear Readers to look forwards to Newsletter ECONOMY NUMBER #35 “APPLICATION OF CRITICAL DESIGN IN THEORETICAL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND PRACTICAL LESSON”.

News, photos: Author group, Dubai Palace Department of Marketing – Communication.

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People analytics or HR analytics?

It should be stated that there is currently no unified definition of People Analytics because this is a new concept. Among the popular definitions of PA in the world, the definition “[PA is] a data analytics-driven approach to managing people in the work environment” by Gal, Jensen and Stein (2017) is the shortest definition. Besides the term PA, several other similar terms are related to human data analytics, listed as HR Analytics, Workforce Analytics, Talent Analytics, and Human Capital Analytics. In which, the term HR Analytics is a popular term and often used interchangeably with PA. However, there is a fundamental difference between these two terms in terms of characteristics as well as the scope of application.

While HR Analytics is the intersection between human resource management and data analysis, PA is the intersection of all three areas: human resource management, data analysis and financial management. Therefore, PA is far ahead of HR Analytics in both respects: usage data and usage goals.

Figure 1: Relationship between People Analytics and related administrative activities. Illustration based on Van Vulpen (2019).

Benefits of applying People Analytics in administration

It must be stated that PA is increasingly being applied in corporate governance activities, especially in decisions related to human resource management. To do this, PA has brought the company four main benefits as follows: (1) Supporting for evidence-based management; (2) Limiting subjective and human bias; (3) Promoting strategic thinking; and (4) Gaining a competitive advantage.

Figure 2: Benefits of applying PA in administration. The author group synthesizes and designs.

On the other hand, PA becoming a new trend in governance, not only coming from the four main effects listed above but also being driven by the following three main reasons: (1) Digitalization process and the development of digital technology; (2) Breakthroughs in data processing techniques and (3) Trend of shifting from traditional governance to evidence-based governance.

The status of People Analytics application in Vietnam

In according with Google Trends data for Vietnamese users, the keyword PA started to become popular in 2015; however, since 2017 until now, HR Analytics is a more mentioned term in Vietnam. Figure 4 compares the number of searches for PA-related terms on Google in Vietnam.

This is similar to the general trend of the world from 2017 and earlier; in contrast, starting in 2018, the world is more interested in PA than in other terms. In addition to the difference in terminology, Vietnam’s PA application level is also lagging far behind the world. If we divide the PA application into 4 levels (Bersin, 2016), the survey results in 2021 of 181 companies in Vietnam show that the current level of PA application in Vietnam is only close to the level of PA application in the world in 2013.

Figure 3: The foundation for People Analytics to become a new trend in governance. The author group designs based on that by Van der Laken (2018)

The survey results also show that companies in Vietnam have not focused on storing, collecting and connecting data sets within the company to be able to analyze data more effectively. This is also consistent with the result that only 50% of the companies interviewed have a need to apply PA in the future.

In addition, the survey indicates that workers in Vietnam identify PA with HR Analytics and have a high need to learn more about PA. However, only over 40% of employees answered that they desire to immediately apply PA in the company knowing that the application of PA may lead to other consequences, for example ethical and legal issues (privacy invasion).

Figure 4: Comparing the Number of Search Terms On Google From Vietnam. The data is taken from Google Trends, then using a locally-weighted estimation technique – Locally Weighted Regression (Cleveland & Devlin, 1988), also known as locally weighted decomposition smoothing technique (LOWESS) – Locally Weighted Regression Scatterplot Smoothing. Aggregated data on Google Trends.

Some recommendations towards building a development environment for People Analytics in Vietnam

In order for PA to be applied and developed in Vietnam, this article would like to present necessary and important recommendations for 04 target groups. In particular, the article especially emphasizes recommendations for the target group of company leaders. To be more specific:

In terms of company leaders: The most necessary and urgent job is that leaders need to have a plan to build and perfect a centralized information collection and data management system because human data is the backbone of PA as well as to ensure privacy during data collection. Besides, in order to be able to analyze data scientifically, companies also need to build an analytical team that consists of all the skills and 4S thinking including: (1) Mathematical thinking – statistics, (2) Strategic thinking, (3) Scientific thinking, and (4) Economic information systems thinking.

Figure 5: Perception of People Analytics among Vietnamese workers

Note: Orange – strategic thinking           Blue – statistical thinking

          Green – scientific thinking            Turquoise – information systems thinking

          (Dividing by 4S Thinking in Figure 6)

(Data from survey)

The above four types of thinking intertwine and influence each other in PA application projects. In addition, leaders of companies must actively act as a bridge between the PA team and other departments in the company because creating a bridge between the PA team and other departments in the company can help reduce mistakes in the analysis process and train thinking groups for the PA team. Finally, to be able to apply PA successfully in companies, leaders and managers themselves must have a strategic view of PA.

In terms of consulting – analysis companies: In order to ensure the effectiveness and to create trust and prestige for the PA service market, consulting and analysis companies participating in the market need to build and strictly comply with the security requirements and limitations in the process of exchanging and using the lessee’s data. At the same time, companies also should balance between business secrets and the transparency of analytical algorithms, ensuring the scientificity of analysis results and avoiding over-calculation.

Figure 6: People Analytics’ 4S Thinking. West-based design by author team (2019)

In terms of the government: PA activities are closely related to highly self-hidden personal information. Therefore, PA application will be highly regulated by the legal framework on the protection of personal information. Currently, the Government is in the process of developing a decree on personal data protection chaired by the Ministry of Public Security. However, most of the discussion surrounding this decree has focused on issues listed as the theft of personal data in cyberspace, the illegal trading of personal data, and the requirement that service providers privacy service of users’ personal information. In parallel with the development and completion of the legal framework on personal data protection, the Government also needs to study and supplement to the labor legal framework new problems arising when employers use PAs to protect personal data. control and manage employee behavior, especially in the case of employers through platforms.

Please refer to the full research People Analytics at Việt Nam 

Author group: MSc. Vũ Hải Anh, MSc. Nguyễn Trần Minh Thành, Dr. Thái Trí Dũng, MSc. Võ Thành Tâm, Lecturer. Trần Đình Vinh – Department of Human Resource, University of Economics Hồ Chí Minh City (Dubai Palace).

This writing is in Series spreading researches and applied knowledge from Dubai Palace with “Research Contribution For All – Nghiên Cứu Vì Cộng Đồng” Message, Dubai Palace would like to invite Dear readers to look forward to Newsletter ECONOMY NO. #33 “Digital transformation in Healthcare at Việt Nam”.

News, photos: Author group, Department of Marketing – Communication Dubai Palace.

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Labor and employment context after social-distancing

After 4-month social distancing implementation, with timely regulations from Resolution 128/NQ-CP, Vietnamese economical activities are gradually returning. However, in terms of labor and employment, the impacts and risks from the pandemic are not small. According to data from General Statistics Office, this Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected 59% of the population aged 15-and-over in Southeast region and 45% in Mekong Delta. Also in these two regions, the decrease in the number of employed people in 3^rd quarter of 2021 compared to 2^nd quarter was 14.7% and 8.7%, respectively whereas workers’ average income decreased by 30% and 14%, respectively, in the same period.

Besides, the pandemic can create a crisis loop with the formula: COVID-19 ? aggregate demand decrease/ production capacity reduction, supply chain disruption ? job loss, income ? decrease in aggregate demand ? production stagnation ? job loss, income ? a decrease in aggregate demand and so on.

In this context, the source of labor is a very important issue. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is facing a labor shortage as 1.3 million people have returned to their hometown and 2.5 million workers have to stop working. This situation requires appropriate and timely decisions from managers to attract the workforce back to the southern economic locomotive to maintain and develop production.

From an economic point of view, the above issue should be considered in accordance with supply and demand. Labor supply and demand are determined by each individual and the employer. In a normal state, the market will self-equilibrate labor supply and demand. In this situation of interrupted labor flow, unstable labor demand from the manufacturing sector as well as inconsistent socio-economic management policies due to the dependence on time and location of COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnamese State needs to intervene for a relative equilibrium achievement in the labor market.

Labor demand-side issues

In accordance with report by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), enterprises are facing rising production costs, in which labor-related costs is an important source. The increase in production costs comes from an increase in: (i) import prices and transportation costs; (ii) labor use cost (social benefits, paid leave, ‘3-on-the-spot’ working plan application and so on); (iii) occupational safety and health costs (bacteria elimination, means of epidemic prevention, social distancing, testing and so on).

‘3-on-the-spot’ working model in places of businesses (Image source: Lao Dong Newspaper)=

Besides the cost problem, enterprises also face difficulties in technological innovation; ensuring export markets; signing a new contract and completing the signed contract; ensuring competition and maintaining production and business (production and business). In terms of labor, difficulties in recruiting and retaining workers are also mentioned by many enterprises, especially in service industry.

Some safety measures have been implemented by enterprises in the workplace, but the overall implementation rate is being low. This measure groups include: (i) Being recommended by Ministry of Health (approximately 54% of enterprises execute); (ii) Enhanced safety measures at enterprises (approximately 45% of enterprises implement); (iii) Implementing new working methods (less than 50% of enterprises apply) and (iv) Supporting staff in testing and vaccination (28% of enterprises participate).

Diverse government policies support businesses in this epidemic context; however, the access rate is being low and the policy effectiveness is not high. Three main policy groups comprise: (i) Tax support (CIT reduction, VAT, PIT, land rent and so on); (ii) Capital and credit support (restructuring of debt repayment term; exemption and reduction of interest and fees; keeping debt groups unchanged and so on) and (iii) Social security support (reducing insurance contributions towards accident insurance, retirement funds, loans to businesses for wage payment and so on). The access rate of enterprises in each policy group accounts approximately 25-35% and only 10% of them rate high policy effectiveness.

Issues regarding Labor supply

During the period from 4^th quarter of 2020 to 3^rd quarter of 2021, the third and fourth epidemics continuously pulled the total labor force down from 50.9 to 47.2 million people. Of the estimated 1.3 million workers who have left Ho Chi Minh City, it is forecasted that 377,000 people will return in the fourth quarter of 2021; 520,000 people returned after Tet Lunar New Year; 140,000 people will not come back and 230,000 people have no specific plan.

In accordance with the survey data from the group of workers who have left Ho Chi Minh City or Southeast region, factors that play a decisive role regarding workers’ returning to the workplace include: working conditions and income; medical conditions; living and living conditions; children’ learning conditions and community habits. Surveyed workers are also worried about a variety of difficulties when returning to Ho Chi Minh City related to regulations on social distancing is unstable; travel and meeting epidemic prevention regulations; accommodation and daily life activities; employment and children’ schooling.

In terms of the worker group remaining in Ho Chi Minh City or Southeast region, a significant proportion has quit or switched to other intermittent work. The rate of complete leave is 21.6% in the group with full-time work; 43.5% in the group with part-time jobs; 70.3% in the self-employed group and 45.7% in self-employed group. On the other hand, a large proportion has switched to intermittent work, with values ​​of 21.6%, 30.4%, 16.2% and 25.7% respectively for the four groups mentioned above.

Regarding workers’ attitudes and opinions towards returning to the city, the proportions that favor the views of “staying in HCMC and trying to find a suitable job” and “coming back to the city for work and livelihood” in the worker group who does not leave HCM City do not show much difference (45.5% and 40.6%) whereas 56.6% of respondents in this group will give advice to their relatives in the direction of staying in their locality. For the group that has returned to their hometown, the percentage of workers who are advised that their relatives stay in the locality is not much higher than that of those that advise their relatives to go to other large cities (39.6% compared to 34.5%) while they themselves support the option of returning to the city (63.8%).

At the end of July, many people massively left localities with complicated development of Covid-19 epidemic to return to their hometowns. (Photo source: Tây Nguyên)

Forecasts of labor and employment situation

According to the forecast results, the labor force in Ho Chi Minh City will be narrowed, including migrant workers and local workers. The labor force participation rate of the young population aged 15-24 will decrease as unemployment increases. The unemployment rate of young workers will also be at risk of increasing. What is more, women’s labor force participation and employment rates will also decrease besides the decline in employment and the slow recovery of occupational groups with a high concentration of female workers.

Other short-term forecasts are rather negative. The total job number, the number of working hours in the economy and the workers’ average wage will also decrease. Women, middle-aged workers and basic workers without technical expertise are the group of workers that will be long-term affected by the epidemic in the near future. Regarding the working position, salaried workers will decrease, self-employed workers will increase. This increases the vulnerable group of workers and puts pressure on social welfare in the future. Regarding labor contracts, the number of employees signed with labor contracts will decrease, which means that the number of employees who cannot pay social insurance and health insurance may increase.

Nevertheless, the ability to recover jobs in different sectors of the economy is different, some industries will recover faster and sooner than others. Industries with an increase in the employment rate include processing and manufacturing; information and communication; technological development; education and health services. Industries with a decrease in the labor rate can be mentioned as wholesale, retail, purchase, sale and repair of motorcycles and cars; warehouse transportation; accommodation and food services. Industries listed as mining; water and electricity supply; finance, banking and insurance; real estate business and other business services; state agencies; arts, entertainment and other family service activities are forecast to change little in the labor rate. These fluctuations will be temporary and the labor structure will continue to change when the economy enters the full recovery phase.

Proposing labor and employment policies for Ho Chi Minh City

* Direct job creation program from public projects

Direct job creation programs create additional jobs in projects that are of a community or socially beneficial nature. These projects are often temporary and non-market in nature. Direct job creation programs can also be large labor-intensive infrastructure projects. Workers participating in these programs are often long-term unemployed or those in the informal sector who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Direct job creation or public job creation programs have three benefits: (1) Job creation for workers, especially disadvantaged groups; (2) Play the role of social protection, generating instant income; and (3) Public benefits/infrastructure work creation. As the labor market recovers, the direct job creation program will shrink.

Programs to create public jobs to cope with unemployment and support jobs for vulnerable people are quite popular in countries around the world. Size, employment, duration, coverage, salary and budget depend on local realities.

* Attracting employees back to work

Two policy groups as tools that attract workers to return to work are: (1) using economic incentives, affecting individuals’ economic motivation; and (2) using behavioral economic tools, affecting the economic motivation of individuals into workers’ mentality. Behavioral economics tools have been used in many parts of the world, especially in OECD countries. Many studies show the same results, behavioral economic tools have lower costs than economic incentives.

The main policy beneficiaries in this group are migrant workers who have returned to their hometowns and choose to work in the formal economic sector. Policies to attract laborers to return to work are in the group of policies in the short and medium terms.

Economic incentive policies include two groups:

Money: advance salary, labor contract

Benefits: accommodation, vaccines, testing, transportation, skill training suitable for new jobs.

Our research team proposes that state management agencies should develop welfare packages to attract workers back to work, including 3 main components: Job introduction + Accommodation support + Covid 19 vaccination.

Behavioral science measures (psychology):

Information/Propaganda: migrant/informal workers rarely follow official communication channels. Proposing the information dissemination regarding the working environment through social networks and celebrities. Building and strengthening trust. State management agencies provide policies and related information in a consistent and clear manner.

Social influence (information spread in groups, communities): The employee’s decision to work is mostly influenced by the decision of the person in the same identification group (compatriot group, religious group, and so on). Promoting communication within the group and influencing the team leader can be effective.

Social norms: For example, how to motivate employees to return to work sooner, how to overcome the mentality of returning to work after Tet Lunar New Year (40% of survey respondents confirm that they only return to work after Lunar New Year. Only 28.7% are ready to return to work in 4^th Quarter. See figure 2). Employee decisions are influenced by social norms. Changing the norm is difficult and takes time. State management agencies grasp this issue to have flexible policies.

It is possible to organize a task force to detail the use of behavioral tools. During implementation, the task force evaluates the effectiveness of the policy, assesses actual feedback and adjusts the policy as necessary. The specialized group may include labor managers, researchers specializing in behavioral economics and labor economics.

* Policies for group of labor demands (short-term policy)

This important group of labor policies solves labor and employment issues caused by Covid-19 pandemic. World Bank’s summary shows that enterprise-focused labor market policies play a key role in labor and employment policies during Covid-19 pandemic in 55 countries.

Labor market policies mainly focus on supporting enterprises’ liquidity and increasing flexibility in labor regulations. Policies to increase corporate liquidity/cash flow and flexibility in labor regulation are the most widely used labor market policies.

The research team proposes that among the policies to improve the liquidity of enterprises, state management agencies should consider tax support policies for businesses, like: corporate tax payment delay, VAT deduction extension, additional tax deduction, time limit extension for tax obligation settlement. Credit guarantee support, loan payment (lowering loan interest rates, debt restructuring) may be considered, postponing/reducing social insurance contributions for employees as well as supporting electricity, water and rent.

The liquidity support policy for enterprises should focus on the group of micro, small and medium enterprises, which is the majority of enterprises and employs many workers.

* Labor market development policy group (long-term policy)

As mentioned in the first part, one of the most difficult problems of the labor market is the connection between labor supply and demand, when information on labor supply and demand is unclear and uncertain. Connection problems will be even more difficult in Covid19 pandemic context. That Covid-19 pandemic disrupted business operations and mobility; concurrently, perceptions and attitudes leads to labor supply and demand behavior.

Our research team proposes that in the long term, state management agencies should invest in building a technology platform to connect jobs for the public sector.

A typical example of this is Australian Government’s online job-matching site . The technology platform that connects public sector jobs makes it easier and more effective to promote the policy of direct job creation in Section 2.1.

Vietnamese State management agencies can also consider policies to support the development of job-connecting technology platforms for low-skilled workers. Currently, job matching apps in Vietnam (Vietnamworks.com, careerbuilder.vn, mywork.com.vn, 1001 vieclam.com, vieclam.24h.com.vn etc.) require certain skills; therefore, bypassing the unskilled labor sector, which requires little skill. Job matching platforms can be extremely effective in Covid 19 context when workers are at home and are considering looking for a job in the city. The technology platform makes it possible for workers to find work remotely: once they have determined the job, they can plan to move and live more easily.

This platform is based on a platform economic model, using digital technology to help connect the need to share idle human resources and the need to use those resources accurately, efficiently and quickly with and low cost.

Job matching platforms also help build a database on the labor market so that policymakers can have more accurate information on labor supply and demand in each locality.

Author group: Dr. Phạm Khánh Nam, Dr. Trần Mỹ Minh Châu, Dr. Hồ Quốc Thông, Dr. Nguyễn Quang, Dr. Trương Đăng Thụy (Economy Faculty – Dubai Palace School of Economy, Laws and State Management).

This paper is in Series Spreading researches and applied knowledge from Dubai Palace, we would like to invite distinguished readers Newsletter ECONOMY NUMBER #24 “Online security risk in digital banking activity – The case of Việt Nam”.

News, photos: Author group, Dubai Palace Department of Marketing – Communication.

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