The study seeks to identify factors affecting the choice of a university by first–year Business Administration students in Vietnam. Probability sampling is using Stratified sampling of 500 students from five private universities in Ho Chi Minh City surveyed by convenience sampling. This paper employs mixed research methods – measuring Cronbach's Alpha, EFA, Regression and using PATH model – to test the hypotheses of the research model. The results of the study identify five factors: Prestige, Geographical location, Facilities, Attractiveness of the field and Media. All these factors have a positive influence on the standing of the university brand. It means that the higher the Prestige, Geographical location, Facilities, Attractiveness of the field and Media, the higher the university brand. The results indicate that Geographical location is the most influential factor to enhance the private university‟s brand. Bringing Geographical location is, thus, advisable to enhance a university standing. The brand plays a determining role in students' trust when selecting a university. Media is still the top concern of new students when they choose to study at a university. Media still remains an important consideration for new students when choosing a university. So, this factor should be utilized by universities to enhance their attractiveness.
The research aims to explore the links among corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management, considering vital roles of each component in Vietnam. There were 500 questionnaires provided to the targeted enterprises, where there were 150 enterprises in Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, 150 enterprises in Hanoi Stock Exchange, and 200 enterprises in the unlisted public company market. Of the distributed questionnaires, only 289 replies offered needed information for analyses. The data derived from these firms was based on their annual or sustainability statements that were retrieved from the websites. This research used a sixyear rolling window to calculate earnings management. To compute that variable, lagged year information was included, so the data from 2011 to 2017 was needed to collect. The empirical results show that corporate governance mechanism is a significant moderation in the positive link between good corporate social responsibility and earnings management. Furthermore, corporate social responsibility and earnings management also play mediating roles in the associations among corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management. This project recommends that corporate governance mechanism is an essential driver of the managerial behaviors in social responsibility and ethical accounting practices, which are in turn mediators in the joint research model.
The paper aims to investigate the linkage among prior financial performance, organizational reputation and earnings quality. Firstly, it examines the influence of prior financial performance on organizational reputation and on earnings quality. Secondly, this research explores the moderating role that prior financial performance plays in the causal relationship from organizational reputation to earnings quality. Thirdly, the mediating role of organizational reputation in the effect of prior financial performance on earnings quality is analyzed. The empirical findings show that, prior financial performance positively affects both earnings quality and organizational reputation that in turn partly mediates the causal connection from prior financial performance to earnings quality; whereas prior financial performance imposes a positive moderation in the influence of organizational reputation on earnings quality. This research is expected to provide scholars and practitioners with a thorough understanding of the complex link among prior financial performance, organizational reputation and earnings quality. That helps them to deliver good decisions on the investment of suitable resources in maintaining and enhancing their organizational reputation, which assures a higher quality of reported earnings that in turn improves involved stakeholders’ confidence in their firm. This likely leads the firms to gain better performance in the future.
The paper aims to examine the factors affecting brand and student decision in buying fresh milk. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods, this study used self-completed questionnaires to investigate 520 students in Ho Chi Minh City. The results of the study show that that there are five key determinants affecting the dairy brand and student decision in buying fresh milk, including: (1) product quality, (2) fair price, (3) product promotion and customer services, (4) product convenience, and (5) reference group’s attitude to the brand. In addition, it is also found that product brand has a direct and positive impact on the student decision. The finding in this study is quite different from other existing literatures in terms of the importance level of the determinants of the student decision in buying fresh milk; specifically, in deciding to buy their fresh milk, students are often interested in the promotion and customer service, the product convenience, and the reference group for the purchase, more than in the quality and price of the product. From these findings, some managerial implications are proposed for policy-makers and relevant enterprises to have appropriate policies and strategies for their business development.
The study aims to identify Service Quality factors that affect purchase decision on Click and Collect service through the mediating variable of customer emotions at Mobile World stores in Ho Chi Minh City. This study employs a mixed methods research design. Data were collected through online self-completion questionnaire distributed to 316 customers who used to experience Click and Collect service at the Mobile World stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The theoretical model was tested through two-stage regression analysis (PATH model). The findings show that factors of service quality such as Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy, Tangibility, and Emotions affect the decision to purchase online and receive products directly at Mobile World stores in Ho Chi Minh City. Responsiveness and Assurance have a significant positive impact on the customer's emotions. Consequently, these factors should be considered and addressed when conducting multi-channel services. Obviously, employees must first be trained to be able to deliver the promise of the retailer to their customers. Based on the results of the study, the authors provide managerial implications for retailers in Vietnam in the multi-channel retail environment to develop Click and Collect at retail stores across the country and the world.
Service quality is still a new concept to those who works in shipping lines services since it has not been identified as a mandatory factor to increase competitiveness. Most carriers are currently offering services at the same level of price, transit time, equipment, etc. Thus offering a high quality service is the best way for a carrier to differentiate itself from its competitors in the market. The research aims to conduct an assessment on service quality at Wan Hai Lines (WHL) outbound services based on the SERVQUAL model, form of dimension-bydimension analysis. This study was based on a survey of 135 people. The outcome is the service quality of WHL outbound services can be identified by three dimension(s): Empathy and Responsiveness, Assurance, and Reliability. It would help management to have an overall picture about the current service quality, and to find solutions to improve service quality following the recommendations. WHL managers need to recognize that “Reliability” has the strongest influence on customers’ expectations, then come “Empathy and Responsiveness” and “Assurance”. Therefore, board of managers should spend time looking carefully at each of the three dimensions, especially for the biggest gap between perceptions and expectations of three dimensions as well. Then the recommendations were raised.
The current higher education in Vietnam demonstrates the intense competition among local universities. Undoubtedly, the issue of enhancing the brand value to attract students is now placed at the top to Vietnamese universities. The research aims to identify the objective and subjective factors affecting the brand value of private universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as mediated by students’ perceptions. This paper employs the mixed research methods and data were then analyzed by measuring Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for reliability, analyzing EFA, and using PATH model to test the experiment on the research model affecting HUTECH’s brand value. Probability sampling used is Stratified sampling and 500 students of 8 faculties of HUTECH surveyed by convenience sampling. Additionally, this paper also proposes some managerial implications on enhancing the brand value of private universities in Ho Chi Minh City. The results indicate that the new factor, namely geographic location is the most influential factor to enhance the brand value of private universities in general and HUTECH in particular. Brand still plays a determinant role in students' trust when choosing a university. Finally, some implications proposed to enhance the brand value of private universities in Ho Chi Minh City in the context of fierce competition in attracting students.
This research aim to investigate the qualitative and quantitative performance of concrete deteriorations using Pulse Square Thermography (PST) technique. An experimental test of ten cases was conducted on a concrete slab specimen under different meteorological conditions. The results showed that the absolute contrast between defective area and sound area decreases with the falling of ambient temperature. Besides, the delamination with identical size but placed at a deeper position indicates lower absolute contrast than the shallow delamination.