The research postulates the conceptualization of talent in the Vietnamese banking sector via examining the factors pertaining to the concept of talent and talent management (TM) in the sector. This study applied qualitative research methods. A total of 20 managers and directors of ten banks (three public, four private and three foreign banks) were recruited for semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that a combination of interconnected soft skills, learning ability, flexibility, technology adaptability, integrity and risk management skills contributes to talent identification. Managers in some private banks construed talent to be commensurate with high performance and high potential, whereas managers in public banks and foreign banks mainly relied on performance results in talent recognition. Moreover, talented employees holding sales-related jobs are given the most attention by management in the studied banks. Regarding practical implications, the banking community and practitioners’ focus should be imparted to soft skills development and integrity control in order to foster employee performance and attitudes. Attention should be paid not only to sales positions, but also to other positions within the bank. This study is one of a few which explores talent concepts and TM approaches in the banking sector in general and Vietnamese banking field in particular.

The paper aims to investigate the factors of brand equity affecting the purchase intention of car buyers in Ho Chi Minh City. The authors use qualitative method and quantitative research to study the matters, specifically using scales and data collected for Cronbach alpha reliability testing, analysizing the discovery factor of EFA, CFA and verifying the regression models through AMOS software with SEM linear modeling. The study proposes four factors: (1) brand awareness, (2) self-expression value, (3) perceived quality, (4) brand psychology impacting on the brand loyalty and intention to buy cars of customers. The results show that all four factors are statistically significant for positive brand loyalty and purchase willing. The results showed that brand loyalty positively affects consumers' intention to buy cars. Among the factors included in the study, the brand psychology is a new factor which developed by experts in the context of Vietnam. This is the first study in Vietnam to quantify clearly the element of "crowd psychology" affecting the interests and habits of Vietnamese consumers. This explains why Vietnamese consumers prefer brands that are familiar in the market and some new cars with nice models and colors suitable for Vietnamese psychology.