Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, Vietnam, economics, business, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 3 May Zoom webinar on SME Participation in the Digital Economy: Thailand and Vietnam.

The event, on Friday, 3 May 2024 at 9am Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.

The TU Library collection includes research about small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam and Thailand.

As explained on the event website,

About the Webinar

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 90% of total enterprises in Southeast Asia. About 70% of total employment in the region is provided by SMEs. In cognizance of the importance of SMEs, governments in the region implemented policies to enhance the participation of SMEs in the digital economy. This webinar will explore the state of SMEs’ participation in the digital economy in two countries, namely, Thailand and Vietnam. It will examine some of the on-going challenges facing SMEs in adopting digital technologies in these two countries. This webinar will also provide policy assessments and recommendations for the digital transformation of SMEs.

About the Speakers

Dr Juthathip Jongwanich is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University in Thailand. She holds a PhD (High Distinction) in Economics from the Australian National University. Her research interests lie in the areas of international economics, international macroeconomics, capital mobility, multinational enterprises, and international production networks.

Dr Nguyen Dinh Chuc is the Chief of Staff of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS). His previous appointments include Director General of the Institute of Regional Sustainable Development, VASS and Deputy Director of Investment Policies Department at the Central Institute for Economics Management (CIEM).

Students are invited to register at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8017133160441/WN_AmCdtTceTripv7tP1nifHw#/registration

Last year, an article, Digital transformation in Vietnamese SMEs: managerial implications appeared in the Journal of Internet and Digital Economics.

The authors argued, in part:

Vietnam’s economy depends to a considerable extent on a series of factors that make digitalization particularly important: the transformation of large state-owned enterprises into more market-friendly corporations; the role of Vietnam as a site for assembly and manufacturing and the presence of extensive supply chains organizing activities. In addition, the Trump administration in the USA (2016–2020) initiated a trade war with China which meant, in part, the relocation of a number of activities from China to Vietnam, some on a temporary and some on a permanent basis. Further, the coronavirus pandemic has caused many involved in business to conduct their activities remotely, either voluntarily or because of government orders. Digitalization or digital transformation (DT) is understood to be a complex and transdisciplinary issue that might be defined as “…a process where digital technologies create disruption triggering strategic responses from organizations that seek to alter their value creation paths while maintaining the structural changes and organizational barriers that affect the positive and negative outcomes of this process (Vial, 2019).” Digital technologies incorporate future technologies (e.g. quantum computing and artificial general intelligence), integrating technologies (e.g. robotics and the Internet of Things), transactional technologies (e.g. imaging and cloud computing) and semiconductor technologies (Abell, 2020). Introducing such technologies into a company can have numerous potential advantages, from increased efficiency in communications to reduced costs in administration and reduced risk in operations resulting from redundancy in data storage. However, such improvements are often potential rather than actual because of the complexity of introducing DT, especially when compared with the resources that can be made available to manage the process. The complex interplay of forces, institutional and cultural, combined with the significant changes to working patterns and the costs involved in what can be a skilled-labour intensive process means that failures of implementation can be common (Kholeif, 2007). There is also the issue that employees who are concerned that technological change will reduce their level of control over the workplace and in social relations in the workplace will resist change and that can also lead to failure (Mueller, 2021). What can be done, therefore, to try to ensure that DT can take place successfully and its benefits brought into effect so as to assist in the development of the Vietnamese economy as awhole? Are there specific issues that should be addressed in order to improve the likelihood of this taking place? These questions are considered in the context of the Vietnamese economy, which is reaching a point of inflection known as the Middle Income Trap, which requires an economic transformation to enable domestic consumption to replace some part of the export growth that had previously dominated economic development. Are there particular aspects of the Vietnamese economy that are relevant to this discussion? Research by the World Bank (Cirera et al.,2021) shows that only a small number of Vietnamese firms have begun DT in earnest and, among them, the manufacturing sector fares the worst. It is claimed that the lack of high-quality management is a significant contributing factor to these issues. It is also the case that a small number of very large firm sare supported by the government to lead the way with much of the everyday DT that will lead to a digital society (e.g.Central City Speedsup Digital Transformation, 2023). It is well-established that the Vietnamese government’s favouring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) tends to squeeze out the potential involvement of SMEs (e.g. Thang and Freeman, 2009).

Also last year, The Business Times reported:

UOB FinLab to help 5,000 Vietnam SMEs ramp up digital transformation

The innovation accelerator will help businesses be more resilient and productive, says UOB Vietnam CEO Victor Ng

UOB’s launch of a new innovation accelerator in Vietnam is a “strategic expansion” by the bank to enhance its regional connectivity, said Victor Ngo, the chief executive officer of UOB Vietnam.

UOB FinLab was launched in Vietnam in June this year, with the aim of fostering a network of more than 21,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across South-east Asia.

“(The aim is to) grant them access to digitalisation and sustainability programmes, matching of business solutions providers, mentorship and valuable resources,” said Ngo, a banking veteran of more than 30 years, in an interview with The Business Times.

“This will help businesses become more resilient, grow their business and improve productivity.”

He said that UOB FinLab has a target of engaging 5,000 businesses in Vietnam over the next three years through various digitalisation and sustainability initiatives.

Shortly after its launch, UOB FinLab held its inaugural programme in Ho Chi Minh City – the most populous city in Vietnam and the country’s economic hub – to help SMEs grow their sales through e-commerce and digital marketing. […]

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)