1

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
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THE NETWORK RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXTERNAL-

ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIAL CAPITAL AND BUSINESS
GROWTH: THE STUDY ON HOUSING REAL ESTATE
BUSINESSES IN THE MEKONG DELTA

SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS

III. Maãu trang phuï bìa luaän aùn:

Ho Chi Minh City–Year of 2021

Tp. HoàChí Minh - Naêm

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
--------------

THE NETWORK RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXTERNAL-

ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIAL CAPITAL AND BUSINESS
GROWTH: THE STUDY ON HOUSING REAL ESTATE
BUSINESSES IN THE MEKONG DELTA

Speciality: Commercial business

Code: 9.34.01.21

SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS

THESIS INSTRUCTORS:
1. Associate Professor. Lê Tấn Bửu
2. Associate Professor. Bùi Thanh Tráng

Tp. Hoà Chí Minh – Naêm…

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The objective of the doctoral thesis is to explore the impact of

external-organizational relational social capital factors on business
growth of residential real estate businesses in the Mekong Delta, it is
a basis of reference for housing businesses in the Mekong Delta to
manage external network relationships more effectively. In addition,
the research results will serve as the basis to propose policy
suggestions to help the housing real estate businesses in the Mekong
Delta to promote business growth.
The research methodology being used in this thesis is the mixed
research method. First, the author uses qualitative research methods
to adjust the scales. Specifically, from the theoretical review, the
author has identified the actors in the external-organizational
network relationships (including: banks, real estate brokers, real
estate contractors, real estate valuation experts, and real estate
consultants) and the scales related to the above groups of
variables.Based on the theoretical review and related studies, the
author has designed a depth-interview discussion guideline for
qualitative research in order to adjust the scales. The author has
conductedthe interviews with 10 housing real estate directors or
business-owners with convenient sampling methods combined with
snowball sampling techniques in the provinces of Bac Lieu, Ca Mau,
and Soc Trang, KienGiang, An Giang, Ben Tre, and Can Tho City.
Based on theoretical relationships and qualitative research, the
adjusted scales will ensure the content value, but will not confirm the
reliability, so they should be placed in a pilot quantitative assessment
before being conducted in a official research. The pilot quantitative
assessment was conducted with a database of 150 housing real estate
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directors or business owners in the provinces of Bac Lieu, Ca Mau,

Soc Trang, Kien Giang, and An Giang, who are selected by the
convenient sampling method combined with snowball sampling
technique. The objective of this pilot quantitative assessment step is
to screen the observed variables used to measure the research
concepts which are mentioned in the analytical framework of the
thesis. The analytical tools being used in this step are Cronbach's
Alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA) to check the appropriateness of the model, as
well as check for uniqueness, convergence value and discriminant
value.
Next, the satisfactory observed variables are used to input into the
questionnaires which is used for the official quantitative research for
a typical case with 320 residential real estate directors or business-
owners in the Mekong Delta with the convenient sampling method
combined with snowball sampling technique. The analytical tools
being used in the official quantitative research are identically used in
the pilot quantitative research. Furthermore, to test the research
hypothesis and model, the structure equation model (SEM) was used,
and the Bootstrap sampling method with N = 1,000 to further
evaluate the reliability of the estimates in theoretical models.
About the scientific significance of the research: first of all, with
the research objective of the thesis is to explore and measure the
relationship between relational social capital and business growth of
housing real estate businesses in the Mekong Delta, the author has
based on the theoretical foundation, combined with a qualitative
research and a quantitative research for a typical case in the Mekong
 5

Delta, would expect to adjust (if necessary) the scales of relational

social capital, the scale of network benefits, the scale of
responsiveness to change, and the scale of business growth, but still
to ensure the content value and reliability to confirm inheritance
value for the relevant researches in the Mekong Delta in particular
and in Vietnam in general. Secondly, the previous studies only
mentioned individual aspects of social capital (structural social
capital, relational social capital, cognitive social capital), so the
identification of social capital is not comprehensive. With the
research objective of the thesis is to assess the impact of the
relationship between external social capital and business growth of
the housing real estate businesses in the Mekong Delta, the author
has pointed out the direct and indirect effects of relational social
capital toward the business growth of the companies. This is a
scientific proof to confirm that the relational social capital is one of
the resources that need to be considered for housing real estate
businesses. Moreover, the results of this research have contributed to
form the foundation for further studies on the network relationship
between social capital and business growth not only in the real estate
industry but also in other economic sectors.
About the practical significance of the study: first of all, this
thesis aims to explore the impact of the relational social capital
between housing real estate businesses and business partners (banks,
real estate brokers, real estate contractors, real estate appraisers, real
estate consultants) on the business growth of residential real estate
businesses in the Mekong Delta. Thereby, real estate businesses in
the Mekong Delta may identify the framework for creating,
 6

maintaining and effectively using external-organizational relational

social capital. Secondly, the thesis' research results help the housing
real estate businesses in the Mekong Delta to identify the benefits
that the network relationship of the relational social capital brings;
From there, the housing real estate businesses in the Mekong Delta
will pay more attention to their own policies to develop and maintain
the relationship of a sustainable partnership network. Finally, this
thesis shows the level of direct and indirect impacts of the forms of
the external-organizational relational social capital linkages of the
housing real estate businesses in the Mekong Delta. It is a scientific
foundation that helps the state management agencies within the 13
provinces of the Mekong Delta to identify the movement of external
relational social capital resources in the housing real estate market.
Since then, the recommendations on management solutions are
promptly raised to help promote the forms of external relational
social capital connection more actively in the housing real estate
market in the Mekong Delta.
The structure of this thesis is divided into 05 chapters, as below:
In chapter 1 - Introduction, the author raises research problems,
summarizes relevant researches to find out the research gaps, new
points of the topic, as well as raises research objectives, research
questions, research subject and scope, research methodology, and a
thesis structure in order to help the council and readers clearly
overall visualize the thesis.
In chapter 2 - Theoretical basis and research model, the author
clarifies the concepts, the theoretical foundations of the network
relationships, business performance and business growth in the
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housing real estate industry; based on the basis, the author proposes
the research model, the original scales in the research model and
hypotheses.
In chapter 3 - Research methodology, the author presents the
research process, a qualitative research method to adjust the scales, a
pilot quantitative research method to pilot assessment of the scales,
and an official quantitative research method to test the scales, a
method of hypothesis testing and research model, and a sample
design.
In chapter 4 - Research results, the author presents the content of the
qualitative research, a pilot quantitative research and an official
quantitative research, research results by Cronbach's Alpha reliability
assessment method, exploratory factor analysis (EFA),
confirmationary factor analysis (CFA), the analysis method of
structural equation model (SEM); and the bootstrap method is used
to re-evaluate the model parameters, to test the role of the
intermediate variable “responsiveness to change” in the model.
Finally, the discussion of the research results is presented.
In chapter 5 - Conclusions and implications of administration, the
author presents conclusions summarizing the main results of the
study and proposing the implications of administration. Finally, the
author raises the limitations of the study and proposes further
research directions.
In chapter 2, the author has presented the relevant concepts in the
proposed research model (such as: the concept of real estate, the
concept of social capital, the concept of structured social capital, the
concept of relational social capital, the concept of cognitive social
 8

capital, the concept of external-organizational social capital); based

on that basis, the author has argued that the relationship between
actors participating in the housing real estate market was the
relational social capital network in the value chain of the housing
real estate industry in Vietnam. Specifically, the relationship between
housing real estate investors and actors in the value chain of the
housing real estate industry in Vietnam (including banks, contractors,
real estate brokers, real estate valuators, real estate consultants) has
formed “the network of external- enterprise social capital" and also "
the network of relational social capital". However, in reality, there
are many banks, contractors, real estate brokers, real estate valuators,
and real estate consulting firms which are simultaneously operating
in the market. This creates the challenge of how to measure the
relational social capital network, through "quality of relationships",
"level of trust", "expectations in the relationships". Therefore, this
research is based on 02 theoretical foundations (these are: the theory
of social capital and the theory of supplier selection), based on that
basis, the author argues the relevance of the two fundamental
theories in the proposed research model. In details, the application of
the supplier selection theory through the specific partner selection
criteria (such as: bank selection criteria, construction contractor
selection criteria, real estate broker selection criteria, the criteria for
choosing real estate valuators) will measure the relational social
capital network through "quality of relationships", "level of trust",
"expectations in relationships". In addition, the application of social
capital theory which is built on the foundation of "the access
opportunities", "creating and maintaining relationships" and
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"building credibility and trust" to get feedback benefits from partners

will help measure the relational social capital network through the
attribute of "level of trust". Based on the basis, the author has further
studied the concepts, a scale of the determinant of bank selection, a
scale of the selected attributes of real estate agency firms, a scale of
the selection criteria of contractor, a scale of the selection criteria of
real estate valuation service provider, a scale of the network creation
with real estate consultants, a scale of network benefits, a concept of
business performance, a scale of responsiveness to change and a
scale of business growth; and based on that basis, the author
proposes research model and 08 hypotheses.
In Chapter 3, this thesis is done according to a research process
consisting of 04 steps, which are: (1) adjusting the scales; (2) a pilot
quantitative research; (3) an official quantitative research; and (4)
testing theoretical model.
The methods used to adjust the scales are the pilot qualitative
research with the information collection tools which are face-to-face
discussion and the processed data by methods of describing,
classifying and linking to preliminarily adjust the scales. Moreover,
the adjusted scales from qualitative research is preliminarily tested
by using Cronbach's Alpha, EFA, and CFA tools with a 150-
observed sample size to form the official scales.
In the stage of testing the scales and the research model for a typical
case in the Mekong Delta provinces, the used tools are Cronbach's
Alpha, EFA, and CFA with a sample size of 300 observations being
used to evaluate the scales and adjust the research model to suit the
data set; the SEM analysis method and the impact assessment
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method of the intermediate variable are used to test the research

model. A summary of process, methods and sampling for the study is
presented in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1: Summary of research method
Steps in research Research methods
process
Step 1: adjusting the - Face-to-face discussion: interviewee is
scales director, deputy director or owner of a
residential real estate business; Sample size
n = 10;
- Convenient sampling in combination with
snowball sampling techniques in the
provinces of Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Soc Trang,
Kien Giang, An Giang, Ben Tre and Can
Tho city.
- Discussion guideline, techniques of
description, classification and linkage are
used to preliminarily adjust the scales.
Step 2: a pilot - Preliminarily evaluate the scales with a
quantitative research sample size of 150 directors, deputy
directors, deputy directors or owners of
residential real estate businesses;
- Convenient sampling in combination with
snowball sampling techniques in the
provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang,
Kien Giang, and An Giang.
- Cronbach's Alpha: remove research
variables with corrected item-total
 11

correlation coefficients which are less than

(<0.3); check Cronbach's Alpha coefficient
(> 0.6).
- EFA: checking factor loading and extracted
variance (> 0.50); removing variables with
EFA coefficients being less than (<0.5);
checking coefficient 0.5≤KMO≤1;
significance level of Barlette test<0.05.
- CFA: checking the suitability of the model;
removing variables with CFA coefficient
being less than (<0.5); checking the
uniqueness, convergence and discrimination
values.
Step 3: Official - Officially evaluating the scales with a
quantitative research sample size of 320 directors, deputy
directors or owners of residential real estate
businesses in the provinces in the Mekong
Delta;
- Selecting samples according to the
convenient sampling method in combination
with snowball sampling techniques.
- Cronbach's Alpha; EFA; and CFA with
selection criteria as in step 2.
Step 4: testing the - SEM: suitability assessment (CFI, TLI,
research hypothesis GFI ≥0,9; CMIN/df≤3 và RMSEA≤0,08).
and model - Bootstrap (N=1000)
Source: Author's summary
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Chapter 4 presents the results of adjusting the scales in the proposed

research model about the network relationship between external-
corporate social capital and business growth of residential real estate
businesses in the Mekong Delta (by a qualitative method). In
addition, the author uses the quantitative research method to test the
proposed research model with the CFA test to confirm that the model
of scales available through previous studies is really consistent with
the market data; and the structural equation model (SEM) analysis is
used to find out the factors as well as the degree of impact of each
factor on business growth of the housing real estate businesses in the
Mekong Delta. The research results show that the theoretical model
is consistent with market data, and the acceptance of the hypotheses
has practical implications. Specifically, there are 08 hypotheses in
the research model, of which all 08 hypotheses are accepted.
Moreover, the “responsiveness to change” acts as the intermediate
variable between “network benefits” and “business growth” of the
housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta.
In chapter 5, the results of the measurement model show that after
being adjusted and supplemented, the scales are reliable and valid.
The scale of the determinant of bank includes 8 observed variables;
the scale of the selected attributes of real estate agency firms
includes 5 observed variables; the scale of the selection criteria of
contractor includes 4 observed variables; the scale of the selection
criteria of real estate valuation service provider includes 4 observed
variables; the scale of the network creation with real estate
consultants includes 4 observed variables; the scale of network
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benefits includes 4 observed variables; the scale of responsiveness to

change includes 6 observed variables; and the scale of business
growth includes 5 observed variables.
The hypothesis H1 is accepted, that is, in the relationship of the
relational social capital network, in which the criteria for selecting a
bank have a positive impact with the network benefits. In other
words, the housing real estate managers in the Mekong Delta
perceive that the more they choose banks by the bank selection
criteria, the more sustainable and qualified their relationships with
the carefully selected banks are; As a result, the housing real estate
managers in the Mekong Delta receive more benefits from
connecting a network with banks, such as: they can easily obtain the
resources and information needed to support their new ideas, to run
their business efficiently, to make business decisions, and they can
easily acquire additional resources and information when needed.
The hypothesis H2 is accepted, that is, in the relationship of the
relational social capital network, in which, the criteria for choosing
the real estate brokers have a positive impact with the network
benefits. In other words, the housing real estate managers in the
Mekong Delta perceive that the more they choose the real estate
brokers by the criteria of real estate broker selection, the more
sustainable and qualified their relationships with the carefully
selected real estate brokers are; As a result, the housing real estate
managers in the Mekong Delta receive more benefits from
connecting a network with real estate brokers, such as: they can
easily obtain the resources and information they need to support their
new ideas, to run their business efficiently, to make business
 14

decisions, and they can easily acquire additional resources and

information when needed.
The hypothesis H3 is accepted, that is, in the relationship of the
relational social capital network, in which the criteria for selecting
the real estate construction contractors have a positive impact with
the network benefits. In other words, the housing real estate
managers in the Mekong Delta perceive that the more they choose
the contractors by the selection criteria of construction contractor, the
more sustainable and qualified their relationships with the carefully
selected construction contractors are; As a result, the housing real
estate managers in the Mekong Delta receive more benefits from
connecting a network with construction contractors, such as: they can
easily obtain the resources and information needed to support their
new ideas, to run their business efficiently, to make business
decisions, and they can easily acquire additional resources and
information when needed.
The hypothesis H4 is accepted, that is, in the relationship of the
relational social capital network, in which the criteria for selecting
the real estate valuators have a positive impact with the network
benefits. In other words, the housing real estate managers in the
Mekong Delta perceive that the more they choose the real estate
valuators by the selection criteria of real estate valuators, the more
sustainable and qualified their relationships with the carefully
selected real estate valuators are; As a result, the housing real estate
managers in the Mekong Delta receive more benefits from
connecting a network with real estate valuators, such as: they can
easily obtain the resources and information needed to support their
 15

new ideas, to run their business efficiently, to make business

decisions, and they can easily acquire additional resources and
information when needed.
The hypothesis H5 is accepted, that is, in the relationship of the
relational social capital network, in which creating the network with
the real estate consultants has a positive impact with the network
benefits. In other words, the housing real estate managers in the
Mekong Delta perceive that the more they build up the network with
the real estate consultants, the more sustainable and qualified their
relationships with the real estate consultants are; As a result, the
housing real estate managers in the Mekong Delta receive more
benefits from connecting a network with the real estate consultants,
such as: they can easily obtain the resources and information needed
to support their new ideas, to run their business efficiently, to make
business decisions, and they can easily acquire additional resources
and information when needed.
The hypothesis H6 is accepted, meaning that the network benefits
have a positive impact on the responsiveness to change of the
housing real estate businesses. In other words, the housing real estate
managers in the Mekong Delta perceive that the more they receive
the benefits from connecting a network, the more their products
match what customers want, the more they respond to the changes
happening in the business environment, the more quickly they
respond to significant changes in the price structure of competitors,
the more they can execute their marketing plan in a timely manner,
they can take the immediate corrective actions when they discover
that the customer is dissatisfied with the quality of the service, and
 16

the relevant staff or department of the company may coordinate with

the customers to modify the products or services when the company
knows that a customer wishes to modify a product or service.
The hypothesis H7 is accepted, meaning that the network benefits
have a positive impact on the business growth of the residential real
estate businesses. In other words, the housing real estate managers in
the Mekong Delta perceive that the more they receive benefits from
connecting a network, the more they see the growth in their
company’s revenues and profits over the past years; they can predict
the business growth over the coming years despite the effects of
market instability. In addition, the company’s departments rely on
resources and information received from the network benefits to plan
how the business growth and the business penetration will take place
in the housing real estate business environment, and to help them
more understand that the company's growth depends on sales and
profit growth.
The hypothesisH8 is accepted, meaning that the responsiveness to
change has a positive impact on the business growth of residential
real estate businesses. In other words, the residential real estate
managers in the Mekong Delta perceive that the more their products
match what customers want, the more they respond to the changes
happening in the business environment, the more quickly they
respond to significant changes in the price structure of competitors,
the more they can execute their marketing plan in a timely manner,
they can take the immediate corrective actions when they discover
that the customer is dissatisfied with the quality of the service, and
the relevant staff or department of the company may coordinate with
 17

the customers to modify the products or services when the company

knows that a customer wishes to modify a product or service; the
more they see the growth in their company’s revenues and profits
over the past years; they can predict the business growth over the
coming years despite the effects of market instability. In addition, the
company’s departments become more and more flexible, thus, they
can plan how the business growth and the business penetration will
take place in the housing real estate business environment; and to
help them more understand that the company's growth depends on
sales and profit growth.
Testing the intermediate variable shows that the presence of the
intermediate variable "responsiveness to change" has reduced the
impact of the independent variable "network benefits" on the
dependent variable "business growth". In addition, the independent
variable "network benefits" both directly and indirectly affects the
variable "business growth" through the intermediate variable
"responsiveness to change" with the overall impact level of βT=
0.50508.
Besides the practical contribution is to explore the impact level of the
relationships of relational social capital between the housing real
estate businesses and business partners (banks, real estate brokers,
real estate construction contractors, real estate valuator, real estate
consultants) on the business growth of the residential real estate
businesses in the Mekong Delta. Furthermore, the research has
shown the direct and indirect effects of the relational social capital
on the firm’s business growth. This is a scientific proof to confirm
that the relational social capital is one of the resources that needs to
 18

be paid more attention by the housing real estate businesses in the

Mekong Delta. Moreover, the results of this research will place the
foundation for further studies on the network relationship between
the social capital and the business growth not only in the real estate
industry but also in other economic sectors.
The research results show that the managers of residential real
estate companies in the Mekong Delta agree that their company's
business growth is shown through the fact that they have witnessed
their company’s growth in revenues and profits over the past years;
they can predict the business growth over the coming years despite
the effects of market instability; that the company’s departments rely
on the resources and information received from the network benefits
so that they can plan how the business growth and the business
penetration will take place in the housing real estate business
environment; and that they more understand that the company's
growth depends on sales and profit growth. Furthermore, in order to
achieve such business growth, the managers of the residential real
estate companies in the Mekong Delta also agree that there is a direct
and indirect contribution from network benefits with the
intermediary role of “responsiveness to change”. And to acquire
these network benefits, the managers of the residential real estate
companies in the Mekong Delta must build up good relationships
with the partner entities (banks, construction contractors, real estate
brokers, real estate valuator, real estate consultants) to form a
network that can generate benefits. And such network relationships
are the relational social capital. However, since the resources of the
housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta are limited, the
 19

managers of the residential real estate companies in the Mekong

Delta should prioritize the following solutions in order to create a
network that can generate benefits. In details:
- For building partnerships with banks, the directors of housing real
estate companies in the Mekong Delta should make the "partnership
building policy" transparent in order to select the best quality banks.
This policy includes the criteria on which the company will base in
order to select banks, for example: the company which builds
partnerships with banks must base on the banks’ speed of service and
decision-making, should base on the banks’ accuracy in their account
or transaction management, should base on the banks’ effectiveness
in correcting mistakes. These are the three criteria that managers of
the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta consider the
most important. In addition, the managers of the housing real estate
companies in the Mekong Delta should also consider a few more
criteria in the "partnership building policy" such as: the company
which builds partnerships with banks should base on the bank staff’s
friendliness and usefulness, should base on the availability of loans
from the banks, should base on the competitive prices on the banks'
service fees, should base on the competitive prices for the banks'
loans, and should base on the high flexibility in the banks’ loan
negotiations.
- For building partnerships with real estate brokers, the managers
of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta should
make "the partnership building policy" transparent in order to choose
the best quality real estate brokers. This policy includes the criteria
on which the company will base in order to select the real estate
 20

brokers; for example: the company that builds partnerships with the
real estate brokers should base on the professionalism of the real
estate brokers in processing transactions, and should base on the
overall dedication and commitment of their marketing team. These
are two criteria that the managers of the housing real estate
companies in the Mekong Delta consider the most important. In
addition, the managers of the housing real estate companies in the
Mekong Delta should also consider a few more criteria in the
"partnership building policy" such as: the company which builds
partnerships with the real estate brokers should rely on the real estate
broker's ability to achieve the desired results, should base on the real
estate broker's experience, and should base on the real estate brokers’
big database of clients.
- For building partnerships with the real estate valuators, the
managers of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
should make “the partnership building policy" transparent in order to
choose the best quality real estate valuators. This policy includes the
criteria on which the company will base in order to select the real
estate valuators; for example: the company which builds the
partnerships with the real estate valuators must base on the quality of
the real estate valuation agency’s employees, and should base on the
reputation of the real estate appraisal companies. These are two
criteria that the managers of the housing real estate companies in the
Mekong Delta consider the most important. In addition, the
managers of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
should also consider a few more criteria in "the partnership building
policy" such as: the company which builds the partnerships with the
 21

real estate valuators should base on the relevant experience of the

real estate valuators, and should base on the real estate valuators’
local expertise.
- For building partnerships with the construction contractors, the
managers of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
should make “the partnership building policy" transparent in order to
choose the best quality construction contractors. This policy includes
the criteria on which the company will base in order to select the
construction contractors; for example: the company which builds the
partnerships with the construction contractors should base on the
suitability of machinery and equipment, and should base on the
construction contractors' reputation and image. These are two criteria
that the managers of the housing real estate companies in the
Mekong Delta consider the most important. In addition, the
managers of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
should also consider a few more criteria in "the partnership building
policy" such as: the company which builds the partnerships with the
construction contractors should base on the cost effectiveness in the
previous similar projects, and should base on the time effectiveness
in the previous similar projects.
- For building partnerships with the real estate consultant
agencies, the managers of the housing real estate companies in the
Mekong Delta should do two things, these are: developing and
making "the policy of maintaining cooperation with consultant
agencies" transparent, and strengthening the diplomatic activities in
order to make the good trust with the consultant agencies.These are
two issues that the managers of the housing real estate companies in
 22

the Mekong Delta consider the most important. In addition, the

managers of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
should also consider some additional aspects of "the partnership
building policy" with the real estate consultant agencies, such as: the
company should frequently raise more opportunities as to access and
exchange the job issues with the real estate consultant agencies. This
is an effective way to explore the professionalism and quality of the
real estate consultant agencies.
- For receiving the network benefits: even though the managers of
the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta have a wide
range of relationship with the actors (banks, real estate brokers, real
estate valuators, construction contractors, real estate consultant
agencies) in the market, but if the relationship just stops at the level
of social acquaintances, the managers of the housing real estate
companies in the Mekong Delta cannot effectively exploit the
benefits from the network. Therefore, the solution for the managers
of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta to exploit
the benefits from connecting a network is: first of all, the managers
of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta must have
or propose an attractive housing real estate project in terms of profit
or creating the benefits that partner entities (banks, real estate
brokers, real estate appraisers, construction contractors, real estate
consultant agencies) are interested in. On that basis, the managers of
the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta should rely
on the above-presented partner selection criteria in order to choose
the best quality strategic partners (banks, real estate brokers, real
estate valuators, construction contractors, real estate consultant
 23

agencies). Next, the managers of the housing real estate companies in

the Mekong Delta should frequently actively and openly exchange
the information about their housing real estate projects and negotiate
the profitability or benefits that these strategic partners will receive
when they cooperate to implement a housing real estate project.
Once these strategic partners perceive that the profits or benefits
which they will receive are commensurate with what they will
contribute to the residential real estate project, they will
enthusiastically share their own information and resources with the
managers of the housing real estate companies. At this time, the
directors of the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
really receive the benefits from the network connection; These are:
exploiting resources and information from strategic partners (banks,
real estate brokers, real estate appraisers, construction contractors,
real estate consultant agencies) in order to support new ideas, to run
their business efficiently, to make business decisions, and to
supplement them when needed.
- For the intermediate role of the variable "responsiveness to
change": the research results show that the business growth of the
housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta has an
intermediate contribution of the housing real estate companies’
responsiveness to change. Specifically, after the directors of the
housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta receive benefits
from the network connection (which are the resources and
information from partner entities), the directors of the housing real
estate companies in the Mekong Delta should regularly and
periodically consider their housing product development in order to
 24

ensure that their housing product is suitable for what the customer
wants. Moreover, the directors of the housing real estate companies
in the Mekong Delta need to regularly share the resources and
information received from partner entities towards the employees or
relevant departments in the company as to coordinate with the
customers for modifying the residential products or services when
the company knows that a customer wishes to modify the residential
products or services. In addition, the directors of the housing real
estate companies in the Mekong Delta need to regularly and
proactively plan to exploit the resources and information from the
partner entities in order to adapt to the changes happening in the
business environment, as to respond quickly to the significant
changes in the competitors' pricing structures, as to implement the
marketing plans in a timely manner, and as to take immediate
corrective actions when the company discovers the customer
dissatisfaction with the company’s service quality.
On the other hand, the housing real estate companies in the Mekong
Delta also need to implement a few additional sub-solutions to create
networks that can generate benefits. Specifically, to effectively
develop the relational social capital, the housing real estate
companies in the Mekong Delta should focus on the following
contents:
Firstly, the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta
should actively create more interaction channels as to facilitate the
connection of entities participating in the housing real estate market.
These interaction channels will contribute to diversifying and
filtering the social capital for the housing real estate market.
 25

Secondly, the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta

should proactively create the social networking tools (for example:
creating the online forums, creating a group of real estate
entrepreneurs (later upgrading into the association of real estate
entrepreneurs),...).It is important to regularly maintain this
connection activities so that partner entities (banks, construction
contractors, real estate appraisers, real estate brokers, and real estate
consultants) can regularly participate in the connection activities,
exchange and capture information mutually. To do this, the housing
real estate companies in the Mekong Delta need to regularly rank the
prestige, level of contribution, and the members’ participation in the
general activities.
Thirdly, the housing real estate companies in the Mekong Delta need
to regularly participate in the fairs and exhibitions, which will create
conditions for the housing real estate companies to develop the social
networks with banks, construction contractors, real estate appraisers,
real estate brokers, real estate consultants and other actors who are
outside the real estate industry. Through that, it helps the housing
real estate companies in the Mekong Delta to access to the
information in order to make the business decisions reasonable; and
at the same time, it is also a place to mutually exchange the
information and technology among the enterprises.
However, this thesis also has a few limitations. First of all, the
current research model is not comprehensive. There are still many
other entities that have not been identified in the housing real estate
network. Some of these factors are the relationship with the local
authorities, the relationship with the real estate associations, etc. The
 26

omission of these actors is a limitation of the current theoretical

model.
In addition, although this study has found out a significant impact of
the relational social capital factors (the relationships between the
housing real estate managers with banks, real estate brokers,
construction contractors, real estate brokers, and real estate
consultant firms) having influenced the business growth of the
residential real estate companies. However, if only using the theory
of relational social capital, it is still simple in the research. Therefore,
the author proposes future research to consider expanding to
incorporate more aspects of structural social capital and cognitive
social capital. In addition, the future studies should incorporate the
human capital, intellectual capital, and social capital in order to
assess the impact of these types of capital on the business growth.
Moreover, this thesis only focuses on the housing real estate
businesses in the Mekong Delta to develop the social capital theory,
therefore, there may be the bias towards the industry and potential
locations. This has exposed the problems of generality in the
different contexts and industries. Therefore, the further studies
should base on the samples which are taken from other regions, such
as the Red River Delta or major cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da
Nang, etc), this will provide the degree of geographical and
economic diversity, and broaden the generality of the research
findings.
Finally, this thesis is based on the convenient sampling method
combined with the snowball sampling methos, and the collected
research data is based on a single respondent (01 director from 01
 27

housing real estate company in the provinces of Mekong Delta),

However, getting multiple responses from many respondents in each
housing real estate company in the Mekong Delta provinces (deputy
director and department heads in the each company) shows the
plentifulness of the research findings. Therefore, the future studies
should implement the multi-interviewee method to collect data, in
order to satisfactorily solve the bias problem due to the unique type
of respondents.
 28

LIST OF THE AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED RESEARCH WORKS

BEING RELATED TO THE THESIS
Scientific research works
Le Thanh Tung, 2017. The impact of external social capital on the
business activities of the real estate companies in Bac Lieu
province. School-level scientific research work. Bac Lieu
University.
Articles
Le Tan Buu, Bui Thanh Trang, Le Thanh Tung & Nguyen The
Hung, 2020. The social capital network relationship in the
value chain: a theoritical approach with the case study of
Vietnam’s real estate industry. Journal ofIndustry and Trade,
No. 17-July/2020, pp. 116-122.
Bui Thanh Trang & Le Thanh Tung, 2020. The relationship between
social capital and business performance: a theoretical
approach. Journal ofIndustry and Trade, No. 8-April/2020, pp.
280-287.
Le Thanh Tung, 2019. The impacts of external social capital on the
business growth of enterprises: preliminary research results of
housing and real estate enterprises in the Mekong Delta.
Journal ofIndustry and Trade, No. 6-April/2019, pp. 244-255.
Le Thanh Tung, 2018. The impact of the 2008 global financial crisis
on attracting FDI capital into the real estate sector in Vietnam:
predictions and recommendations. Journal ofIndustry and
Trade, No. 3-March/2018, pp. 127-133.
Le Thanh Tung, 2017. Building and Testing the product scale
impacting on house-buyers’ satisfaction – study on the housing
 29

projects in Bac Lieu province. Journal ofIndustry and Trade,

No. 10-September/2017, pp. 186-194.
Le Thanh Tung, 2016. The practice of FDI capital attraction in the
real estate sector in Ho Chi Minh City since the accession into
WTO – predictions and recommendations.Science &
Technology Development Journal, Vol 19, No. Q4/2016, pp.
127-142.
Le Thanh Tung, 2016. The impact of corporate culture factors on
business performance – study on the real estate companies in
the three provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau.
Journal ofIndustry and Trade, No. 9-September/2016, pp. 103-
111.