MỤC LỤC

FACTORS AFFECTING COOPERATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL

SUPPLY CHAIN OF SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES: THE CASE OF
VIETNAMESE .................................................................................................... 1
SOME THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES ON
INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION OF VIETNAMESE
SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES ............................................................................. 21
THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION SHARING, INTERNATIONAL
SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN
PERFORMANCE ON EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION: A CASE STUDY OF VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD
ENTERPRISES ................................................................................................. 39
INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION AND EXPORT
PERFORMANCE OF VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES: A
SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS FOR
FUTURE RESEARCH ..................................................................................... 56
THE DETERMINANTS OF EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN THE DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION ERA: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND A
SYSTEMATIC STUDY .................................................................................... 83
FACTORS IMPACTING EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF ENTERPRISES
- A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS FOR
FUTURE RESEARCH ................................................................................... 101
FACTORS AFFECTING COOPERATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL
SUPPLY CHAIN OF VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES ......... 124
1. BÁO: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW
(SCOPUS _ Q4)
“Factors affecting cooperation in the international supply chain of seafood enterprises:
The case of Vietnamese” ISSN: 2525-3654

2. BÁO: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

“Some theoretical and practical issues on international supply chain cooperation of
Vietnamese seafood enterprises” ISSN (Paper) 2222-1905; ISSN (Online) 2222-2839

3. HỘI THẢO: 17TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC

AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT, 2023 (ICSEED 2023)
“The impact of information sharing, international supply chain cooperation and supply
chain performance on export performance in digital transformation: A case study of
Vietnamese seafood enterprises”

4. HỘI THẢO: 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY

ISSUES IN ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS (5TH CIEMB 2022)
“International supply chain cooperation and export performance of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises: A systematic literature review and directions for future research”

5. HỘI THẢO: THE 17TH CONFERENCE OF INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION

OF EAST ASIAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS (IFEAMA)
“The determinants of export performance in the digital transformation era: A literature
review and a systematic study”

6. HỘI THẢO: KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ CHUYỂN ĐỔI SỐ TRONG CHUỖI

CUNG ỨNG QUỐC TẾ
“Factors impacting export performance of enterprises - a systematic literature review
and directions for future research”

7. NHÀ XUẤT BẢN: GENERIS PUBLISHING

“Factors affecting cooperation in the international supply chain of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises” ISBN 979-8-88676-472-7
 1

FACTORS AFFECTING COOPERATION IN THE

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN OF SEAFOOD
ENTERPRISES: THE CASE OF VIETNAMESE

Thi Thu Thuy Nguyen, PhD in Economics at National Economics University, Department of
Economics, School of Economics and Management, Hanoi University of Science and
Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. Email: thuy.nguyenthithu@hust.edu.vn Orcid:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3216-0602

Xuan Hung Nguyen, Associate Professor, PhD in International Economics at National

Economics University, School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics
University, Hanoi, Vietnam. Email: hungnx@neu.edu.vn Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-
5673-2962

Hoang Duong Nguyen, Student in International Business at National Economics University,

School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Email: hoangduong257.neu@gmail.com Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2661-8704

Thi Xuan Lan Mai, Student in International Business at National Economics University, School
of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam. Email:
maithixuanlan19502@gmail.com Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3269-8593

Thi Tuoi Bui, Student in International Business at National Economics University, School of
Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam. Email:
buituoi811@gmail.com Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6006-4251

Ngoc Duong Tran, Student in International Business at National Economics University, School
of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam. Email:
tranduong16052002@gmail.com Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9711-2348

Duc Manh Nguyen, Student in International Business at National Economics University,

School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi,
Vietnam. Email: ndmanh.freelancer@gmail.com Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-
2788-4755
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ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze and evaluate factors affecting cooperation
in the international supply chain of Vietnamese seafood enterprises.
Theoretical framework: Operations in international business context are associated with
high risks, so cooperation in supply chain helps to improve management flexibility. On the
other hand, acccording to the theory of resource dependency, resource sharing and
information sharing strategies can affect the quality and the level of cooperation among
supply chain partners.
Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the aim of this study, a literature survey related to
supply chain and supply chain cooperation is carried out, and empirical analysis is conducted
among 327 partners in seafood industry with the results analyzed using Cronbach’s Alpha
analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and linear regression analysis (RA).
Findings: Research results have confirmed that there are six main factors directly affecting
the international supply chain cooperation of Vietnamese seafood enterprises including: (1)
Trust; (2) Power; (3) Distance; (4) Government policy; (5) Cooperation strategies and (6)
Information sharing.
Research/Practical & Social implication: The encouraging policies and simplified export
regulations are to be implemented by the government, VASEP and enterprises so the
knowledge about international supply chain cooperation will be promoted with the help of
comprehensive future research directions.
Originality/value: This is literally one of the first research works in Vietnam to incorporate
the information sharing component into the model of affecting factors for international supply
chain cooperation. Regardless of business uncertainties, the study shed new light on supply
chain cooperation and promote firms to gain an edge in the global marketplace.
Keywords: Cooperation, supply chain, international, seafood, Vietnam

INTRODUCTION
Since there is a large sea area at our disposal, fisheries have become one of the five
industries that yield the largest export value in the country. According to a report from the
General Department of Fisheries, exports of this commodity group were estimated to reach 8.89
billion USD in 2021, up 5.6% compared to 2020, the growth rate of seafood production value
reached 3.01% compared to 2020, the total output reached 8.73 million tons, up 1% compared
to 2020 (8.64 million tons), in which the exploitation output reached 3.92 million tons, up 0.9%
compared to 2020 (3.88 million tons), cultivating reached 4.8 million tons, up 1% compared to
2020 (4.76 million tons) (General Department of Fisheries, 2021).
In today's world, the supply chain plays an important role in the business cycle. Due to
the asymmetry between supply and demand, there are always contradictions in supply chains.
This is explained by the fact that each supply chain is made up of independent organizations
involved in the flow of goods, services, and related information, as well as financial flows from
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the point of origin to the final customer (Huynh, 2013). In order to effectively plan, implement,
and control flows to meet customer needs, organizational members typically become connected
in supply chain (Togar and Sridharan, 2002). Conflicts in chains, according to Rosenberg and
Stern (1970), are caused by the actions and decisions of one of the chain members who impede
relations for their own ends. Etgar (1979) added that conflict is also fueled by disparities in
institutions and attitudes. As for Gaski (1984), he argued that whether the origin of power is
coercive or non-coercive still influences the degree of dissent among the chain's participants.
From the above evidence, it is demonstrated that in-chain cooperation is crucial, because supply
chain cooperation not only addresses how chain members share responsibilities and benefits
derived from improving the common goal, but also addresses management inflexibility.
Resolving conflicts and working together will result in a variety of advantages, such as
decreased inventory, better customer service, more effective use of staff, better delivery by
reducing the number of cycles, quicker acceleration of new product markets, a stronger focus
on core competencies, and an improved public image (Togar and Sridharan, 2002).
Despite its important role and benefits, cooperation in the international supply chain,
particularly in the fisheries industry, remains unpopular in Vietnam. This issue has become
even more pressing as the Covid-19 epidemic continues to rage and the international situation
changes, causing many fluctuations and even disruptions in the supply chain (Dat, 2013).
In order to determine the factors affecting this crucial cooperation, the authors
conducted a study on "Factors affecting cooperation in the international supply chain of
Vietnameseseafood enterprises". The study is divided into four sections: (i) Literature review;
(ii) Material and methodology; (iii) Results and discussion; (iv) Conclusion.

LITERATURE REVIEW
International supply chain
The concept of “supply chain” has been defined by many scholars over the last 30 years,
with different viewpoints or ways of expression. In the early days, research were limited to
defining the supply chain as a sequence of processes involving the transforming raw materials,
natural resources and ingredients into a finished product that is then delivered to consumers. In
a broader sense, this can be defined as a transition from raw material to finished product through
processing and distributing (Michael Porter, 1990). Christopher (1992) held the belief that
supply chain is a network of organizations that are involved in various processes and activities
that create value in the form of products and services provided to the end consumer through
upstream and downstream links. In other words, a supply chain is made up of multiple
companies, both upstream (supply) and downstream (distribution) and end users. Meanwhile,
Mentzer et al. (2001) defined a supply chain as a collection of three or more partners
(organizations or individuals) directly involved in the pre- and post-flow of products, services,
finance, and/or information from origin to customer.
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Considering supply chain as a business activity, Lambert & Cooper (2000) defined
supply chain as the interaction activity between many firms within the supply chain with the
aim to increase the customer value, these firms may directly or indirectly take part in the work
of creating surplus value for the customers. Chopra Sunil and Peter Meidl (2001), Klassen and
Whybark (1994), Motwani et al. (2000) emphasized that the supply chain includes all stages
involved, directly or indirectly, in meeting customer needs. In other words, the supply chain
includes not only manufacturers and suppliers, but also carriers, warehouses, retailers and
customers themselves.
Domestically, only a few industries have ceased supply chain studies for better
comprehension and solutions. Particularly, Nguyen (2019) emphasized the importance of
supply chain components as ultimate customers are those to create value both directly and
indirectly. Huynh (2013) found that the supply chain is an interconnected model with 3 basic
activities: supply, production and distribution. In particular, the supplier of raw materials is the
first factor and the beginning of the chain, the manufacturer is the second factor to buy raw
materials from suppliers to convert into products, and the third factor is the system of
distributors and agents distributing the manufacturer's products to customers.
As such, the antecedents all show that a common model of the supply chain is a journey
of linkage between factors including physical flows of products, information, finance, through
the chain to provide entities that are goods and services to end consumers who are customers.
These factors can be found in three basic activities:
+ Supply: the purchase of raw materials, in quantity, quality, when to buy, where to buy
to serve the production process.
+ Production: the process of converting input materials, semi-finished products from
suppliers into final products.
+ Distribution: the journey of the product from the manufacturer through the distribution
system to the consumer.
Michael Hugos (2010) in “Essentials of Supply Chain Management” outlined five key
factors that govern the development of an international supply chain including: production,
inventory, location, transportation and information. International supply chain management
takes place in a complex political, economic, cultural and social environment. Therefore, it
requires close coordination between the flows of goods, services, information and cash within
and outside the borders of countries (Mentzer, 2001).

International supply chain cooperation

Supply chain cooperation is one of the most discussed topics in business today
(Mathuramaytha, 2011). In the study of Mentzer et al. (2000), cooperation is described as a set
of joint activities of closely connected businesses to accomplish mutually beneficial goals. By
working together and coordinating actions, supply chain participants become partners in an
alliance (Monczka et al., 1998). Many companies seek to coordinate activities with other
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companies and work back and forth over time to produce superior performance (Anderson and
Narus, 1990; Stern and Reeve, 1980). The underlying reason behind cooperation is that a
company cannot compete successfully on its own while demanding products and services
become more stringent (Kotler, 1997). As a result, cooperation increases an organization's
ability to work across boundaries to build and manage unique value-added processes that better
meet customer needs (Fawcett et al., 2008).
Supply chain cooperation is frequently defined as two or more independent companies
working together to create a competitive advantage and higher profits than if they operated
separately (Lambert et al., 1999). According to this study, cooperation also refers to
relationships between organizations in which participants agree to invest resources, share
information, be accountable, and make decisions jointly in order to effectively solve problems.
This can bring significant benefits and advantages to its partners (Mentzer et al., 2000). On the
other hand, Kampstra et al. (2006) argued that cooperation develops when financially
independent entities attempt to make the chain's dependencies "play" with one another, i.e.,
ensuring that the chain's members successfully interact in order to provide the required
coordinated outputs.
Due to pressures from global competition or threats from environmental changes, such
as changes in supply, demand, and technology, as well as opportunities from new markets,
supply chain cooperation is necessary (Tate et al., 2010a; Chen et al.,; Hoi and Minh,
2022). Companies enter into multi-stakeholder partnership agree to share both risks and
benefits while accessing additional resources, improving learning capacity, and rapid
knowledge transfer, aiming to ensure greater performance than operating individually (Lambert
et al., 1999). Supply chain cooperation has become an important focus of competitive advantage
for organization business (Jap, 1999). Organizations have been working for years to improve
the efficiency of their internal supply of chain operations, e.g., procurement, manufacturing,
and logistics (Fawcett and Magnan, 2002). While these improvement initiatives have been very
successful, the results of a broader view of a supply chain have been cost reallocation and
inventory level changes (Ireland and Bruce, 2000).
As can be seen, there are many potential forms of cooperation in the supply chain, but
they can be divided into two main categories, as shown in Figure 1. Vertical cooperation can
include cooperation with customers, internal cooperation and cooperation with suppliers; while
horizontal cooperation includes cooperation with competitors, internal cooperation and
cooperation with other enterprises.
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Figure 1: Scope of cooperation

Source: Barrat (2004)
MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY
Research methodology
In terms of qualitative research, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with
experts and senior leaders such as directors, deputy directors, department heads, deputy
managers, and supply chain cooperation officials. Participants in the interviews
represented government agencies, economic experts, businesses, and seafood-related
organizations in Vietnam, including the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and
Processors (VASEP). Interviewed subjects with various characteristics will provide
multidimensional and comprehensive information for the research content, ensuring that
the goal is met. The interview includes open-ended questions that allow participants to
express their opinions under the guidance of the authors.
Qualitative research results show that all six factors affecting international supply chain
cooperation of Vietnamese seafood enterprises are accepted and no new factors are proposed.
The factors included in the quantitative study are: (1) The level of trust between partners (6
variables); (2) Power of partners (4 variables); (3) Distance between partners (3 variables); (4)
Government policy (5 variables); (5) Cooperation strategies of partners (4 variables); (6)
Information sharing (7 variables). The quantitative analysis includes a total of 29 observed
variables of 6 factors affecting the international supply chain cooperation of Vietnamese
seafood enterprises.
In terms of the quantitative research, the study employs a direct survey form with
a small sample (20 participants). The majority of the subjects approved the questionnaire,
although some words needed to be adjusted and the questions needed to be more logically
 7

constructed. The authors initially envisaged the sample of 300 surveys. This number of
observations meets both the sample size requirement of Hair et al. (2014) (167
observations) and the sample size requirement of Green's study (115 observations). The
fact that the group's expected number of observations exceeded the minimum sample size
made the study even more valuable.
Of the 327 enterprises participating in the survey, the majority were small and
medium-sized enterprises, of which up to 35% were enterprises [200;500] employees. The
survey results of the operating time of enterprises showed that the majority of enterprises
operating [10;15] accounted for 32%, followed by enterprises operating [15;20] years
accounting for 24%. Seafood enterprises are mainly concentrated in the Mekong Delta
region, accounting for 48% of the total number of seafood enterprises in th e country. The
main seafood products of enterprises are shrimp and fish, especially pangasius and tuna. In
which, shrimp accounted for 44%, pangasius 18%, tuna 8%, other fish 20%. Regarding the
type of processing, up to 82% of frozen seafood processing enterprises, 11% of dry goods
processing enterprises, 5% of fish sauce processing enterprises and the number of canned
food processing enterprises account for only 2%.
Data are processed with the SPSS software, version 20.0. Data from independent
variables are analyzed through steps: Cronbach Alpha scale reliability testing, exploratory
factor analysis (EFA), correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis.

Proposed research model

Through selective and unified analysis and synthesis, the authors have based on a
number of previous theoretical models as the basis for their research. First of all, game theory
explains the motivations that encourage or discourage cooperation. Games such as Prisoner
Dilemma, Stag Hunt, and Chicken... demonstrate the characteristics of international
cooperation. The game's context determines the possibilities for cooperation and the game's
outcome (Hong and Hiep, 2013).
Additionally, social exchange theory (SET) also focuses on how to build relationships
with supply chain partners (Kingshott, 2006) and indicators of mutual benefits, in which people
act on the expected costs and benefits of relationships.
In addition, Collaborative Network Theory (CNT) is used as the foundation of
reciprocal correlations in relationships between business relationships (Oliver, 1990).
Businesses can improve their efficiency by establishing information sharing and
communication cooperation and building relationships with supply chain partners through the
process of social exchange.
The research team inherited the preceding research model, which included the following
variables in the research process: The level of trust between partners (Huynh Thi Thu Suong,
2013); Power of partners (Kumar, 1996); Distance between partners (Van Donk, 2010);
Government policy (Mentzer et al., 2001); Cooperation strategies (Muckstadt et al., 2001);
Information sharing (Kim et al., 2006).
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When comparing the research models of various studies, the authors conclude six
factors relevant to the topic. However, several supply chain specialists have stressed the
significance of information sharing in global supply chain cooperation by reviewing scholarly
publications. The results of the authors' interviews with managers, which were based on
business practices, were in line with the significance of the information sharing factor. Based
on the above research model and theoretical frameworks, the authors propose the following
research hypotheses:

Figure 2: Proposed research model

Source: Authors’ compilation
On the basis of the above research model, the study proposes the following research
hypotheses:
Some aspects of weakness and uncertainty in trusted partners are present in trust-based
partners (Smith, 1997). Successful relationships are defined by mutual trust, and partners who trust
each other consistently provide better customer service, adapt more easily, and increase profitability
(Sin et al., 2002). Tangible assets can play an important role in fostering trust among the
counterparties of intermediaries (Clark, 1999). While later studies suggested that trust is a function
of citizen relational behavior and frequent interactions. Both above studies emphasize the trust
between organizations to minimize the cost of administrative procedures (Lui, 2004).
H1: There is a positive relationship between partner trust and international supply
chain cooperation.
Power is at the heart of any business-to-business relationship (Hingley, 2005). The extent
to which a business or organization is dependent on specific and other resources determines its
strength over a partner (Inkpen et al., 1997). If one party has more power in a relationship, it can
put pressure on the less powerful party to make decisions in favor of the more powerful party
(Kumar, 1996). In the supply chain, there is no close relationship between power and dependence.
The greater the unilateral power, the greater the degree of clarity and detail in the terms of the buyer-
seller contract.
H2: There is a positive relationship between partner power and international supply
chain cooperation.
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Distance between partners in a supply chain refers to the geographical, cultural, and
organizational distances between the partners in that supply chain (Van Donk, 2010). Distance
in general has a certain effect on cooperation in the supply chain. That is, the closer the distance
between partners, the closer the partners have similarities in culture, language, and business
practices. As a result, it makes it easier for partners to select and collaborate with one another.
H3: There is a positive relationship between the gap between partners and international
supply chain cooperation.
Cooperation will be challenging for any company that wants to be a part of the industry's
supply chain but does not adhere to local, national, and international rules and policies (Tate et
al., 2010b). The ability of supply chain partners to cooperate is unquestionably influenced by
the policy issued by the partner's government or by the partner himself. The policy is not
permanent, it changes over time (Huynh Thi Thu Suong, 2013). To control and manage risks in
the international supply chain, enterprises must improve their cooperation with the government,
both domestically and internationally, during the supply chain's operation.
H4: There is a positive relationship between government policy and international
supply chain cooperation.
There are four basic contents in the cooperation strategy when studying the international
supply chain: merger and acquisition strategy, capital streamlining strategy, production
combination optimization strategy, and new product introduction strategy (Anderson, 2004).
Cooperation strategies in the series include basic activities such as planning, forecasting and
supplementing the content of cooperation in the supply chain (Stadtler, 2005). Cooperation in
the supply chain between partners is increased when the strategies of the chain's suppliers,
manufacturers, and distributors (collectively referred to as the partner's strategy) complement
each other and vice versa (Huynh Thi Thu Suong, 2013). According to Doan Thi Hong Van
(2008), the ability to strengthen cooperation in an enterprise's chain is when planning a
reasonable management and cooperation strategy.
H5: There is a positive relationship between partner cooperation strategy and
international supply chain cooperation.
Information sharing is the foundation of supply chain cooperation (Lee, 2000), which is
directly related to decisions about how to share, and what information is shared is a decision
about the level of supply chain participation. It not only determines which partners to work
with, but it also determines what information the partner should have access to. Several supply
chain management research in literature reviews have emphasized the importance of
cooperation and information sharing among chain participants (Stank et al., 2011). Information
sharing and supply chain cooperation are directly involved in supply chain development and
formation. The positive impact of information sharing on supply chain cooperation has also
been shown by several studies.
H6: There is a positive relationship between information sharing and international
supply chain cooperation.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Analysis of the Cronbach's Alpha confidence factor showed that there were 6 scales
used in the study where the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient greater than 0.7 satisfies the reliability
and the total variable correlation coefficient was greater than 0.4. So it can be determined that
the scales ensure reliability and are suitable for use for subsequent analysis.
Table 1: Cronbach's Alpha reliability test results

Coefficient Total variable correlation

Number of
Scale Cronbach's coefficient
variables
Alpha smallest

Level of trust between

7 0,924 0.755
partners

The power of partners 5 0,822 0.604

Distance between
4 0,860 0.716
partners

Government policy 4 0,772 0.429

Cooperation strategy of
5 0,761 0.490
partners

Information Sharing 3 0,917 0.723

Source: Authors’ compilation

The scales consist of 29 observed variables, after testing the scale reliability using
Cronbach's Alpha, which is included in the EFA factor analysis.
The EFA factor analysis resulted in 5 factors extracted at an Eigenvalue of 1.574 and a
total quoted variance of 66.063% indicating that the model was consistent. KMO = 0.803 > 0.5,
so the EFA factor is suitable for the study. Besides, the factor loading factor > 0.5, so the
observed variables have good statistical significance and are all important in the factors, and
have practical significance. The Sig. (Bartlett's Test) statistic = 0.000 < 0.05 proves that the
observed variables are correlated with each other on the whole.
 11

Table 2: KMO and Bartlett test results for independent variables

Result Compare

KMO 0.915 0.5 < 0.915 < 1

Sig. value in Bartlett test 0.000 0.000 < 0.05

Quoted variance 66.426% 66,426% > 50%

Eigenvalue 1.531 1,531 > 1

Approximately squared genus 4982.527

Df 406

Source: Authors’ compilation

The authors used Pearson coefficients to analyze the correlation between quantitative
variables. The Pearson correlation coefficients between variables run from 0.136 to 0.601. That
proves the distinguishing value achieved, showing that the relationship between the dependent
variable (Purchasing Decision) and the independent variables is statistically significant (Sig.
<0.05). Dependent Variables Procurement decisions are positively correlated with variables
Trust between partners, Power of partners, Distance between partners, Government policy,
Partner cooperation strategy, and Information sharing. So other statistics can be used to find
connections between independent variables and dependent variables.
Table 3: Correlation matrix between factors in the model

TN QL KC CS CL TT HT

Pearson
1 0.387** 0.136* 0.407** 0.310** 0.429** 0.601**
TN Correlation
Sig. 0.000 0.014 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Pearson
0.387** 1 0.284** 0.296** 0.298** 0.497** 0.680**
QL Correlation
Sig. 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Pearson
0.136* 0.284** 1 0.262** 0.227** 0.295** 0.388**
KC Correlation
Sig. 0.014 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Pearson
0.407** 0.296** 0.262** 1 0.324** 0.364** 0.513**
CS Correlation

Sig. 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

 12

Pearson
0.310** 0.298** 0.227** 0.324** 1 0.362** 0.517**
CL Correlation

Sig. 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Pearson
0.429** 0.497** 0.295** 0.364** 0.362** 1 0.610**
TT Correlation

Sig. 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Pearson
0.601** 0.680** 0.388** 0.513** 0.517** 0.610** 1
HT Correlation
Sig. 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Note: (**) correlation is significant at 0.01 (1%)

Source: Research Results of Survey Results
The linear regression equation with the dependent variable is international supply
chain cooperation:
HT = 0.226TN + 0.413QL + 0.129KC + 0.145CS + 0.189CL + 0.158TT
Inside:
TN: The level of trust between partners
QL: The power of partners
KC: Distance between partners
CS: Government policy
CL: Cooperation strategy of partners
TT: Information sharing
HT: International Supply Chain Cooperation
The model consists of 6 independent variables TN, QL, KC, CS, CL, TT and one
dependent variable HT (International Supply Chain Cooperation). Based on the standardized
Beta coefficient, the authors found that the Power factor of partners has the strongest impact on
the international supply chain cooperation of Vietnamese seafood enterprises (Beta = 0.413).
In contrast, the Distance factor between partners (Beta = 0.129). At the same time the Sig. value
of the elements is less than 0.05, and all hypotheses are accepted.
 13

Table 4: Analysis of factors affecting shopping decisions

Unstandardized Standardized Collinearity

t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients Statistics

Model B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF

Constant 0.767 0.171 4.474 0.000

TN 0.226 0.031 0.253 7.214 0.000 0.704 1.421

QL 0.413 0.040 0.367 10.354 0.000 0.689 1.451

KC 0.129 0.035 0.119 3.730 0.000 0.855 1.170

1
CS 0.145 0.033 0.149 4.367 0.000 0.745 1.342

CL 0.189 0.032 0.197 5.965 0.000 0.798 1.253

TT 0.158 0.037 0.158 4.262 0.000 0.632 1.583

Source: Authors’ compilation

The research results show that 6 factors affect the international supply chain cooperation
of Vietnamese seafood enterprises, in which the power of partners has the strongest impact.

CONCLUSION
Conclusion
This paper has provided some empirical evidences for a framework that identifies key
factors affecting cooperation in the international supply chain of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises. By using a comprehensive, valid and reliable tool (SPSS 20.0) to evaluate rigorous
statistical tests including Cronbach Alpha scale reliability, correlation, linear regression and
EFA, this paper has provided empirical evidence to support conceptual statements and it has
shown that the cooperation in the international supply chain of seafood enterprises in Vietnam
is directly affected by the factors of trust between partners, the power of partners, the distance
between partners, government policies, cooperation strategies of partners, and information
sharing. Particularly:
First, cooperation in the international supply chain is affected by trust levels. In
accordance with earlier research by Corbett et al. (1999), cooperation in global supply chains
is positively impacted by the level of trust between partners. As a result, the cooperation will
be more fruitful and favorable with higher trust degree.
Second, cooperation in international supply chain and partner power are positively
correlated. This result is in line with earlier studies by Hingley (2005); Joyce and Mattew (2002)
and Kumar (1996) who found that individuals' behaviors and decisions to collaborate are more
influenced by higher powers.
 14

Third, supply chain cooperation is positively affected by the gap between partners.
There are other factors at play in this partnership gap than merely distance, cultural variances,
and supply chain organizational structure. In general, firms are generally more inclined to
collaborate with partners who are nearby in terms of both geography and culture. This result
was once demonstrated in Van Donk's (2010) study.
Fourth, there is a positive relationship between government policy and supply chain
cooperation. The findings of earlier investigations by Tate et al. are supported by the authors
(2010b). Depending on the type of business, where it originated, and its culture, government
laws may be advantageous or detrimental to the operations of enterprises. This is crucial when
rules and regulations are not permanent but rather evolve over time, requiring businesses to
adapt for functional ability and successfull cooperation.
Fifth, the cooperation strategy has a significant impact on international supply chain
cooperation . The findings are consistent with those of Huynh (2013) and Doan (2008). The
decision to cooperate and the success of cooperation are directly impacted by the business
strategies of the partners and the techniques used in a cooperative relationship. Businesses
are more likely to consent to supply chain cooperation as the partners' strategies are relevant
and practical.
Sixth, information sharing has a favorable impact on relationships and decisions in
international supply chain. The findings of Kim et al. (2006), Sundram et al. (2018), and
Pamulety and Pillai (2011) are all in agreement with this conclusion. According to earlier
studies, sharing information increases operational effectiveness. Information sharing between
cooperating parties makes work get done more quickly and accurately, which boosts the
effectiveness of global supply chains. . In addition, sharing information also builds mutual
confidence between partners, however it must be properly managed when some sensitive
materials remain private.
However, this research is not without limitations. First, only a few determinants of
international supply chain cooperation were identified by the research model. Meanwhile, due
to the swift change in the global market, cooperation among Vietnamese seafood enterprises
still face a lot of additional issues. Second, this paper was primarily country-specific
integrative insights of seafood firms while excluding other industries in other regions.
Therefore, future research can be undertaken for multinational approaches to thoroughly
assess this field. Third, a framework that could comprehensively explain moderating and
mediating variables affecting cooperative relationships among enterprises in the international
market still remains absent. In order to resolve such inconsistencies, further research on
interacted and nested relationships is required.
 15

Some suggestions from the research results

Recommendations to the government
In order to improve cooperation in the international supply chain of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises, the authors make some recommendations to the govenment as follows:
First, it is necessary to have a clear legal mechanism and reform administrative
procedures such as reducing the burden on enterprises in complying with regulations related to
fees, charges, accounting regimes, and simplifying financial statements. The authorities need
to effectively implement the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises, with the focus
on building a program to assist small and medium-sized businesses in participating in the value
chain between 2021 and 2025 by providing market support, production and business linkage
support, brand development support, support for technical standards, quality measurement,
financial and credit support, experimental production support...
Second, the government needs to promulgate support mechanisms and policies so that
enterprises can easily cooperate in development with other enterprises, encourage cooperation,
and trade promotion as well as create favorable conditions to make Vietnam's seafood industry
truly become the economic spearhead of the whole country.
Third, it is essential to further strengthen the advocacy and training for enterprises in
the cooperation of seafood supply chainsthrough seminars, forums, seminars, dialogues,
training... to raise awareness and cooperation capacity for Vietnamese seafood enterprises.
Fourth, promote the role of industry associations such as the Vietnam Tuna Association,
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors, and Vietnam Fisheries
Association,... to create information channels on seafood supply chains for businesses,
particularly by giving current information on legal mechanisms; counsel businesses in the
process of cooperation and handling if dissatisfaction arises.

Recommendations to VASEP
In order to strengthen the cooperation capacity for our country's seafood enterprises, the
authors make some recommendations for VASEP as follows:
First, build up trade promotion programs that are carried out annually and publicly
announced in the mass media, supporting enterprises and production establishments to
participate.
Second, regularly organize workshops to exchange experiences on how to organize and
operate effective agricultural cooperative models, access markets for aquatic product
consumption, and build links between cooperatives, professional associations, and businesses.
Third, actively develop forecast capacity about the global seafood market from
various angles.
 16

Fourth, gradually build representative offices and distribution networks of Vietnamese

seafood products. The association needs to focus trade promotion resources on major markets
such as the EU, the US, and Japan... and emerging markets such as China, Hong Kong, Eastern
Europe, South America.
Fifth, promote the key role of the Association in negotiating and negotiating
international cooperation agreements to ensure the rights and legality of the fishery sector and
seafood export products to improve the value of aquaculture and export products.

Recommendations to Vietnamese seafood enterprises

From the research results combined with the experience of cooperation in the supply
chain of seafood enterprises around the world, the authors offer some recommendations for
Vietnamese seafood enterprises as follows.
First, Vietnamese seafood enterprises must focus on building a corporate image to build
trust for cooperation. Before cooperating, partners typically take into account several criteria,
including brand, size, financial ability, payment method, payment method,... In particular, for
small and medium enterprises, it is necessary to create a brand for themselves through the
selection of qualified products and services.
Second, strengthen corporate power. Promoting business power will enhance their
position with partners while creating an incentive for cooperation in a more solid way.
Accordingly, enterprises need to have a clear specific business strategy, and increase
investment in upgrading modern machinery and technology to add value to supply products
and improve productivity.
Third, change the culture of cooperation. Businesses need to build and strengthen, and
create a strong, customer-oriented culture. In order to do so, the partners in the chain must
ensure reliable operation, refrain from taking unfair advantage of one another, and have a shared
vision and set of objectives.
Fourth, the supply chain's components should find approriate method to share
information. Information sharing is key to improving responsiveness to changes in customer
demand and market uncertainty, as alignment helps reduce communication gaps between
members, which can reduce supply chain performance.
Fifth, apply information technology in supply chain operations. With the support of
information technology systems, the supply chain will operate more efficiently by ensuring the
smooth flow of information, providing more accurate supply chain decisions and ensuring that
the information posted is accurate and detailed. Vietnam's seafood supply chain can use
Blockchain, GIS technology to help improve the efficiency of supply chain management.
 17

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 20

MINH CHỨNG BÀI VIẾT TRÊN BÁO: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF

PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW (SCOPUS _ Q4)
 21

SOME THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES ON

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION OF
VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES

Xuan Hung Nguyen , Hoang Duong Nguyen, Thi Tuoi Bui, Thi Xuan Lan Mai,
*

Duc Manh Nguyen, Ngoc Duong Tran

School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, 207 Giai Phong,
Hai Ba Trung, Ha Noi, Vietnam
* E-mail of the corresponding author: hungnx@neu.edu.vn

Abstract
International supply chain cooperation increasingly affirms the important role in the
development of the supply chain and in the business activities of enterprises. With the aim of
analyzing and evaluating the process of international supply chain cooperation of Vietnamese
seafood enterprises, the article analyzes and evaluates the situation of international supply chain
cooperation of Vietnamese seafood enterprises in recent years. Since then, the article has
proposed a number of solutions for state management agencies, the Vietnam Association of
Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and enterprises to improve the ability to cooperate
in the international supply chain for Vietnamese seafood enterprises.
Keywords: Cooperation, supply chain, international, fisheries, Vietnam
1. Introduction
In this day and age, the supply chain plays a very important role and affects the whole
business cycle of the business. Due to the asymmetry between supply and demand, there are
always conflicts in supply chains. This is interpreted as any supply chain consisting of many
independent organizations, but is related to the transfer flows of goods, services and information
as well as the flow of finances from the starting point to the end customer (Huynh Thi Thu
Suong, Rosenberg and Stern (1970) define the conflict that occurs in the chain as due to the
actions and decisions of one of the chain members that hinder relations in order to achieve its
own ends. According to Etgar (1979), the cause of the conflict is also due to differences in
attitudes and structures. Meanwhile, Gaski (1984) asserted that the source of power, whether
coercive or non-coercive, also created disagreement among the members of the chain.
The above evidence demonstrates that cooperation in the supply chain is essential,
because it not only answers the question of how chain members share common responsibilities
and interests, but also addresses the inflexibility of management. Resolving conflicts and
working together will bring many benefits, including: reducing inventory, improving customer
service, using personnel more efficiently, better distribution by reducing the number of cycle
times, accelerating the new product market faster, a stronger focus on core competencies, and
improving the overall image (Togar and Sridharan, 2002).
 22

With the advantage of wide seas, stretching across the three regions of the country,
fisheries has become one of the key industries, playing an important role in Vietnam's economic
development and one of the 5 sectors with the largest export value in the country. According to
the report of the General Department of Fisheries, it is estimated that in 2021, exports of this
group of goods reached 8.89 billion USD, up 5.6% compared to 2020, the rate of increase in
the value of seafood production reached 3.01% compared to 2020, the total output reached 8.73
million tons, up 1% compared to 2020 (8.64 million tons), of which the production reached
3.92 million tons, up 0.9% with 2020 (3.88 million tons), farming reached 4.8 million tons, up
1% with 2020 (4.76 million tons).
The fisheries sector requires a lot of cooperation to develop, especially this issue
becomes more urgent in the situation of covid-19 epidemic is still raging and the international
situation is still volatile, causing the supply chain to be unstable and even broken. However, in
Vietnam, cooperation in the international supply chain in the seafood industry is still not popular.
The article analyzes and evaluates the process of international supply chain cooperation
of Vietnamese seafood enterprises, thereby proposing a number of solutions to state
management agencies, The Vietnam Fisheries Association and enterprises to improve
cooperation in the international supply chain for Vietnamese seafood enterprises.
The structure of the research paper consists of 5 parts: (i) Introduction, (ii) Theoretical
basis, (iii) Research method, (iv) Research results, (v) Proposal.
2. Theoretical basis
2.1 International Supply Chain
Around the world, supply chain-related issues were first studied and discussed in the late
1980s. Porter's 1990 research seems to have caught the attention of many scholars around the
world, defining the supply chain as a transition from raw materials to finished products through
processing and distribution to the end customer. Another definition is that the supply chain is the
network of organizations involved, through upstream and downstream links, in different
processes and operations that create value in the form of products and services offered to the end
consumer (Christopher, 1992). In other words, a supply chain consists of many companies, both
upstream (supply), downstream (distribution) and the end consumer. Meanwhile, Mentzer et al.
(2001) take a different perspective when defining a supply chain as a collection of three or more
partners (organizations or individuals) directly involved in the flow of movement before and after
products, services, finance, and/or information from origin to customer.
Domestically, supply chain-related issues are also gradually attracting the attention of
many researchers. Nguyen Minh Tri (2018) concludes that the supply chain is the activities of
every object in the chain from supplying raw materials, producing products and supplying that
product to consumers, the goal of the chain is to meet the needs of customers, create useful
value for the product and create surplus value, Make a profit for the members of the chain.
However, supply chain studies have only stopped in some industries in better understanding the
structure of the chain, the coordination and cooperation of the parts in the chain to come up
 23

with solutions to perfect the chain. Specifically, Huynh Thi Thu Suong (2013) found that the
supply chain is an interconnected model with 3 basic activities: supply, production and
distribution. In particular, the supplier of raw materials is the first factor and the beginning of
the chain, the manufacturer is the second factor to buy raw materials from the supplier to turn
into the product, and the third factor is the system of distributors and agents distributing the
manufacturer's products to customers.
As such, the cited definitions all show that a common model of the supply chain is a
journey of linking between factors including physical flows of products, information, finance,
through the chain to provide entities that are goods and services to the end consumer who is the
customer. These factors are in three basic activities:
+ Supply: the purchase of raw materials, in quantity, quality, when to buy, where to buy
to serve the production process.
+ Production: the process of converting input materials, and semi-finished products
from suppliers into final products.
+ Distribution: the journey of moving the product from the manufacturer through the
distribution system to the consumer who is the customer.
Michael Hugos (2010) in “Essentials of Supply Chain Management” outlined five key
factors that govern the development of an international supply chain: manufacturing,
warehousing, location, transportation and information. International supply chain management
takes place in a complex political, economic, cultural and social environment. Therefore, it
requires close coordination between the flows of goods, services, information and cash within
and outside the borders of countries (Mentzer, 2001).
2.2 International Supply Chain Cooperation
Supply chain cooperation is one of the most discussed topics in business today
(Mathuramaytha, 2011). In research by Mentzer et al. (2000), cooperation is defined as "a
common set of activities of closely related businesses to accomplish goals that benefit each
other." By working together and coordinating actions, supply chain participants become
partners in an alliance (Monczka et al., 1998). Today, companies are turning to finding
resources outside their own scope to coordinate and produce superior performance (Anderson
and Narus, 1990; Stern and Reeve, 1980). The underlying reason behind the cooperation is
because a company can't successfully compete on its own while asking customers for products
and services more and more rigorously (Kotler, 1997). The need for supply chain cooperation
also stems from international competitive pressures or risks due to environmental fluctuations
including changes in supply, demand and technology, opportunities from new markets... (Tate
et al., 2010a; Chen et al., 2017). As a result, cooperation will increase the organization's ability
to operate across borders to build and manage unique value-added processes to better meet
customer needs (Fawcett et al., 2008). Cooperation in the supply chain will deliver higher
performance than the enterprise achieved if operated independently (Lambert et al., 1999;
Simatupang and Sridharan, 2002).
 24

According to Simatupang and Sridharan (2002) and Lambert et al. (1999), cooperation
between members of a chain occurs when they agree to jointly invest resources, share
information, responsibilities as well as make decisions together. This can bring significant
benefits and advantages to the business itself and its partners (Mentzer et al., 2000). On the
other hand, Kampstra et al. (2006) argue that cooperation occurs when financially independent
entities try to make the components of the chain "play" together, i.e. ensuring that the links in
the chain interact to provide the necessary coordinated outputs.
Cooperation in production will help businesses save time, save costs, achieve higher
efficiency in production and business, create competitive power, share possibilities together,
open up new markets (Dao Huu Hoa, 2008). This is one of the important solutions and the
inevitable direction in the present and long term for the sustainable development of the chain
of goods (Do Van Thong, 2012).
It can be seen that in the supply chain there are many forms of potential cooperation,
but can be divided into two main categories such as Figure 1, first, vertical cooperation: can
include cooperation with customers, internal cooperation and cooperation with suppliers; and
second, horizontal cooperation: including cooperation with competitors, internal cooperation
and cooperation with other businesses.

Figure 1: Scope of cooperation

Source: Research team synthesized
 25

3. Research methods
The main research method used is qualitative. The team used, analyzed, compared
primary and secondary data sources collected from previous studies, domestic and foreign
articles, available materials, research works related to the topic, trusted websites for the search
and selection of information, specifically from the General Statistics Office, the General
Department of Customs, the Vietnam Association for Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP).
At the same time, the authors also conducted in-depth interviews with experts and senior
leaders such as directors, deputy directors, head of department, deputy department and officials
in charge of supply chain cooperation. The interviewees came from government agencies,
economic experts, businesses and seafood-related organizations in Vietnam such as the
Vietnam Association for Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP). The subjects interviewed
with different characteristics will provide multidimensional and complete information for the
study content, ensuring the achievement of the goal. Open-ended questions are included in the
interview for participants to present their opinions under the author's guidance.
4. Results
4.1 Practice of international supply chain cooperation of Vietnamese seafood enterprises
4.1.1 International supply chain situation of Vietnamese seafood enterprises
Breed Planting:
Breeding is an important factor, playing a decisive role in improving economic
efficiency, productivity and quality of aquaculture products. With the advantage of a large water
surface area, Vietnam has many breeds of high economic value, bringing great export value to
the whole industry. However, currently, the condition of the breed is of poor quality and
carrying pathogens regularly occurs. Meanwhile, the inspection and quality control of aquatic
breeds has only stopped at the detection of some common pathogens. At the same time, the
hatcheries have not been planned, developed centrally, fragmented, even lacked a common
voice while cooperating, combining to produce and trade aquatic varieties, leading to many
stagnant production camps in the import of broodstock.
Aquaculture:
Aquaculture for export is concentrated mainly in the Mekong Delta. With favorable
conditions, this area accounts for 95% of the total pangasius production and 80% of the
country's shrimp production. In 2021, despite being affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, which
caused farming and production activities to stall, aquaculture production still increased
compared to the previous year, reaching 4,805.8 thousand tons (General Statistics Office,
2022). In particular, in aquaculture, businesses have had models of chain linkage between links
in the chain. Typical is the model of social enterprise launched by Minh Phu Seafood Group
and spread in the Mekong Delta.
Exploiting:
Currently, localities are promoting the exploitation of fisheries sources along the coast
of Vietnam, but fishing products for export only take place in some areas such as the central
coast and the Mekong Delta. Due to the impact of covid-19 prevention measures, many fishing
 26

vessels have to cease operations, lying on the shore. However, thanks to the government's
timely incentive policies, mining output in 2021 is still on track to increase slightly with 3,920.8
thousand tons (General Statistics Office, 2022). Therefore, in order to build sustainable fishing
activities, Vietnam's seafood supply chain needs to have a model of linking fishermen with
organizations and enterprises to buy, process and consume.
Processing:
In the production chain of the seafood industry, processing is considered the final stage,
contributing to improving the value of products before consumption to the market. Currently,
Vietnamese seafood processing enterprises are facing many barriers of strict technical
requirements on food safety and hygiene, origin, sustainable development factors as well as
anti-dumping lawsuits. Although most factories have applied HACCP, GlobalG.A.P, GMP
standards,... but Vietnam's seafood products still have a lot of limitations when placed on the
scale with items from other countries such as Thailand, Norway... The quality of the product is
unstable.
Export:
• Seafood production

Figure 2: Vietnam's seafood production in the period of 2010 – 2021

Source: VASEP (2021)
Through figure 2, it can be seen that in the period from 2010 to now, Vietnam's total
seafood production has a stable growth rate with a significant increase in total output. Despite
many difficulties such as the salt limit warned at the level of natural disasters, the unstable
political situation in Europe or the imposition of anti-dumping duties of the US, Vietnamese
enterprises still try to overcome all barriers, making the seafood industry the economic
spearhead of the country.
 27

• Seafood export turnover

Since 1997, Vietnam's seafood exports have started to make certain improvements and
development. After 24 years of renovation and development, from the initial $800 million mark,
in 2021 seafood export turnover has increased 11 times, with an average annual growth rate of
10%, putting Vietnam in the top of the world's largest seafood exporters. In 2020, due to the
international supply chain disruption, Vietnam's seafood exports only reached 8.5 billion USD.
However, in the next year, seafood export turnover made a spectacular comeback with the result
exceeding the target, reaching 8.9 billion USD.

Figure 3: Seafood export turnover in the period 2010 - 2021

Source: VASEP (2021)
Export items:
Among Vietnam's main seafood exports in 2021, shrimp and other fillet fish still
account for the largest proportion of exports, about 64% of total export turnover. Although
accounting for a small proportion, bivalvia such as clams, oysters, and clams... grow very fast,
especially in the EU market, reaching nearly 74 million USD in the first 11 months of 2021.

Figure 4: Value of Vietnam's key seafood exports in 2021 (Unit: Million USD)
Source: General Statistics Office, Ministry of Industry and Trade (2021)
 28

Export market:
Until now, Vietnam's seafood products have been exported to 170 countries and
territories. Over the years, Vietnam's largest seafood export market includes the US, Japan, the
EU and China. In particular, the EU is considered a potential partner in EU-Vietnam Free Trade
Agreement (EVFTA). The leading importers of Vietnam seafood products and the proportion
of export turnover in the period of 2020 - 2021 are shown as follows:
Table 1: Top 10 seafood export markets in Vietnam in the period 2020 – 2021

Source: VASEP (2021)

Difficulties when exporting seafood:
In addition to the achievements, Vietnam's seafood industry still encounters some
limitations when expanding and diversifying the market.
Firstly, Vietnamese seafood enterprises have not yet built a brand in the export
market. This stems from the limitations in promoting the image of the product, and there
are no strict measures to handle when the phenomenon of tricking occurs and smears the
product in foreign markets.
Secondly, Vietnamese enterprises have not had the opportunity to access much market
information and international partners. The majority of customers' contacts are self-searched
through the Internet, fair booths or product exhibitions.
Thirdly, Vietnamese seafood enterprises have not yet built a long-term network of close
partners. Therefore when there is a lack of raw materials supply and production manpower,
enterprises will face the risk of permanently losing orders because international customers will
turn to traders from India, Indonesia or Thailand.
 29

Fourthly, Vietnamese seafood still faces many difficulties when the EU fines "yellow
card" due to violations of technical standards as well as unknown origin. At the present,
products will have to go through NAFIQAD checks and bypass the FDA's rigorous inspection
before being officially distributed to foreign markets.
4.2 Awareness of international supply chain cooperation in Vietnamese seafood enterprises
The world economy has changed rapidly over the past decades, posing many challenges
for businesses in terms of sustainable growth, economic development in parallel with
cooperation in all fields, especially in the fisheries sector. In this context, global seafood
enterprises are increasingly interested in their product supply chains, are constantly striving and
offering strategic solutions for sustainable development, multidimensional cooperation, not
only with suppliers, customers, but also cooperating with other counterparts. In addition, in
order to be able to meet the requirements in the context of the broken supply chain due to the
Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnamese seafood enterprises must cooperate for the long-term common good.
In the world, the concept of supply chain management is well known but in Vietnam is
still a new phenomenon because most Vietnamese enterprises do not have enough knowledge
of it as well as lack experience in building and operating an effective supply chain. In particular,
the remote geographical distance and different cultural characteristics make many businesses
afraid to cooperate with partners from abroad or have a bad combination. Many businesses are
not really confident in their competence or do not have much knowledge about culture and
business with international. The gap factor will have less impact on cooperation in the
international supply chain if the partners are all Vietnamese enterprises.
This leads to mismanagement and reduced competitiveness. According to the
development of economic integration, seafood exporters in Vietnam have become more aware
of cooperation in international supply chains. Businesses have taken more proactive actions in
finding partners and are ready to adapt.
Currently, linking the supply chain and consumption of seafood is being promoted by
the 970 Working Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development so that
enterprises and cooperatives can link together, contributing to promoting efficient production
and consumption, especially for export. In particular, in the context of 19 southern provinces
and cities jointly implementing social distancing under Directive 16/CT-TTg to combat Covid-
19, it will cause supply chain disruptions.
4.3 Contents and forms of implementation of international supply chain cooperation
in Vietnamese seafood enterprises
In the context of international integration, the world is constantly changing with many
fluctuations, posing countless challenges for Vietnam's seafood industry: The weather is
complicated due to climate change, directly affecting the Mekong Delta region; transportation
costs in trade between countries have not shown signs of abating; technical barriers increasing
magic comes with traceability requirements; challenges from competition from foreign
enterprises; the EU yellow card has not been removed. With the urgency of increasing
requirements, Vietnamese seafood exporters have participated in cooperation with each other
in the supply chain, improving value chain efficiency and increasing business efficiency.
 30

In general, Vietnamese seafood enterprises have taken steps to cooperate with

enterprises in their supply chain, such as cooperation in logistics, information, raw materials
sources,... There are two main types of supply chain cooperation:
Vertical cooperation: Cooperation when two or more organizations from different levels or
stages in the supply chain share responsibilities, resources, and information about their performance
to serve the relatively similar end customers. In the case of Vietnamese seafood enterprises, it is easy
to see that there is a long-term cooperation relationship between the farming and exploiting enterprises
and the business selling raw materials such as feed and breeding...
Horizontal cooperation: Interorganized system relationships between two or more
companies at the same level or stage in the supply chain to allow for easier work and
cooperation to achieve a common goal. In the case of Vietnamese seafood enterprises, it is
cooperation through projects to improve the aquaculture environment, improve production lines
or share information,...
With these two types of cooperation, there are many forms of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises implementing cooperation such as:
Sharing information: Sharing information about processes, plans, ideas, strategies and
confidential information,... that affects the partner. The level of information sharing depends on
the agreement, the information shared will be used by the partner to plan, decide on product
distribution and adjust the production plan,... Vietnamese seafood enterprises will share their
information on the aspects of farming, processing and distributing or business objectives and
plan;... helping the parties achieve common goals. At a higher level, businesses move towards
collaborative communication, two-way and multi-level, the information shared is also more
diverse and detailed, then the value information exchanged will become common data.
Resource sharing: Take advantage of the factors and production capabilities of one
enterprise into the factors and production capabilities of other enterprises. This utilization helps
businesses minimize production costs while still increasing business efficiency significantly.
There have been cases of Vietnamese seafood enterprises cooperating in production in the use
and improvement of aquaculture ponds, or distribution channels. This is often a back-and-forth
relationship, the two sides are utilized to each other's strengths to improve their business without
spending too much money.
Implement cooperation: Make transactions in a collaborative way. Typical activities of
Vietnamese seafood enterprises in this form of cooperation are reflected in long-term purchase
contracts, close and close coordination between buyers and sellers, the accuracy and
effectiveness of contracts and how to execute contracts. It is easy to see this cooperation through
contracts to buy and sell seedlings, feed sales,...
Contract coordination: Assign contracts to a similar business in the same supply chain,
or an organization. Businesses benefit from contract incentives, establishing a close relationship
between the seller and the buyer. For example, with a contract of animal feed seafood can be
distributed to different seller businesses to ensure quantity, quality as well as delivery duration.
 31

4.4 Benefits gained from international supply chain cooperation in Vietnamese

seafood enterprises
From the fact of research, the cooperation brings many benefits to businesses in general
and seafood enterprises in particular. This is the motivation for businesses to link up and
cooperate with each other.
Table 2: Benefits of implementing cooperation in the supply chain from previous studies

No. Benefits of cooperation in the supply chain Author

1 - For the industry: raise the competitive position, develop in a Huynh Thi
sustainable and effective way; members shall cooperate closely on the Thu Suong,
division of labor; The process of restructuring the industry in many
2013
aspects; thoroughly exploit the comparative advantages of each member
of the chain; operate in a regular way, step by step deeply involved in
the international chain. "
- For the business itself: the members of the chain are always closely
linked to each other towards sharing the benefits achieved; increase
competitiveness; raise your position in raw material procurement
negotiations – outsource external services and seek out major
distributors; timely grasp of demand and market fluctuations; active in
input and output activities; improved performance; increase revenue,
reduce costs, be more flexible. "

2 - Bringing higher added value. Ho Duc

- Share large investment opportunities, take risks together, share Hung,
resources, reasonable growth and return on investment. Dang Duy
Quan, Ha
- Enhance the performance of the company.
Kien Tan,
- Improved performance in the supply chain.
2018
- Multiply the results from the effort to work independently.
- Manage the supply chain more effectively.

3 - Make up for your shortfall by coordinating with your partner. Ngo Thi
- Coordinate and combine members in the stages of the chain during the Huong
operation so that they fit together. Giang,
Nguyen
- Help each other in choosing the first raw materials, support each other
Thi Thuy,
in terms of capital and techniques in the production and business
La Quy
process.
Duong,
- Link together in the field of product consumption to avoid price
2019
pressure to increase the strength in the competition.

Source: Authors’ compilation

 32

Speaking at the workshop "Restructuring the agricultural sector associated with the
construction of new rural areas in Yen Bai province from 2018 to 2020, oriented to 2025" Mr.
Tran Dinh Luan - Deputy Director-General of the General Department of Fisheries emphasized:
"It is necessary to build closed aquaculture models to create a certain output, cultured products
meet standards, food safety and hygiene, quality meets the requirements of the market. The
diversification of farmed species, improving production, quality and efficiency in the fisheries
industry; building a model of seafood production chain from feed and seedlings to the application
of post-harvest processing technology and product consumption is very necessary, thereby
sustainable development to improve production and ensure the market of seafood products."
Mr. Ngo Tan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development, shared: "The State needs to play a leading role in building policy mechanisms,
creating a healthy legal environment for chain participants through forms of horizontal
cooperation and vertical cooperation. It is a way to overcome the "devaluation season" that has
repeated over the past time before thinking about improving the competitiveness in the
international seafood supply chain."
5. Recommendations
5.1 For state management agencies
In order to improve cooperation in the international supply chain of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises, the authors make a number of recommendations to state management agencies as follows:
First, establish a clear legal mechanism and reform administrative procedures such as
reducing the burden on enterprises in complying with regulations related to fees, fees,
accounting regimes and simplifying financial statements. At the same time, perfecting dispute
resolutions in the implementation of economic contracts are the most urgent measure.
Currently, businesses can be more assured to invest in risky fisheries. Continue to effectively
implement the Law on Support for SMALL and MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, with a focus on
developing a program to support small and medium-sized enterprises to join the value chain in
the period of 2021 - 2025 with market support, support production and business links, support
brand development, support on technical standards, quality measurement, credit finance
support, experimental production support...
Second, the State should issue support mechanisms and policies so that enterprises can
easily cooperate in development with other enterprises, encourage cooperation, promote trade
as well as create all favorable conditions to make Vietnam's seafood industry truly become the
economic spearhead of the country.
Third, it is necessary to further strengthen the advocacy and training for enterprises in
the cooperation of seafood supply chains; encourage models of organization, linkage,
cooperation, production joint ventures, trade between the fields of seafood production, among
raw material producers, processors, traders, seafood exporters, credit investors... according to
the supply chain of the goods industry with the participation of management and organization
of industry associations and associations. At the same time, regularly organize events: seminars,
forums, seminars, dialogues, training... to raise awareness and cooperation capacity for
Vietnamese seafood enterprises.
 33

Fourth, promote the role of professional associations such as the Vietnam Tuna
Association, Vietnam Seafood Processing and Export Association, Vietnam Fisheries
Association,... in conjunction with task force 970 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development informing information channels on seafood supply chains for enterprises, especially
providing up-to-date information on legal mechanisms; advising businesses in the process of
cooperation and handling if disputes occur... so that enterprises and cooperatives can link and
cooperate with each other, contributing to promoting effective production and consumption.
5.2 For the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
In order to enhance the cooperation capacity of our seafood enterprises, the authors
recommend a number of measures for the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and
Producers (VASEP) as follows:
First, constantly promote annual trade promotion programs especially on mass media,
facilitating enterprises and production establishments’ participation.
Second, organize seminars on a regular basis to exchange experiences of the Law on
Cooperatives in 2012 and relevant documents on how to organize and operate effective
agricultural cooperative models, how to approach markets for consumption of aquatic products,
and build links between cooperatives, professional associations and businesses.
Third, actively nurture the capacity to forecast the world seafood market in terms of:
changes in import policies, regulations on food safety and hygiene standards, quarantine
requirements, import conditions for seafood products, prices and product types, demands and
consumption trends, market fluctuations and product quality needs to promptly supply
businesses and manufacturers.
Fourth, step by step find representative offices and distribution networks of Vietnamese
seafood products. The Association needs to focus its trade promotion resources on major
markets such as the EU, the US, Japan... and emerging markets such as China, Hong Kong,
Eastern Europe, The Middle East, North Africa and South America.
Fifth, focus on demonstrating the key role of the Association in negotiating and agreeing
on international cooperation to ensure the rights and legality of the fisheries sector and seafood
export products to improve the value of agricultural products and exports.
5.3 For Vietnamese seafood enterprises
From the results of the study combined with the experience of cooperation in the supply
chain of seafood enterprises in the world, the authors make a number of recommendations for
Vietnamese seafood enterprises as follows.
First, focus on building a corporate brand to improve credibility. Before cooperating,
partners tend to consider a number of criteria, including: brand, size, financial ability, payment
method,... Small businesses and medium enterprises especially need to build their own brand
through providing quality products and services, assuring delivery schedules as well as types
and quality; and especially making the punctual payment... In addition, organizations can
benefit from the Trade Promotion Department or Local and Regional Industry Associations to
search for cooperators.
 34

Second, reinforce the corporate power. Extending the power of the business will
enhance their positions while creating the motivation for cooperation in a more certain way.
Vietnam seafood enterprises are mostly SMEs considering capital investment. Therefore,
companies need to propose a specific business strategy and increase investment in upgrading
modern machinery and technology at the same time to increase the value of products as well as
productivity.
Third, reform the culture of cooperation. Businesses need to build and strengthen a
strong culture, targeting customers. To create such a culture, every business needs to build for
itself the philosophy, orientation, core value of business. Besides, developing standards,
regulations and principles in cooperation with partners is a must. To do so, the parties in the
chain need to ensure reliable operation, as well as share the same vision and goals towards the
common good while not exploiting their partners.
Fourth, enhance information sharing among components of the supply chain in a way
that is fair, transparent, fast and efficient. Information sharing is key to improving the ability to
respond to changes in customer needs and market uncertainty, which helps reduce the
communication gap between members, which can reduce supply chain performance. Observed
practice shows that suppliers often do not offer exclusively to a single customer; Non-close
cooperation relationships can cause shortages of materials.
Fifth, apply technology in supply chain operations. With the support of technology
systems, the supply chain will operate more efficiently by ensuring the smooth flow of
information and more accurate supply chain decisions. In order to be able to exploit this
common data source, Vietnam's seafood supply chain can apply Blockchain technology - a
database containing information that is simultaneously managed by multiple participants in the
same system. Therefore, the application of Blockchain technology to the seafood supply chain
means that all components in the chain must cooperate with each other. In addition, in terms of
the issue concerning traceability of fisheries to increase the level of trust between businesses,
businesses can apply RFID technology to improve and improve the efficiency of supply chain
management instead of documents and papers. In addition, with GIS technology, through
information sharing, managers can collect and analyze hundreds of supply chains, develop and
compare contingencies of plans, better control warehouse space to suit production strategies,
forecast and balance supply and demand as well as manage potential risks.

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 37

MINH CHỨNG THƯ CHẤP THUẬN CỦA

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
 38

MINH CHỨNG BÀI VIẾT TRÊN BÁO

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
 39

THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION SHARING,

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION AND
SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE ON EXPORT
PERFORMANCE IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: A CASE
STUDY OF VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hung: hungnx@neu.edu.vn

Nguyen Hoang Duong: hoangduong257.neu@gmail.com
Tran Ngoc Duong: tranduong16052002@gmail.com
Mai Thi Xuan Lan: maithixuanlan19502@gmail.com
Nguyen Duc Manh: ndmanh.freelancer@gmail.com
Bui Thi Tuoi: buituoi811@gmail.com
School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam
-----------------------------------------------
Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of information sharing,
international supply chain cooperation and supply chain performance on export performance
in the age of digital transformation. Based on the data collected from a sample of 303
enterprises operating in the seafood export sector, the study examines the impact by testing
structural equation modeling through software SmartPLS and SPSS. As a result, supply chain
performance, along with information sharing and international supply chain cooperation, has
a direct positive impact on export performance while also acting as a mediator variable in the
relationship between information sharing, international supply chain cooperation and firms’
export performance. The study findings assist policymakers, organizations and seafood
businesses in addressing export barriers and devising cooperative solutions to accelerate
export performance in digital transformation era.
Keywords: Export performance, information sharing, international supply chain cooperation,
supply chain performance
1. Introduction
With the continuous development of global integration, as one of the indicators
reflecting the ability to successfully utilize resources in the international context, export
performance is amongst the most extensively researched topics today. Vietnam is undergoing
a vigorous process of international economic integration, particularly in the field of
international trade through participation in free trade agreements. Therefore, it is more urgent
than ever to study issues related to export performance and propose solutions to support
enterprises' participation in the global market.
 40

Approaching from a perspective based on supply chain cooperation, most studies show
that supply chain cooperation improves export performance, especially in product quality and
ability to develop new products (Stank et al., 1999; Carr et al., 2008). In particular, in supply
chain operations, information sharing is known to play an important role in improving
operational performance and profitability (Yeoh and Jeong, 1995; Katsikeas et al., 2000).
Previous studies on supply chain cooperation and supply chain flexibility have both emphasized
the importance of sharing supply chain information (Zhao, 2002). However, there are few
analytical studies on what information should be given and with whom specific information
should be shared (Lee et al., 1997). In the context of digital transformation, with the strong
parallelism of technology, the world is witnessing a remarkable development in the use of data
in every functional activity of the enterprise (Napoleone, 2020). The high-speed growth of
digital data, on the one hand, is a valuable resource that helps businesses increase understanding
not only about their customers and markets, but also becomes a common asset to help improve
the performance of the whole company (Li et al., 2019). However, the prior publications have
only conducted research on the direct relationship between one of the three factors of
information sharing, international supply chain cooperation and supply chain performance to
export performance instead of the relationships with the presence of mediator variables.
Therefore, a research model to explain the connection between the aforementioned aspects and
their impact in promoting export performance of enterprises, especially in the context of digital
transformation is essential.
In the light of research direction, this study applies Self Selection Theory, Learning By
Exporting Theory, Game Theory, Resource Dependency Theory, Social Exchange Theory,
Collaborative Network Theory and takes Vietnam seafood enterprises as a case study.
This paper is structured into five parts: (1) Introduction; (2) Theoretical basis; (3)
Research Methods; (4) Results; (5) Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations.
2. Theoretical basis
International supply chain cooperation is now gradually becoming a mainstream trend
in connecting sustainable development and core values in business activities in order to produce
value for both the business and the entire supply chain (Tan et al., 1999; Carr et al., 2008;
Huynh, 2012). There is no doubt that the supply chain’s participants cannot function
independently, in other words, internal and external cooperation is necessary for all business
activities (Racela, 2007; Melander et al., 2019). In parallel with the development of supply
chain cooperation concept, information sharing is one of the foundational activities between
businesses to invest mutual resources, common knowledge and make joint decisions in the
process of cooperation (Lee et al., 1997). Under competitive pressure and unpredictable market
fluctuations, establishing relationships and exchanging necessary knowledge has become an
important issue in strategic planning of enterprises (Zhao, 2002; Ipek, 2011). Cooperation and
information sharing will impact the overall performance of the entire supply chain through
metrics that measure process performance, from raw materials to semi-finished products and
into final products delivered to customers through a systematic distribution channel or other
measures including cost, customer responsiveness, and uptime (Bottani and Montanari, 2010;
Gordon Stewart, 1995). In recent decades, under the pressure of a volatile business
environment, researchers and enterprises have shifted their focus from improving quality and
 41

reducing supply chain costs to improving supply chain adaptability and flexibility to meet
elusive customer demands (Stank et al., 1999; Tiwari et al., 2015). Therefore, the issue of how
to improve supply chain flexibility and the impact of supply chain performance on businesses
has attracted a lot of attention from both domestic and international experts.
Due to the urgency of the topic, the authors propose a research model on the impact of
information sharing, international supply chain cooperation and supply chain performance on
export performance in digital transformation: a case study in Vietnamese seafood enterprises
based on the following hypotheses:
Data generated, transmitted, stored and analyzed in the digital ecosystem needs to be
communicated seamlessly on the same backbone, information is refined by supply chain
stakeholder organizations to achieve the same goal of maximizing benefits, and managers make
the best decisions by weighing up key information (Ajay and Maharaj, 2010). Digital
technology is the basis for supporting the identification, collection and processing of large
amounts of information and is a prerequisite for information interaction across the system
(Napoleone, 2020).
H1: Digital transformation positively affects partner information sharing.
When companies share accurate and qualified information with supply chain partners,
they will realize the advantages of cooperating to achieve a common objective (Davenport and
Beers, 1995; Lee et al., 1997). Positive experiences with the quality of information shared (i.e.,
the dependability of their chain partners) are the fundamental basis for the degree of willingness
to share more knowledge (Lee et al., 1997).
H2: Information quality positively affects partner information sharing.
The bullwhip effect is a distortion of demand information as this information is
transmitted in the form of orders along the supply chain all the way to the most upstream
suppliers. Bottani and Montanari (2010) indicated that the total supply chain inventory cost and
Bullwhip effect would increase significantly as the number of stages in the supply chain
increased, which in turn affects information sharing decisions.
H3: Complex supply chain structure negatively affects information sharing.
Export performance, according to Katsikeas et al. (2000), is a multidimensional concept
that can be measured using both financial and non-financial measures. Previous research
suggested that sharing information promotes export efforts and can actually assist export
performance (Julien and Ramangalahy, 2003; Yeoh and Jeong, 1995). However, empirical
research on the rey6lationship between information sharing and export performance is required
H4: Information sharing positively affects export performance.
Sharing information regarding key performance indicators and operational metrics
enhances supply chain insight, thus facilitating wise decision-making. Sharing information has
a significant impact on the overall costs of running a successful supply chain as well as
improving overall supply chain management (Ajay and Maharaj, 2010; Zhao, 2002). Rashed,
Azeem, and Halim (2010) discovered that sharing information is necessary for improving
supplier performance due to the connectivity and availability.
H5. Information sharing positively affects supply chain performance.
 42

Bottani and Montanari (2010) observed that the inventory cost of the entire supply chain
and the Bullwhip effect will increase significantly as the number of stages in the supply chain
increases. However, in an integrated supply chain, businesses can reduce non-value-added
activities and associated costs such as investment costs, operating costs and time costs of supply
chain. This greatly increases the customer responsiveness and flexibility of the supply chain,
while improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the entire chain (Gordon Stewart, 1995).
H6. Complex supply chain structure negatively affects supply chain performance.
Logistics side risks include cargo damage, supply-side constraints, warehouse issues,
delivery delays, improper packaging, labor disputes, natural disasters, terrorist activities and
transport infrastructure failures, wrong choice of mode of transport, transport complexity (Thun
and Hoenig, 2011; Wagner and Neshat, 2012). Therefore, logistics side risks will disrupt
business operations and the ability to deliver products on time of businesses in the supply chain.
H7. Logistics side risks negatively affect supply chain performance.
Finance side risks include exchange rate risk, price and cost risk, financial strength of
supply chain partners, payment delays and financial processing (Musa, 2012). Several studies
have shown that finance side risks not only have a negative impact on the company's financial
performance, but also on overall supply chain performance (Mody, 2012; Musa, 2012).
H8. Finance side risks negatively affect supply chain performance.
Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to building long-term relationships
with customers, managing their complaints, and improving overall customer satisfaction (Tan
et al., 1999). CRM adds value to the business through customer loyalty, while enhancing supply
chain's ability to meet requirements (Gawankar et al., 2013a).
H9. Customer relationship management (CRM) positively affects supply chain performance.
Improved supply chain performance entails better resource management, the
accomplishment of operational goals, greater quality standards, increased product flexibility,
and performance improvements. competitive execution (Nimeh et al., 2018). Ayoub and
Abdallah (2019) indicated that sales, business efficiency, and export performance of enterprises
increase as supply chain performance improves.
H10. Supply chain performance positively affects export performance.
Successful relationships are characterized by mutual trust, and partners trust each other
to consistently deliver better customer service, easier adaptation, and improved profitability
(Huynh, 2012). When an organization has identified the aspects from the partner as mentioned,
it is easier for firms to cooperate and set mutual goals with each other (Smith, 1997).
H11. Trust among partners positively affects international supply chain cooperation.
Power is at the heart of all commercial partnerships (Hingley, 2005). The degree to
which an organization or business depends on particular resources and other resources
determines its advantage over a partner (Inkpen et al., 1997). If one partner in a relationship has
more power than the other, they can exert pressure on the weaker partner to make decisions that
will benefit the stronger partner (Kumar, 1996).
H12. Partners’ power positively affects international supply chain cooperation.
 43

The ability of firms in the supply chain to collaborate is affected by regulations set forth
by the government of the organization or the partner. Policies are not permanent but will evolve
over time (Huynh, 2012). During the operation of the supply chain, it is necessary to improve
the cooperation of enterprises with the Government, domestic and international, to control and
manage risks in the international supply chain.
H13. Government policies positively affect international supply chain cooperation.
According to Kim (2006) supply chain cooperation is positively correlated with supply
chain performance. By lowering costs and gaining market share, business practices add value
for shareholders. Lee et al. (1997) argued that supply chain cooperation increases the supply
chain's ability to respond to sudden changes in the volatile supply and demand environment.
H14. International supply chain cooperation positively affects supply chain
performance.
International supply chain cooperation, according to RBV theory, is a means for
companies to grow with the support of partners' resources (Stank et al., 1999). In the export
context, an exporter may have limited market and/or financial resources, while an overseas
distributor may lack in-house production resources. Therefore, by sharing their resources
including inventory, market, financial and resource knowledge, enterprises benefit from
enhancing productivity and export performance (Racela et al., 2007).
H15. International supply chain cooperation positively affects export performance.
Through the synthesis and analysis of the above theoretical basis, the authors proposed
the research model as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Proposed research model

Source: Authors’ compilation
 44

3. Research Methods
In terms of qualitative research, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with experts
and senior leaders such as directors, deputy directors, heads of departments, deputy
departments, and officials in charge of supply chain cooperation. The interviewees came from
government agencies, economic experts, businesses, and seafood-related organizations in
Vietnam such as the Vietnam Association for Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP). The
subjects interviewed with different characteristics will provide multidimensional and complete
information for the study content, ensuring the achievement of the goal. Open-ended questions
are included in the interview to facilitate participants’ opinions under the author's guidance.
Qualitative research results show that the impact of information sharing, supply chain
cooperation, and supply chain performance on export performance are accepted and no new
factors are proposed. The list of factors included in the quantitative research is: (1) Digital
Transformation (5 variables); (2) Information Quality (5 variables); (3) Supply Chain
Structure (5 variables); (4) Logistics Side Risks (5 variables); (5) Finance Side Risks (4
variables); (6) Customer Relationship Management – CRM (5 variables); (7) Trust (5
variables); (8) Power (4 variables); (9) Government Policies (6 variables); (10) Information
Sharing (2 variables); (11) Supply Chain Performance (3 variables); (12) International Supply
Chain Cooperation (2 variables).
In terms of the quantitative research, the study employs a direct survey form with a
small sample (20 enterprises). The majority of participants assented to the survey instrument,
albeit necessitating lexical modifications and rationalized question construction. The team of
authors built the originally planned sample of 300 survey votes. This number of observations
both met the sample size requirements of Hair et al. (2014) with 270 observations. The
anticipated quantity of observation records surpassing the minimum sample size confers greater
value upon the study.
Of the 303 enterprises surveyed, the majority were small and medium-sized enterprises,
of which up to 32% were enterprises [300;600] employees. The results of the survey of
operating time of enterprises showed that the majority of enterprises operating in [5;10] years,
which accounts for 27%. It is followed by the percentage of enterprises operating in [10;15]
years with 24%. Seafood enterprises are mainly concentrated in the Mekong Delta region,
accounting for 40% of the total seafood enterprises in the country. The main seafood items of
enterprises are shrimp and fish, especially pangasius and tuna. Of which, shrimp accounted for
44%, pangasius 29%, tuna 5%, other fish 5%. In terms of processing type, up to 81% of
enterprises producing frozen seafood, 10% of enterprises producing dry goods, 7% of
enterprises producing fish sauce, and only 2% of enterprises producing canned products.
The data is processed using SPSS 20 and SmartPLS 4 software. Data from independent
variables are analyzed through steps: Cronbach Alpha scale reliability testing, PLS-SEM model
measurement evaluation, and SEM Analysis.
 45

4. Results
4.1. Reliability of the scale by Cronbach's alpha coefficient
In the step of testing the reliability of the scale, the authors used Cronbach Alpha
coefficients. The analysis results of Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of the scales used in the study
are all greater than 0.7 and the total correlation coefficients are all greater than 0.4, so no
observed variables are excluded. Thus, the scale of all factors has the required reliability to
proceed with further testing.
Table 1. Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Test Results
Cronbach’s The smallest Corrected Item-Total
Factors
alpha Correlation
Digital Transformation 0.744 0.656
Information Quality 0.841 0.791
Supply Chain Structure 0.834 0.785
Logistics Side Risks 0.712 0.608
Finance Side Risks 0.779 0.712
Customer Relationship
0.822 0.775
Management
Trust 0.818 0.764
Power 0.796 0.723
Government Policies 0.832 0.786
Information Sharing 0.816
International Supply Chain
0.824 0.708
Cooperation
Supply Chain Performance 0.825
Export Performance 0.864 0.829
Source: Authors’ compilation
4.2. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)
After analyzing the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, the scales are next evaluated by the
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to reduce and group the variables into factors, considering
the degree of convergence of the variables by each component and the discriminant value
between the factors.
The scales will be evaluated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA - Exploring Factor
Analysis) as follows: Using Principal Component extraction method with Varimax rotation.
The scale of variables includes: Digital Transformation (DT); Information Quality (IQ);
Supply Chain Structure (SS); Logistics Side Risks (LR); Finance Side Risks (FR); Customer
Relationship Management (CM); Trust (TS); Power (PW); Government Policies (GP);
Information Sharing (IS); International Supply Chain Cooperation (SC); Supply Chain
 46

Performance (SP); Export Performance (EP). After testing the scale with Cronbach's Alpha,
scales with 54 observed variables are retained and divided into groups to be included in
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).
Group 1: Digital Transformation (DT); Information Quality (IQ); Supply Chain
Structure (SS); Logistics Side Risks (LR); Finance Side Risks (FR); Customer Relationship
Management (CM); Trust (TS); Power (PW); Government Policies (GP).
Group 2: Information Sharing (IS); International Supply Chain Cooperation (SC);
Supply Chain Performance (SP).
Group 3: Export Performance (EP).
Table 2. Results of EFA

Total Variance The smallest

Factors KMO p-value Eigenvalues
Explained Factor loading

Digital Transformation 6.580 0.671

Information Quality 3.506 0.674

Supply Chain Structure 2.988 0.654

Logistics Side Risks 2.693 0.708

Finance Side Risks 2.387 0.749

Group 1 0.817 0.000 62.188%
Customer Relationship
2.043 0.698
Management

Trust 1.849 0.659

Power 1.574
0.639
Government Policies 1.256

Information Sharing 2.501 0.907

International Supply
1.830 0.815
Group 2 Chain Cooperation 0.622 0.000 80.329%

Supply Chain
1.292 0.912
Performance

Group 3 Export Performance 0.895 0.000 3.575 59.581% 0.751

Source: Authors’ compilation

The results of EFA show that the KMO indexes are all greater than 0.5, so the EFA is
consistent with the data. In addition, Factor Loading > 0.5, so the observed variables are
important in the research factors and have practical significance. The significance level Sig
(Bartlett's Test) = 0.000 < 0.05 indicates that observed variables are correlated with each other.
 47

The factors DT, IQ, SS, LR, FR, CM, PW, CM, TS, GP, IS, SC, SP, EP all have
Eigenvalues coefficient values greater than 1, so these factors are kept in the analytical model.
The total value of the extracted variance is greater than 50%, meeting the requirements. The
research model is well evaluated.
4.3. Quality of observed variables (indicators)
The Outer Loading coefficient of the observed variables is an indicator showing the
degree of association between the observed variable and the latent variable.
Table 3 shows that the Outer Loadings coefficients of the first-order variables are all
greater than 0.7, so the first-order variables are significant in the model (Hair et al., 2016).
Table 3. Results of Outer loadings

Factors The smallest Outer loadings

Digital Transformation 0.783

Information Quality 0.760

Supply Chain Structure 0.755

Logistics Side Risks 0.745

Finance Side Risks 0.740

Customer Relationship Management 0.736

Trust 0.703

Power 0.751

Government Policies 0.746

Information Sharing 0.913

International Supply Chain Cooperation 0.839

Supply Chain Performance 0.921

Export Performance 0.738

Source: Authors’ compilation

 48

4.4. Discriminant validity

Fornell and Larcker (1981) recommended that discriminability is guaranteed when
the square root of the AVE for each latent variable is higher than all correlations between
the latent variables.
Table 4. Discriminant validity – Heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT)
CM DT EP FR GP IQ IS LR PW SC SP SS TS

CM

DT 0.249

EP 0.200 0.424

FR 0.129 0.100 0.161

GP 0.268 0.200 0.208 0.102

IQ 0.219 0.633 0.360 0.254 0.130

IS 0.084 0.545 0.690 0.160 0.178 0.463

LR 0.185 0.241 0.179 0.180 0.136 0.232 0.053

PW 0.310 0.236 0.235 0.076 0.511 0.214 0.112 0.253

SC 0.210 0.119 0.442 0.078 0.438 0.121 0.079 0.108 0.504

SP 0.315 0.235 0.603 0.306 0.152 0.214 0.271 0.387 0.300 0.211

SS 0.329 0.143 0.244 0.111 0.157 0.075 0.248 0.152 0.203 0.059 0.351

TS 0.418 0.162 0.149 0.091 0.235 0.202 0.115 0.161 0.247 0.318 0.235 0.143

Source: Authors’ compilation

According to the results in Table 4, all HTMT values are less than 0.85, so the
discriminant validity is guaranteed.
4.5. Evaluation of collinearity/multicollinearity
To evaluate multicollinearity, the authors use the results of the PLS Algorithm analysis.
The authors use Inner Collinearity Statistics (VIF) to test the VIF results and evaluate
multicollinearity among latent variables. This is the most important item, because
multicollinearity between the independent latent variables is a critical issue.
Table 5. Collinearity statistics (VIF) – Inner model
CM DT EP FR GP IQ IS LR PW SC SP SS TS

CM 1.134

DT 1.382

EP

FR 1.040

GP 1.228
 49

IQ 1.363

IS 1.054 1.067

LR 1.055

PW 1.232

SC 1.032 1.041

SP 1.082

SS 1.016 1.139

TS 1.061

Source: Authors’ compilation

The VIF table is represented as a matrix. There are 4 variables including EP, IS, SC, SP
being evaluated in the SEM model as dependent variables and need considering multicollinearity
between the independent variables affecting each of these dependent variables.
Dependent variable EP: being affected by 3 independent variables including IS, SC and
SP, so the EP column has 3 values.
Dependent variable IS: being affected by 3 independent variables including DT, IQ, SS,
so IS column has 3 values.
Dependent variable SC: being affected by 3 independent variables including GP, PW,
TS, so the SC column has 3 values.
Dependent variable SP: being affected by 6 independent variables including CM, FR,
IS, LR, SC, SS, so SP column has 6 values.
According to table 5, all VIF coefficients are less than 3, so there is no multicollinearity
in the model (Hair et al., 2011). The structures in the SEM model above are all reflective.
4.6. Evaluation of relationships
To evaluate impact relationships, the authors will use the results of the Bootstrap analysis.
Table 6. Path coefficients – Mean, STDEV, T values, p values

Standard
Original Sample T statistics P
deviation
sample (O) mean (M) (|O/STDEV|) values
(STDEV)

CM -> SP 0.130 0.135 0.050 2.592 0.010

DT -> IS 0.327 0.326 0.055 5.966 0.000

FR -> SP -0.183 -0.188 0.048 3.815 0.000

GP -> SC 0.218 0.221 0.049 4.432 0.000

IQ -> IS 0.202 0.204 0.055 3.694 0.000

IS -> EP 0.485 0.484 0.033 14.491 0.000

 50

IS -> SP 0.132 0.131 0.050 2.666 0.008

LR -> SP -0.228 -0.230 0.054 4.225 0.000

PW -> SC 0.291 0.292 0.064 4.567 0.000

SC -> EP 0.281 0.283 0.044 6.438 0.000

SC -> SP 0.119 0.117 0.052 2.286 0.022

SP -> EP 0.354 0.355 0.036 9.942 0.000

SS -> IS -0.165 -0.167 0.048 3.413 0.001

SS -> SP -0.192 -0.193 0.044 4.404 0.000

TS -> SC 0.160 0.168 0.052 3.077 0.002

Source: Authors’ compilation

The above results show that all the P Values of the effects are < 0.05, so these effects
are statistically significant.
There are 3 variables affecting IS: DT, IQ, SS. The standardized impact coefficients of
these 3 variables are 0.327, 0.202, -0.165, respectively. In which, there are 2 variables positively
impacting IS, with the level of impact ranging from strong to weak: DT, IQ. SS is the only
variable that has a negative effect.
There are 4 variables affecting SP: CM, FR, IS, SS. The standardized impact
coefficients of these 4 variables are 0.130, -0.183, 0.132, -0.192, respectively. In which, there
are 2 variables positively impacting SP, with the level of impact ranging from strong to weak:
IS, CM. There are 2 variables negatively impacting SP, with the level of impact ranging from
strong to weak: SS, FR.
There are 3 variables affecting SC: GP, PW, TS. The standardized impact coefficients
of these 3 variables are 0.218, 0.291, and 0.160, respectively. In which, there are 3 variables
positively impacting SC, with the level of impact ranging from strong to weak: PW, GP, TS.
There are 3 variables affecting EP: IS, SC, SP. The standardized impact coefficients of
these three variables are 0.485, 0.281, and 0.354, respectively. Thus, the level of impact of these
3 variables on EP in order from strong to weak is IS, SP, SC.
4.7. The results of testing the research hypotheses
Therefore, from the above quantitative results, it can be concluded that all research
hypotheses are accepted.
 51

5. Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1. Discussion of study findings
The study focuses on analyzing the relationships between information sharing,
international supply chain cooperation and supply chain performance, thereby finding out
their impact on export performance in the context of digital transformation. Sustainable and
superior export performance requires reasonable levels of supply chain cooperation and
information shared among enterprises which simultaneously augment overall performance of
supply chain. In recent years, the rise of digital transformation era has exposed firms to the
edge of innovation. With the help of blockchain technology and IoT, real-time data and
insights about market trends, customer demands, logistics costs,... are shared in a unified
system more traceably and precisely, which enables companies to anticipate and mitigate
supply chain disruptions. Greater cooperation, communication, and transparency among
supply chain partners allows enterprises to respond quickly to unexpected events and reduce
the impact of disruptions on their operations.
Under the pressure of fierce competition in the market, the introduction of new products
with shorter cycle times, along with the increasing level of customer expectations have pushed
businesses to show attentive interest to supply chain cooperation. However, how to cooperate
in the supply chain, exploit cost advantages, improve added value for products and increase
competitive strength remains an open question. Particularly, in this study, the authors found
that the impact of information sharing, international supply chain cooperation and supply chain
performance of enterprises in Vietnam has not received meticulous attention.
First, information sharing is a critical factor for seafood export performance of
Vietnamese businesses. While digital transformation and information quality facilitate
information sharing, the complex supply chain structure may distort information quality and
thereby hinder information sharing. These factors significantly impact business prediction and
strategy planning, and have the potential to enable businesses to quickly address potential
supply chain disruptions. Second, improving supply chain efficiency can positively affect a
company's export performance. However, in order for the supply chain to function properly,
businesses need to be aware of the BullWhip effect which probably stems from the complex
supply chain structure. Additionally, the risks related to logistics and finance are directly
correlated with the operational performance of both enterprises and their partners. Due to the
market complexity, businesses need to pay more attention to customer relationship management
(CRM) in order to better meet the constantly changing needs and feedback of consumers about
goods and services. Third, international supply chain cooperation can significantly impact
export activities, with trust and power dynamics influencing businesses and government
policies encouraging similar operations. On the other hand, through cooperation, companies
can leverage resources from partners to access new markets, enhance supply chain performance,
and elevate product standards.
 52

5.2. Recommendations
Based on the findings the authors suggest some implications as following:
First, the State needs to promulgate policies to support and create conditions for
enterprises to cooperate with other enterprises, facilitate trade, and foster business growth
through production and export against foreign barriers.
Second, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) needs
to take an active role in developing information channels on seafood supply chains
including and implementing digital transformation technology in both production and
business, which eventually raises firms’ awareness of exchanging information and
cooperating in international supply chain.
Third, in order to improve their operations, Vietnamese seafood businesses must alter
their cooperative culture and raise understanding of supply chain performance, export
performance, and variables impacting export performance.
Fourth, businesses need to harness information technology systems to facilitate the flow
of information, increase supply chain performance, and enable them to make more accurate
decisions in export activities.
5.3. Limitations and future research directions
However, this research is not without limitations. First, this paper is primarily country-
specific integrative insights of seafood firms while excluding other industries in other regions.
Second, a framework that could comprehensively explain the influencing factors from both
macro and micro perspectives still remains absent. Therefore, in order to resolve such
inconsistencies, further research undertaken for multinational approaches to set sustainable
development goals is required. Additionally, future studies may substitute subjective survey
methods with secondary data based on annual reports and actual business parameters to reduce
risks and increase result reliability.
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MINH CHỨNG THƯ CHẤP THUẬN CỦA ICSEED 2023

 56

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION AND

EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD
ENTERPRISES: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Xuan Hung Nguyen, Hoang Duong Nguyen, Ngoc Duong Tran

Thi Xuan Lan Mai, Duc Manh Nguyen, Thi Tuoi Bui
School of Trade and International Economics,
National Economics University, Vietnam
Thi Phuong Thao Ha
University of Labour and Social Affairs (ULSA), Vietnam
Thi Bac Dang
Hanoi University of Business and Technology, Vietnam

Abstract
International supply chain cooperation increasingly affirms an important role for the
development of supply chains and in business activities, especially in increasing export
performance of enterprises. The influence of supply chain cooperation, especially international
supply chain, on export performance is a major concern of both scholars and professionals.
Researchers have investigated many aspects of export performance and the factors that influence
export performance. This article provides a systematic literature review of international supply
chain cooperation and corporate export performance. Based on a systematic review of research,
the team reviews the key themes discussed in the literature, identifies and resolves research
inconsistencies and gaps, and develops a conceptual model of integrating and synthesizing
current knowledge on the impact of supply chain cooperation on export performance of
enterprises. In addition, the authors identify three directions for future including: (1) The direct
impact of supply chain cooperation on export performance of enterprises, (2) The indirect impact
of supply chain cooperation on export performance of enterprises through information sharing
in the supply chain and (3) The indirect impact of supply chain cooperation on the export
performance of enterprises through supply chain performance.
Keywords: Cooperation, export performance, seafood, supply chain, Vietnam

1. Introduction
In a constantly innovating business environment, supply chain plays a significant role
and affects the whole business cycle of the business, which results in supply chain cooperation
being one of the most discussed topics in business today (Mathuramaytha, 2011). Due to the
asymmetry between supply and demand, there are always conflicts in supply chains. This is
interpreted by the fact that each supply chain consists of independent organizations involved in
the flows of goods, services, related information and finance from the point of origin to the final
 57

customer. Through the results of published studies, cooperation in the supply chain is
considered essential because it not only answers the question of how chain members share
common responsibilities and interests but also addresses the inflexibility of management (Togar
and Sridharan, 2002).
With the rapid growth of international business, exports play a key role in many firms’
survival and growth (Chen et al., 2016). In order to stay competitive in today’s global
marketplace, it is crucial to improve their export performance (Adu-Gyamfi & Korneliussen,
2013). Although there are controversies about whether supply chain cooperation has any
influence on export performance, most of them support the view that supply chain cooperation
has a positive impact on export performance (Jungbok, 2011, Racela et al., 2007). Cooperation
in the supply chain contributes to the firms’ information accumulation on export markets,
facilitates product adaptation to the needs and demands of the target market, and enhances
export performance (Julian, 2003).
Since there is a large sea area at disposal, fisheries has become one of the five industries
that bring the largest export value in the country. According to the report of the General
Department of Fisheries, it is estimated that in 2021, exports of this group of goods reached
8.89 billion USD, up 5.6% compared to 2020, the rate of increase in the value of seafood
production reached 3.01% compared to 2020, the total output reached 8.73 million tons, up 1%
compared to 2020 (8.64 million tons), of which the production reached 3.92 million tons, up
0.9% with 2020 (3.88 million tons), farming reached 4.8 million tons, up 1% with 2020 (4.76
million tons).
However, exporters always have to face stiff competition in all aspects: price, quality,
distribution channel, technology,... Especially, exporters are also under pressure from importing
countries' regulations including laws, protection policies,... (Tri C.M., 2018). The study of the
relationship between international supply chain cooperation and export performance of
Vietnamese seafood enterprises is a stepping stone for enterprises to self-assess and examine
business plans to achieve the desired goal in the future.
In the context of increasingly developing and expanding supply chains, cooperation
between companies becomes more necessary than ever, because it will directly affect the
performance of businesses, especially export performance. Meanwhile, Vietnam is in the
process of accelerating international economic integration, especially in the field of
international trade by participating in free trade agreements. Therefore, it becomes more urgent
to conduct research on supply chain and international supply chain cooperation to assist
businesses in participating in international supply chains. Until now, a number of related studies
have been mentioned from various perspectives. To further clarify the impact of international
supply chain cooperation and its relationship to enterprise export performance, a study to
evaluate related studies is required. As a result, the article will fill a gap in the scope of export
performance by conducting a systematic review of existing supply chain and export
performance literature, then propose some directions for future research.
The structure of the research paper consists of 5 parts: (i) Introduction, (ii) Research
method, (iii) Literature review, (iv) Research gaps and future research directions, (v) Conclusion.
 58

2. Research method
With the goal of providing an overview of the studies that have been conducted and
published on the topic of export performance of enterprises, the authors conducted a
systematic literature review. In particular, this study uses both qualitative and quantitative
research methods to acquire a thorough understanding of enterprise export performance and
international supply chain cooperation, as well as methods and Research theory has been used
in earlier publications.
2.1. Search procedure
During the study, the authors employed a number of techniques to identify and classify
relevant articles. The team began by conducting manual searches and filtering of articles related
to international supply chain cooperation and export performance of the business. The authors
compiled a list of pertinent papers by manually examining keywords, article names, and
summaries to find related publications. Scopus, Elsevier Science Direct, and PubMed are the
three primary databases. In addition, the team further the search by reviewing the reference list
of related articles discovered in the previous step, also known as the Backward and Forward
Reference Search method (Johnson & Jaramillo, 2017).
2.2. Inclusion criteria
All articles are then evaluated using the following standards:
First, international papers must be published in peer-reviewed journals to ensure the
quality and reliability of research results. For studies in Vietnam, the scope has been expanded,
including a number of articles from peer-reviewed journals because of their significant impact
in the field in Vietnam.
Second, this paper focuses on evaluating empirical studies, and theoretical studies have
been eliminated in order to prioritize subject flexibility while investigating in different aspects
and contexts, as well as highly ensuring the subject of research results.
2.3. Evaluation methods
After the above search and selection process, the relevant articles have been synthesized
and divided into four categories: Studies on international supply chains, studies on international
supply chain cooperation, studies on export performance of enterprises, and studies on the
impact of international supply chain cooperation on export performance of enterprises. In
addition, after collecting quantitative data, the team also employed auxiliary tools to precisely
assess and categorize the outcome. The authors then identified the issues, levels and scope
raised in related works, pointed out research gaps in previous research and proposed some
potential future directions in the particular context of Vietnam.
3. Literature review
Our findings address the following key issues: (1) The way export performance research
has been conducted, (2) The major themes within the export performance literature, and (3) The
way to resolve inconsistencies from extant export performance research.
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3.1. The way export performance research has been conducted

The majority of export performance studies to date have been published in a limited set
of journals. Our review of the international supply chain cooperation literature uncovered
interesting insights regarding how research into the impact of international supply chain
cooperation on export performance has been carried out and how this has changed over time.
First, the studies mainly applied a quantitative approach by applying questionnaires.
Measurement items are sourced in the relevant literature, wherever feasible. New categories have
been proposed and adapted to the current context of the study. Beamish & Banks (1987); Tallman
& Shenkar (1994); Koivisto & Vesalainen (1994); Horta and Brito (2009); Haddoud et al. (2018)
both performed a pre-examination that was carried out involving academics and export managers
to ensure word suitability prior to the implementation of the questionnaire. After receiving
experts’ feedback and making relevant changes, the final draft of the questionnaire was
developed. Questionnaires are sent to import and export managers in companies.
Second, the majority of articles (70.2%) on international supply chain cooperation
affecting export performance study on several sectors such as agricultural products, alcohol,
machinery... while few papers focus specifically on the fisheries industry. For example,
Karelakis, C., Mattas, K., & Chryssochoidis, G. (2008) studied mainly on the export
performance of Greek liquor companies, Thanh Ha, L. (2021) learned about the performance
of exporting agricultural products to China; Van Nen, N. (2020) researched on the export
performance of Vietnamese furniture.
Third, the papers were mainly studied in specific countries (84.5%), which were not yet
linked between countries or continents or the world. Anbanandam, R., Banwet, D.K., &
Shankar, R. (2011) evaluated the supply chain cooperation of the garment retail industry in
India; Vieira, J., Yoshizaki, H., & Ho, L. (2009) conducted cooperative research in Brazilian
supermarket retail chains; Craig, C. J. (2003) focused on Thai companies.
Fourth, while the majority of papers used qualitative research methods (mostly
interviews; 45.2%) or surveys (38.4%), the analysis indicated that international supply chain
cooperation did not develop according to the familiar pattern of original studies using qualitative
research methods to explore the phenomenon, followed by testing hypothetical quantitative
research between key variables. Indeed, early researchers used surveys to examine differences in
perspective between supply chain cooperation and non-supply chain cooperation, between
competition and cooperation (Julian, 2003; Johanson & Mattson, 1997). While more recent
scholars use suggestive methods to explore new topics such as supply chain cooperation to
overcome barriers related to corporate growth (Zhang et al., 2010) or working closely with local
suppliers to improve input quality, thereby improving product quality and enhancing the export
performance of enterprises (Haddoud et al., 2018). The frequent appearance of relatively
independent studies seems to suggest that the field of international supply chain cooperation
research can be described as a "specialized subject", i.e. a group of scientists engaged in research
in similar fields rather than "specialized subjects", more cohesive and have some of the top cited
authors performing the role of bridging with reasonable density with informal networks.
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3.2. The major themes within the export performance literature

3.2.1. Research on international supply chain
Table 1 presents the top five most co-cited authors of international supply chain.
The concept of “supply chain” has been defined by many scholars over the last 30 years,
with different viewpoints or ways of expression. In the early days, research was limited to
defining the supply chain as a sequence of processes involving the transforming raw materials,
natural resources and ingredients into a finished product that is then delivered to consumers. In
a broader sense, this can be defined as a transition from raw material to finished product through
processing and distributing (Michael Porter, 1990). Lummus et al. (1999) hold the belief that
supply chain comprises all the activities occurring in chain, which turn raw material into the
final product, including supplier assessment and evaluation, material supply, inventory
management, order handling, distribution, and the necessary information systems to manage
these activities. More generally, a supply chain may be defined as the set of parties and agents
(such as suppliers, manufacturers, transporters, retailers, etc.) involved, directly or indirectly,
in fullling a customer's request (Chopra and Meindl, 2007; Sarmah et al., 1993).
Considering supply chain as a business activity, Lambert & Cooper (2000) defined
supply chain as the interaction activity between many firms within the supply chain with the
aim to increase the customer value, these firms may directly or indirectly take part in the work
of creating surplus value for the customers. Meanwhile, Christopher (1992) concerned more
about the participants when defining the supply chain is the network of organizations involved,
through upstream and downstream links, in different processes and operations that create value
in the form of products and services offered to the end consumer. Supply chain is also
considered a collection of three or more partners directly involved in the flow of movement
before and after products, services, finance, and/or information from origin to customer
(Mentzer et al., 2001). Chopra Sunil and Peter Meidl (2001), Klassen and Whybark (1994),
Motwani et al. (2000) emphasized that the supply chain includes all stages involved, directly or
indirectly, in meeting customer needs. In other words, the supply chain includes not only
manufacturers and suppliers, but also carriers, warehouses, retailers and customers themselves.
Huynh Thi Thu Suong (2013) found that the supply chain is an interconnected model,
in particular, the supplier of raw materials is the first factor and the beginning of the chain, the
manufacturer is the second factor to buy raw materials from the supplier to turn into the product,
and the third factor is the system of distributors and agents distributing the manufacturer's
products to customers.
As such, the antecedents all show that a common model of the supply chain is a journey
of linking between factors including physical flows of products, information, and finance,
through the chain to provide entities that are goods and services to the end consumer who is the
customer.
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These factors are in three basic activities:

• Supply: the purchase of raw materials, in quantity, quality, when to buy, where to buy
to serve the production process.
• Production: the process of converting input materials, and semi-finished products from
suppliers into final products.
• Distribution: the journey of moving the product from the manufacturer through the
distribution system to the consumer who is the customer.
Michael Hugos (2010) in “Essentials of Supply Chain Management” outlined five key
factors that govern the development of an international supply chain including: production,
inventory, location, transportation and information. As international supply chain management
takes place in a complex political, economic, cultural and social environment, it requires close
coordination between the flows of goods, services, information and finance within and outside
the borders of countries (Mentzer, 2001).
3.2.2. Research on international supply chain cooperation
Table 2 presents the articles belonging to the international supply chain cooperation
defined. These are closely associated with the spillover of knowledge and its effect on
interactions with companies.
Supply chain cooperation is one of the most discussed topics in business today
(Mathuramaytha, 2011). Most studies on exporter-importer relationships conceptualize
cooperation in terms of activities for which cooperation exists between the two exchange
partners. For example, joint activities occur to develop strategies (Ambler et al., 1999), attain
future goals (Ha et al., 2004), and improve performance (Johnson and Raven, 1996), and
cooperation includes the exchange of technical and commercial information (Racela et al.,
2007). These studies view cooperation as an outcome, i.e. specific joint activities. According to
Simatupang and Sridharan (2002) and Lambert et al. (1999), cooperation between members of
a chain occurs when they agree to jointly invest resources, share information, responsibilities
as well as make decisions together. Meanwhile, Vieira et al. (2009) hold the belief that supply
chain cooperation happens when supply chain partners jointly work based on mutual trust
toward better make use of the unused resources, better performance. This can bring significant
benefits and advantages to the business itself and its partners (Mentzer et al., 2000).
Conversely, Leonidou et al. (2002) conceptualized cooperation as the process of several
parties working together towards the same goal. They define cooperation as “the degree of joint
effort, team spirit and cooperation between the parties involved in the working relationship”
(Leonidou et al., 2002). Definitions of cooperation found in the marketing literature are
consistent with this broad description (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Leonidou et al., 2002). The
underlying themes of these definitions of cooperation are that it is a process by which
individuals, groups and organizations come together, interact and that it forms psychological
relationships for mutual gains or benefits (Smith, Carroll and Ashford, 1995). Simatupang &
Sridharan (2002) affirmed that working together can create a competitive advantage, which
 62

results from a greater profitability of satisfying end customer needs than acting alone. In
research by Mentzer et al. (2000), cooperation is defined as a common set of activities of closely
related businesses to accomplish goals that benefit each other. By working together and
coordinating actions, supply chain participants become partners in an alliance (Monczka et al., 1998).
Scholars can also view supply chain cooperation as an overarching working orientation
that is norm related. Similarly, this approach was adopted by Cannon and Perreault (1999) who
conceptualized cooperation as a bilateral norm. A cooperative norm refers to the parties’ mutual
expectations that both partners should work together to achieve success and resolve problems.
Here, cooperation is viewed as a relational connector that describes how the parties should
interact, and it reflects their expectation of behaviors in the management of the relationship.
International supply chain is basically a supply chain viewed from a more macro
standpoint. The international supply chain will specifically include any activities related to the
supply chain beginning with the first supplier and ending with the end customer on a global
scale. In other words, an international supply chain is an international network in which a
business purchases or uses goods or services from abroad in connection with the supply,
production, and distribution of a good or service.
3.2.3. Research on export performance
Table 3 includes authors who focus on export performance of enterprises in business world.
Despite the increasing number of studies that have been addressing export performance,
there is no consistent definition (Cavusgil & Zou, 1994). It is generally accepted that this
construct is complex and the choice of its measurement indicators depends on contextual
factors, particularly concerning the research method adopted, the specificity of the business and
the target audience (Katsikeas et al., 2000). With the rapid growth of international business,
exporting plays a key role in many firms’ survival and growth (Chen et al., 2016). Exporting
activities enhance organizational capabilities, which, in turn, generate additional resources that
boost the firms’ performance (Filatotchev et al., 2009). In an extensive review of literature,
export performance was considered a significant and vital element in determining the success
of the operations of any business (Nuseir, 2016). In order to stay competitive in today’s global
marketplace, it is crucial for firms in emerging markets to improve their export performance
(Adu-Gyamfi & Korneliussen, 2013).
Hence, a robust understanding of exporting is much called for by researchers, managers,
and policy-makers (Leonidou et al., 2007, Sousa et al., 2010). Over the past 50 years, fruitful
progress of export performance research has indicated the consistently increasing magnitude of
this area. Study of Madsen (1987) was the first review study of export performance. Later,
export performance is defined as the outcome of a firm’s activities in the export market
(Shoham, 1996; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Jalali, 2012; Chen et al., 2016), as the extent to which a
firm’s objectives, both strategic and financial, with respect to exporting a product to a market,
are achieved through the execution of the firm’s export marketing strategy (Cavusgil & Zou,
1994; Lages et al., 2008), and as the degree to which the firm accomplishes its goals when
 63

selling an item to an international business sector (Navarro et al., 2010). Meanwhile, Jraisat
(2010) characterized by developing a new approach in export performance understanding. This
research attempts to link supply and demand sides based on the influence of information sharing
on export performance.
Given the growth of enterprises’ international activities for exporting, the relevant
literature covers relatively a broad range of areas including the choice between direct or indirect
exporting for internationalization (Hessels and Terjesen, 2010), the decision to create a new
export venture (Ibeh, 2003) and problems related to this solution (Wennberg and Holmquist,
2008), as well as markets and location selection (Zain and Ng, 2006; Gallego and Casillas,
2014; Huett et al., 2014), export and innovation (Añon Higon and Drif field, 2011), the
management team impacts on the decision to internationalize (Reuber and Fischer, 2002),
decisions on the timing of entry to the market and resource constraints (Zhao and Hsu, 2007;
Cheng and Yu, 2008). The enterprises’ export growth is discussed in the literature on
international entrepreneurship as well (Keupp and Gassmann, 2009; Zhou et al., 2007;
Ferna¨ndez and Nieto, 2006; and Brouthers and Nakos, 2004).
There are three ways of measuring export performance: financial or economic (Zou &
Stan, 1998; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Leonidou et al., 2002), nonfinancial or noneconomic (Zou
& Stan, 1998; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Leonidou et al., 2002), and generic (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
Among the measures of export performance, economic measures are the most frequently
utilized, being seen as export profitability, export sales growth, export sales, and export
intensity. Non-economic performance measures are less frequently employed, among which,
satisfaction with export performance, and export goal achievement are used relatively often to
assess performance. Meanwhile, generic measures are evaluated by perceptions or overall
export satisfaction (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
3.2.4. Factors impacting export performance
This cluster involves authors who have focused on factors impacting export
performance. In particular, these articles discuss the role of cooperation present in
entrepreneurship, information sharing and supply chain performance (Table 4).
Researchers have investigated a wide range of factors that may impact export
performance and its effects, which can be grouped into variables related to supply chain
cooperation, information sharing and supply chain performance.
Due to the nature of the export channel environment, it is recognized that internal
competencies alone are unlikely to lead to export success (Ling-yee and Ogunmokum, 2001).
In an export channel environment, relationships are perceived as very important and require the
participation of both partners to perform activities jointly to produce superior mutual outcomes
(Achrol et al., 1983; Anderson & Narus, 1984). Firms cooperate with each other to gain
competitive advantages (Beamish & Banks, 1987; Kogut, 1988; Tallman & Shenkar, 1994;
Koivisto & Vesalainen, 1994; Makino & Delios, 1996; Haddoud et al., 2018), reap the benefits
of synergy (Hymer, 1976; Kogut, 1988; Kaufmann, 1995; Makino & Delios, 1996) and engage
 64

in foreign market activities (Kaufmann, 1995). In terms of the influence of supply chain
cooperation on export performance, much of the empirical evidence supports a positive
influence, with a few exceptions of studies that find mixed results. For instance, Horta, Brito
and Brito (2009) found that a firm’s cooperation with its customers positively influenced market
share, but did not have any influence on its profitability. In the international marketing
literature, the view that supply chain cooperation would positively impact the exporter’s
performance has been supported by several prior studies (Jungbok, 2011; Racela et al., 2007).
Information sharing is concluded to be positively related to export performance (Elwan
et al., 2012; Jraisat et al., 2013). Cadogan et al. (2005) identified exporting interfunctional
interactions as critical factors in terms of determining the success of export marketing decisions
and strategy. Specifically, they argue that it is important for communication and information
sharing to take place so that functional areas other than exporting can understand the context that
exporting decisions are made. Communication and information sharing will be particularly
relevant when those functions are more involved in formulating those decisions. Past studies have
proposed that information sharing fosters exporting efforts and can contribute to export
performance (Julien and Ramangalahy, 2003; Yeoh and Jeong, 1995; Lee & Yun, 2018; Mbaga,
2011). However, there has been a lack of conceptual and empirical work focusing on the link
between information sharing and export performance. Our literature review indicates that
different transaction costs, relationships and network dimensions may impact information sharing
in supply-chain relationships and that information sharing may foster export performance.
Supply chain performance shows great significance as a predictor for export
performance. Supply chain performance presents a similar positive regression trend to the
effects on export performance, indicating that both supply chain performance and export
performance are highly tied (Elwan et al., 2012). While cohesions on developing models on
supply chain performance measures are established recently (Sellitto et al., 2014; Talavera,
2015; Smit et al. 2017; Tripathi & Talukder, 2019; Tripathi et al., 2021), further scope exists
for establishing a predictive model relating supply chain performance with export performance.
Establishing such a model helps firms recognize the effect of supply chain performance on
export performance, enabling them to make decisions with better precision, regarding different
parameters of supply chain performance, to improve their export capability. Firms’ supply chain
management practices are accompanied by flexibility and efficiency aspects of supply chain
performance, directly impact firms’ export performance through supply chain responsiveness
and innovativeness (Elwan et al., 2012; Ayoub & Abdallah, 2019; Wang & Du, 2019). Proper
relationship management results in the intermediaries’ superior performance, contributing to
firms’ global export performance (Fung et al., 2007).
 65

Table 1. Some research on supply chain.

Authors Article/ Book Journal/Publisher Objective Keyword

Michael “The Competitive The Free Press Study the Supply chain,
Porter Advantage of objectives and raw material,
(1990) Nations” activities in finished
supply chain as a product
basis theory.

Martin “Logistics and Pitman Publishing Provide a clear Supply chain

Christopher Supply chain exposition of management,
(1992) management” best practice in logistics,
supply chain and strategies
logistics
management
currently on the
market.

Mentzer “Defining supply Journal of Establish a Supply chain,

et al. chain management” Business logistics consistent means product flows,
to conceptualize information
(2001)
supply chain as flows, financial
well as identify flows
the structure and
activities in
supply chain.

Huynh Thi “Study of factors The Journal of Explore the Furniture

Thu Suong influencing Asian Finance, factors affecting industry,
(2013) cooperation in the Economics and supply chain and supply chains,
furniture supply Business suggest a cooperation,
chain, case study of definition of Vietnam
the region: supply chain for
Southeast” Vietnam
furniture market.

Michael “Essentials of John Wiley & Son Examine the Supply chain
Hugos supply chain potential factors management,
(2010) management” influencing the information,
international inventory,
supply chain. distribution,
production
 66

Table 2. Some research on supply chain cooperation.

Authors Article/ Book Journal/Publisher Objective Keyword

Simatupang “The The International Introduce a general Supply chain,

and collaborative Journal of Logistics overview of effectiveness,
Sridharan supply chain” Management cooperation in supply conflict,
(2002) chain to encourage the performance
partnership between measurement
enterprises.

Leonidou “Building Journal of Show several factors Export

et al. Successful Marketing distinguishing management,
Export Business harmonious relationship,
(2002)
Relationships: relationships between cooperation,
A Behavioral businesses and overseas business
Perspective” customers, as well as
provide export
management with a set
of guidelines for export
business relationships.

Cannon and “Buyer-seller Journal of Establish the urge for Business

Perreault relationships in Marketing cooperation between market,
(1999) business Research enterprises and the role relationship,
markets” of cooperation in cooperation
business market.

Vieira et al. “Collaboration Supply Chain Identify cooperation Retailing,

(2009) intensity in the Management: An elements and evaluate supply chain
Brazilian International their intensity in the management,
supermarket Journal Brazilian supermarket supermarkets,
retail chain” retail chain, especially Brazil
the manufacturer-
retailer channel.

Johnson “Relationship Journal of Involve an exploration Relationship

and Raven quality, Marketing of the association quality,
(1996) satisfaction and Channels between four satisfaction,
performance in dimensions of performance,
export relationship on export export
channels” channel performance marketing
and satisfaction. channels
 67

Table 3. Some research on export performance.

Authors Article/ Book Journal/Publisher Objective Keyword

Katsikeas “Firm-level Journal of the Assess and critique Export

et al. export Academy of export performance performance,
(2000) performance Marketing Science measurements as well as firms,
assessment: make several strategy
Review, implications for export
evaluation and strategy
development”

Madsen “Empirical export Advances in Focuses on the Export

(1987) performance international performance of commitment,
studies: a review marketing exporting firms from the firm-level
of angle of commitment export
conceptualizations towards exporting performance,
and findings” small and
medium-
sized firms

Shoham “Marketing - mix Journal of Global Identify strategies that Determinants,

(1996) standardization: Marketing lead to export export
Determinants of performance and performance,
export evaluate the reliability globalization
performance.” and validity of these
measures

Leonidou “Marketing Journal of Synthesize extant Export

et al. strategy Business Research knowledge on the performance,
(2002) determinants of subject based on a meta- export
export analysis of empirical marketing
performance: a studies on the export strategy,
meta-analysis” marketing strategy– meta-analysis
performance relationship

Jraisat “Drivers of International Explore the drivers of Information

(2010) information Marketing Review information sharing sharing,
sharing and between two key export
export members of an agri-food performance,
performance in supply chain in Jordan Jordan
the Jordanian and investigate the link
agri-food export to export performance
supply chain”
 68

Table 4. Some research on factors impacting export performance.

Journal/Publis
Authors Article/ Book Objective Keyword
her

Achrol “The environment Journal of the Analyze marketing channel Marketing,

et al. of marketing Academy of dyads and focus mainly on export
channel dyads: A Marketing relationships between performance,
(1983)
framework for Science channel members. relationship
comparative
analysis”

Julian “Export Journal of Identify the statistically Export

(2003) marketing Small Business significant predictors of marketing
performance: A Management export marketing performance,
study of Thailand performance for Thai export Thailand,
firms” firms product-
market
export
venture

Kogut “A study of the Cooperative Introduce different factors Joint venture,

(1988) life cycle of joint strategies in and their effects on R&D cooperative,
ventures” international and economic growth R&D
business

Kaufmann “Internationalizati International Conclude that the Cooperation,

(1995) on via co- Small Business relationships between co- small and
operation— Journal operating partners and the medium
strategies of type of co-operation are firms,
SME” decisive for their success in- internationali
international market -zation

Elwan et “The effect of Journal of Analyze the effect of supply Supply chain
al. linkages and Manufacturing chain linkages and performance,
(2012) information Technology information sharing on export
sharing on supply Management supply chain performance performance,
chain and export and export performance of information
performance: An textile and clothing (T&C) sharing
empirical study of firms in Egypt
Egyptian textile
manufacturers”
 69

3.3. The way to resolve inconsistencies from extant export performance research
One of the main objectives of a systematic literature review is to "resolve definition
ambiguities and provide an aggregated, aggregated view of the current state of knowledge"
(Palmatier et al., 2018). Therefore, we found that export performance researchers often neglect
to clearly define what is involved in export performance and focus only on certain aspects of
the relationship between influencing factors and export performance. This has led to
inconsistencies between studies on the main component of export performance. Despite the
increasing amount of research on export performance, no definition has been widely accepted
and consistent (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994). The researchers agree that this issue is complex and
that the selection of indicators of export performance depends on contextual factors, especially
with regard to the research methodology applied, the specificity of the business and the target
audience (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
In order to resolve such inconsistencies in the existing literature and give an overall, but
complex definition of export performance, we move away from concepts that have been used
somewhat vaguely to describe export performance in previous research. Instead, we follow the
approach used by Adu-Gyamfi &korneliussen (2013), relying on key influence variables. The
authors rearrange previously used concepts along with other key influencing factors such as
competitiveness and Marketing-mix (Shoham, 1996; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Chen et al., 2016;
Homburg et al., 2008).
4. Research gaps and directions for future research
4.1. Research gaps
Studies on international supply chain cooperation and export performance have brought
out many different aspects of the target subject regionally or globally. The majority of scholars
agree that supply chain cooperation will positively impact export performance under various
criteria such as competitive advantage or position in foreign markets or through information
sharing for better decision making (Kogut, 1988; Haddoud et al., 2018; Kaufmann, 1995; Jraisat
et al., 2013). Some researchers focus on cooperation in typical regional or national exports such
as Greek wine (Karelakis et al., 2008), Vietnamese agricultural products (Ha L.T., 2021) or
apparel. India (Anbanandam et al., 2011). Therefore, the importance of supply chain
cooperation, as well as its relationship with export performance, is studied and evaluated from
a multi-dimensional, comprehensive perspective with more objective conclusions.
After researching and synthesizing the work of previous scholars, some research gaps
were discovered by the authors as follows:
First, the impact of international supply chain cooperation on export performance has
been confirmed in many studies. However, assessments of the impact on export performance
are limited because performance is shown in many aspects and is not easy to quantify.
Second, studies of export performance in the majority stop at assessing the impact on
the export performance of a certain industry or country. There has not been much research on
the factors affecting export performance at the continental and international level.
 70

Third, through a review of previous studies, we found that each study had a diversity of
factors and discovered new ones, but there was no uniformity and sometimes contradiction in
terms of positive, negative or neutral relationship with export performance. Moreover, most
studies investigate the direct link between factors and export performance without analyzing
the intermediate or reciprocal effects of each factor.
Research by Viet, B. N. et al. (2017) has demonstrated characteristics and abilities the
capacity of the enterprise, the management capacity, and the export marketing strategy affect
the export results of the enterprise in the seafood industry. In which the export marketing
strategy is considered as an intermediate variable that affects export results. Research by Thanh,
V. N. et al. (2018) proves the same thing. Compared to Viet, B. N. et al., this study had the
inclusion of a relationship factor in the model, however, it has not been proven that this factor
has an impact on export results. The factors listed in the above two studies are the group of
internal factors and are consistent with the perspective of CBV capacity management, but both
of these studies did not study the separation of internal and external factors, but have
demonstrated quite a lot of factors such as industry characteristics, export market
characteristics, domestic market characteristics that affect export performance. By using CBV
theory and inheriting the results of these two studies, the authors build the factors of the
resources or internal capabilities of the enterprises into independent variables to analyze the
relationship with export results. These resources are extended across a variety of factors
including competitiveness and branding capabilities.
From the above research overview, it can be seen that in Vietnam, very few studies have
exploited the relationship between international supply chain cooperation and export performance,
particularly in the seafood industry. From there, it can be seen that studying this relationship will
bring more insights to the understanding of international supply chain cooperation.
4.2. Future research directions
Combining the changes with findings from a systematic literature review, we identify
three directions for future research that will have a major impact on the research team's
understanding of international supply chain cooperation. Economic and export efficiency of
Vietnamese seafood enterprises: (1) the direct impact of supply chain cooperation on the export
performance, (2) the indirect impact of supply chain cooperation on the export performance
through information sharing, and (3) the indirect impact of supply chain cooperation on the
export performance through supply chain performance. Below, we briefly discuss each research
direction and offer initial proposals that can serve as a source of ideas for future studies.
4.2.1. The direct impact of supply chain cooperation on export performance
In terms of the effect of supply chain cooperation on export performance, the majority
of empirical evidence supports a positive effect, with a few exceptions of studies showing
mixed results. Horta, Brito and Brito (2009) found that a company's cooperation with its
customers positively affected market share, but did not have any effect on its profitability.
However, in the international marketing literature, the view that supply chain cooperation will
 71

positively impact exporter’s performance has been supported by several earlier studies
(Jungbok, 2011; Racela et al., 2007). Due to the nature of the export channel environment, it is
recognized that internal competencies alone are unlikely to lead to export success (Ling-yee
and Ogunmokum, 2001).
Since then, in future studies, the authors are oriented to show how international supply
chain cooperation affects the export performance of Vietnamese seafood enterprises.
4.2.2. The indirect impact of supply chain cooperation on export performance through
information sharing
The level and quality of information exchange depends on the cooperative relationships
established in the international supply chain, which can help improve performance (Zelbst et
al., 2009). Sezen (2008) focused on modeling the supply chain of 125 Turkish manufacturing
companies that empirically investigated the relative impacts of supply chain cooperation and
information sharing on enterprises’ export performance in terms of flexibility and output. Hsu
et al. (2008), using data from the United States, Europe, and New Zealand, examined the
multidimensionality of a company's ability to share information about information
system/decision cooperation and business processes with its supply chain partners and found a
positive relationship between its ability to share information and relationships between buyers
and suppliers, as well as between relationships and performance. Zelbst et al. (2009) called for
investigation on the non-technical aspects of exchange cooperations on supply chain
relationships and information sharing and their effects on a company's export performance.
Based on the results given in the above studies, future research will show how
international supply chain cooperation impacts the export performance of Vietnamese seafood
enterprises through information sharing in the supply chain.
4.2.3. The indirect impact of supply chain cooperation on export performance through
supply chain performance
The impact of supply chain cooperation on supply chain performance has been studied
for ages. Lee et al. (2007) developed a multivariate regression model based on a survey of 122
U.S. manufacturing companies to measure the effect of cooperation with supplier and customer
on supply chain performance indicators. They found that supplier cooperation had a positive
impact on supply chain partners' reliability and cost. Zelbst et al. (2009) evaluated the
relationship of supply chain cooperation to supply chain performance and developed multi-
commodity scales to measure them in terms of strength, benefits, and risk mitigation. Lee et
al. (2007) use "efficiency" and "effectiveness" as key variables in measuring supply chain
management performance. Efficiency is the ability to provide services using the least input, and
efficiency is the ability to meet special customer requirements (Fawcett and Clinton, 1996).
Lummus et al. (2005) viewed flexibility as a subset of agility and in a study of expert opinion
defined "supply chain flexibility" as a company's ability to adjust its operations and influence
its suppliers to respond to changing needs and changes required for new products in a timely
manner. Beamon (1998) proposed a framework with three types of performance measurement
of flexibility, resources, and output.
 72

In our view, "flexibility" measures the "performance" of the supply chain in responding
to changes in product design, delivery times, volumes, and mixes. "Resources" measures the
"performance" in the use of resources in a supply chain system. Output measures include
customer satisfaction. From there in future studies, the authors aim to use supply chain
cooperation to measure the performance of the supply chain.
5. Conclusion
Cooperation in the international supply chain and export performance is a key concern
for both supply chain scholars and executives. Over time, research in this domain has generated
many valuable insights into the theoretical basis of cooperation in the international supply chain
and export performance, especially for Vietnam.
Moreover, it is found that international supply chain cooperation proves to be a
remarkable predictor of export performance, despite the complicacy of scaling export
performance. Given the quantity of published research on export performance, it is
unpredictable that the conclusions are limited to specific industries and regions. To conclude,
the authors have defined the scope of international supply chain cooperation and export
performance, integrated and synthesized the two object literature, and developed several
promising directions for future research.

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MINH CHỨNG BÀI VIẾT THAM GIA HỘI THẢO CIEMB 2022
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 83

THE DETERMINANTS OF EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN

THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ERA: A LITERATURE
REVIEW AND A SYSTEMATIC STUDY

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hung, Nguyen Hoang Duong, Tran Ngoc Duong,
Mai Thi Xuan Lan, Nguyen Duc Manh, Bui Thi Tuoi
School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract
With the ever-increasing evolution of technology and its integration into the business
world, a decision regarding its acceptance or rejection remains an open question. As one of the
key indicators of the firm’s ability to successfully leverage its resources and capabilities in the
international context, export performance has been one of the most extensively studied
phenomena. The main aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive literature review of the
determinants of export performance in the digital transformation era. Based on a systematic
assessment of research, the authors review the major themes discussed in the literature, identify
and resolve inconsistencies and definitional ambiguities, and develop a conceptual model
integrating and synthesizing the current knowledge about factors affecting export performance
of enterprises exposed to digital transformation. Consequently, the assessments of research are
identified: (a) the use of mediator and moderator variables in export performance studies has
increased; (b) more investigations have been conducted on the external environment in their
models, including industry-level and country-level characteristics; (c) little research has
focused on the influence of big data analytics capabilities-related factors. The authors conclude
by highlighting some implications for further advancement in the field.
Keywords: Determinants, digital transformation, export performance

1. Introduction
With the rapid development of international business, export remains the most
commonly used method of entering foreign markets, as it provides companies with a high level
of flexibility and a cost-effective way to enter new foreign markets. As a result, in recent
decades, considerable emphasis has been placed on the company's export activity. Over the last
50 years, the effective progress of export performance research has shown that this region has
continued to grow. Export performance was defined in this study as the result of a company's
activities in the export market (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
The survival and expansion of businesses, as well as the resulting economic growth of
many countries, are heavily reliant on a better understanding of the factors influencing their
exports. With the rise of global business activities and the emergence of global competition, as
more articles about export performance are published in leading journals, there has been an
increase in interest in studying the determinants of export performance. Despite this growing
 84

interest, little literature review summarizes recent developments and suggests future directions
in this field. Even those are considered, each theory provided only a discrete view of export
performance. As a result, there is no systematic theoretical foundation or framework that can
explain all of the dynamics of export performance. Furthermore, while many determinants are
investigated, only a few are thoroughly investigated. Indeed, previous reviews (e.g Zou and
Stan, 1998) concentrated on assessing the impact of independent factors on export activity while
ignoring the impact of control and regulatory variables.
As a result, existing knowledge on the determinants of export performance must be
synthesized in order to facilitate theoretical development and improve management practices in
this area. This study aims to provide an up-to-date review and analysis of the empirical literature
on the determinants of export performance from 1998 to 2022, as well as to discuss future research
directions in the digital transformation era. The research paper is divided into four sections: The
first section defines the scope of the evaluation and explains the criteria used to determine
qualified studies. Second, the descriptive features of the studies under consideration are
summarized and evaluated in three ways: (a) fieldwork characteristics; (b) sampling; and (c)
statistical methods. Third, the export performance determinants discussed in this document are
examined. Finally, the implications and future research directions are discussed.

2. Scope and analytical approach of the literature review

This review focuses on synthesizing the empirical literature published between 1998
and 2022 on determinats of export performance. Studies published prior to 1998 are not
included because comprehensive reviews of those works have been provided by Madsen
(1987), Aaby and Slater (1989), Chetty and Hamilton (1993), and Zou and Stan (1998). The
following are the six main selection criteria for relevant articles: (1) Consider export research
as the primary goal; (2) Export performance is variable dependent; (3) Empirical research, with
data and statistical analysis; (4) The study must contain sufficient information about the
research methodology; (5) The study considers exports from a more micro perspective; and (6)
The study must examine exporting companies rather than other forms of business. As a result,
theoretical studies and case studies are not permitted. The current study, similar to previous
reviews (e.g., Aaby and Slater, 1989; Zou and Stan, 1998; Sousa et al., 2008), only looked at
English-language publications.
A systematic process combining computer and manual directory search methods,
primarily using leading marketing journals and international business academic journals,
determines the qualifying studies included in this paper. In total, 108 articles published in 35
journals between 1998 and 2022 were reviewed. The increasing number of papers published by
scientists in the field of export activities, particularly in the digital transformation era,
demonstrates the topic's growing importance.
 85

In terms of analytical methods, the authors decide against using meta-analysis because
it requires a high level of consistency between different studies involving the measurement of
independent and dependent factors, study design, study population, research context, and
statistical approach to analytical data (Cook et al., 1997). Instead, the authors decide to take
Zou and Stan's (1998) approach and use the vote-counting technique. Given the variety of
measurements and types of analysis used in studies of export performance, this approach is
most appropriate. This technique summarizes the number of studies reporting significant
positive impacts, significant negative impacts, or negligible impacts on export performance for
each independent factor, providing a clearer picture for the reader. The following are the
fundamental assumptions of the vote counting technique: (1) the effect size is equivalent; (2)
the sample size is unrelated to the test results; and (3) multivariate and bivariate techniques are
consistent (Zou and Stan, 1998).

3. Description of the studies reviewed

3.1. Measures of export performance
Despite the development of several broad taxa, there has been no unified
conceptualization and operationalization of export performance. Export performance was
measured in 58 different ways across the 108 studies examined, with 25 different measures used
only once or twice. This situation impedes the progress of export performance documentation
because it makes it difficult to compare and contrast findings in this area (Zou and Stan, 1998;
Oliveira et al., 2012).
The most commonly used economic measures of export performance are export
profitability (45), growth in export sales (47), export sales (32) and export intensity (29). Non-
economic performance measures are used less frequently, whereas satisfaction with export
performance (27) and achievement of export targets (24) are used to evaluate performance.
Notably, 56 of the papers reviewed used only one export performance indicator. Because export
performance is a multifaceted phenomenon, using multiple measures to capture various aspects
of the export performance structure and improve indicator performance is critical.

3.2. Theoretical basis

Apart from 16 papers without explicit theoretical basis, the remaining 92 studies
derived their research hypotheses with clear reference to some theoretical and conceptual
frameworks. The most widely used are the resource-based view (RBV) (43), contingency theory
(11), institutional-based view (IBV) (9), and organizational learning theory (OLT) (8). Other
theories are considered as well namely behavioral theory (4), relationship marketing theory (6),
transaction cost theory (4)...
In order to provide a more comprehensive view, researchers tend to integrate theories
to support their analysis and arguments. A total of 39 out of the 108 reviewed papers combined
more than two theories as their research basis.
 86

3.3. Fieldwork characteristics

3.3.1. Country of study
In general, developed countries attract more research interest than developing
countries. Out of the 108 studies reviewed, 18 studies were conducted in European contexts
such as Greece, Italy, German... While the USA and China remained the most researched
nations in export performance studies (Prasad et al., 2001; Ling-yee and Ogunmokun, 2001a;
and Zou et al., 2003), increasing attention was paid to emerging markets, with 41 out of the 108
studies reviewed. These findings also indicated that Asia, South and Central America and
Africa have received gradual attention from researchers.
In addition, a significant advancement was the collection of data from multiple
countries by 14 studies. Such cross-national research can account for the contextual factors of
two or more countries, which increases the generalizability of the research findings and reduces
the limitations caused by single-country samples (Boehe and Cruz, 2010).

3.3.2. Industrial sector

With the exception of four studies (Contractor et al., 2005; Dean et al., 2000; Lee and
Griffith, 2004; Robertson and Chetty, 2000) that focused on only one manufacturing industry,
the vast majority of the studies reviewed involved samples drawn from multiple industrial
sectors, with an emphasis on manufacturers of industrial. Furthermore, despite the growing
significance of the service sector in the international market, few studies (Sichtmann et al.,
2011; Droge et al., 2012) conducted on reselling and service firms. While this may reflect the
importance of manufacturing exports in the world economy, the generalizability of the findings
to other industry contexts should not be taken for granted because it calls into question the
findings' external validity.

3.3.3. Firm size

While some studies included large firms in their samples, relatively few studies
compared large firms with small and medium-sized firms in terms of the determinants of export
performance. This focus may reflect the perception that exporting by small and medium-sized
firms accounts for the largest part of the industrial base.
However, regarding firm size, two considerations must be noted: (1) the measurement
criteria differed among studies making comparisons challenging; and (2) due to the geographic
focus, the meaning of the terms ‘small’, ‘medium’ and ‘large’ vary greatly in an international
context. Thus, it remains unclear whether the determinants of export performance differ
between large and small or medium-sized firms.
 87

3.4. Sampling
3.4.1. Sample size
Among the reviewed studies, 100 papers collected primary data, 24 studies used
secondary data that are collected by the national statistics department or third institutions. For
studies using primary data, the sample size ranged from 52 to 3,141 with an average of 277, and
the average response rate is 34.3%. For studies using secondary data, the sample size ranged from
141 to 359,874 with an average of 33,975. As expected, the sample size of those studies using
second-hand data is significantly larger than those using primary data. In terms of the survey data,
the sample size in respect of the most recent nine years is larger than that of previous studies. On
average, the increasing sample size improves validity and generalizability, and allows for more
sophisticated statistical analysis (Sousa et al., 2008).

3.4.2. Unit of analysis

Cavusgil and Zou (1994) maintained that the proper unit of analysis in export
performance research should be the export venture. Venture-level studies acknowledge more
concrete and specific antecedents in exporting assessment (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994; Sousa et al.,
2008). Between 1998 and 2022, 54 out of the 108 studies focused on the export venture level in
their analysis. Compared with former literature reviews, more venture-level research is seen
between the periods 2018 -2022. However, two concerns are raised about venture-level studies.
First, the use of the export venture may fail to capture latent firm-level variables. Second, venture-
level measurements of export performance are inappropriate in some instances. Studies that
measured export venture performance by using export function instruments may present invalid
managerial implications (Oliveira et al., 2012). The choice of the unit of analysis should depend
on the research questions, and venture-level analysis does not work for all.

3.5. Statistical methods

Consistent with a prior review (Sousa et al., 2008), the majority of studies employed
multivariate data analysis, such as structural equation modeling (SEM), the partial least square
path model (PLS-PM), factor analysis (FA), and multi-regression analysis. Particularly, a
considerable number of studies (63) used structural equation modeling techniques for hypothesis
testing. All the classic multivariate techniques (e.g. multivariate regression, factor analysis,
multivariate analysis of variance, discriminant analysis) share the common limitation that they
can only examine one relationship at a time (Hair, 2009). As an extension, SEM and PLS-PM
offer an integrated framework, which is able to estimate a synthetic set of relationships and
comprise specific measurement properties of latent variables simultaneously with the
consideration of all possible information (Hair, 2009). In addition, both OLS regression and
ANOVA see limitations in their assumptions of normality and homoscedasticity (Glass et al.,
1972; Judd et al., 1995). Real data, in fact, are normally skewed (Judd et al., 1995), which leads
to a great concern regarding Type-I and Type-II error rates, thus creating increasing uncertainty
about the estimation, and also decreasing statistical power. More attention to the methodological
assumptions and the appearance of sample data appearance is thus recommended. Additionally,
more robust estimators (e.g. maximum likelihood estimator, M-estimator, bayesian estimator,
etc.) should be considered.
 88

4. Conceptual framework
4.1. Firm-level factors
4.1.1. Export marketing strategy
The export marketing strategy - performance relationship has been widely studied.
Strategic marketing decisions are driven by a firm’s internal resources and capabilities, its
managers’ characteristics, and the external environment. Katsikeas et al. (2006) indicated that
export success is determined by the contingency between export strategies and the marketing
environment context, and hence, there can be no generalized optimal strategy. Besides, strategic
implementation effectiveness and strategic suitablility are also key determinants of export
performance but are neglected by many studies (Katsikeas et al., 2006; Morgan et al., 2012;
Ramaseshan et al., 2013).

4.1.2. Firm characteristics

Another important consideration is the company's fundamental qualities. The most
frequently examined variables are specifically export size and enterprise export experience, and
a large body of empirical research confirms the beneficial effects of these two factors on export
performance. According to Bertrand (2010), export performance benefits from prior export
expertise. To meet the requirements of export activities on the worldwide market, firm
characteristics and strategy decisions about export marketing are linked. The majority of scientific
studies concured that companies undergo fundamental change as a result of digital transformation
(Burki, 2018). Even if the benefits may be indirect, studies suggested that businesses can use
digitalization to improve their corporate cultures (Lee and Falahat, 2019).

4.1.3. Firm capabilities

Corporate competence is a key theme in international business studies, and it is
recognized as one of the key factors in promoting sustainable competitive advantage and shaping
export activity (Lages et al., 2009). The strategic orientations studied and found to have a
significant influence on a company's international behavior and its respective export activities.
Therefore, the company's capacity is the main source of the company's export advantages and is
central to the company's existence and sustainable development (Knight and Cavusgil, 2004).
Several researchers have observed the advantages of digital technology in companies (Bedell-
Pearce, 2018; Subramaniam et al., 2019) and companies that have already begun their digital
transformation are more competitive and thus can more easily adapt to changing ecosystem
conditions.
4.1.4. Management characteristics
Management factors are also critical to the success of the business. Export managers are
the ones who make decisions and strategies to strengthen and expand foreign markets, which will
inevitably affect the company's export activities (Katsikeas et al., 2000). However, some studies
have shown a negligible effect of managers' experiences on exports (Lages et al., 2008). Even
with the growing trend of SMEs using the Internet for internationalization in international
activities in general and export performance in particular, there is still a lack of studies on the
effects of digitalization on management (Costa et al., 2020).
 89

4.2. Industry-level characteristics

The level of technology adoption in an industry seems to be a good predictor of export
performance. One possible explanation for this is the global nature of technology-based
competition. Successful companies must be alert to challenges and explore links in order to
achieve and maintain their international competitiveness (Crick and Jones, 2000). This finding is
thought to reinforce the observation made earlier in this paper for firms’ technology level and
export performance, that is, the intensity of technology use can be beneficial in terms of
performance. Export productivity is significant for firms operating in some sectors but may be
less important for others that compete in more traditional industries (Bell et al., 2004).

4.3. Country-level characteristics

The difference between the domestic market and the foreign market creates both
inevitable opportunities and challenges for enterprises engaged in export activities (Sousa and
Novello, 2014). According to IBV, institutional factors play an important role in strategic
decisions, and these strategies have a further influence on exports (Peng et al., 2008).
Chen et al. (2016) identified six domestic elements that are thought to affect export
activity, including domestic demand, export support, local market features, infrastructural quality,
regulatory quality, and institutional environment.
Yet, there exists a widespread recognition of the importance of country environments –
economic, institutional and cultural environments, factor conditions and national resource
asymmetries on firms’ economic performance, including export performance (Katsikeas et al.,
2000; Sousa et al., 2008; Zou and Stan, 1998).

4.4. Mediator variables

The mediator variables can explain the indirect relationship between determinants and
export performance, highlighting how and why such links exist (Mackinnon, 2015; Shoham,
1998). Although a significant number of studies use export marketing strategies as mediators in
their conceptual models, they do not directly acknowledge or examine the mediating effects of
their studies (Kim và Frazier, 1997; Matanda và Freeman, 2009; Sousa and Novello, 2014). This
omission leads to incomplete theory and empirical bias in the results of testing hypotheses.

4.5. Moderator variables

Moderator variables were largely ignored in the pre-1998 literature (Sousa et al. 2008),
but by considering these, it is possible to place them in more developed conceptual models to
establish mechanisms that consider the conditions for the maximum performance of certain
determinants for superior export performance (Baron and Kenny, 1986). In fact, Sousa et al.
(2008) found that only three variables were studied as moderators (i.e. company size, international
experience, and environmental chaos). Particularly, recent studies (Boso et al., 2013) start to
develop hypotheses only focusing on the moderating effect.
 90

Table 1. An overview study of export performance

Journal/
Author Articles/Books Objective Keywords
Publisher
Katsikeas “Firm-level Journal of the Academy Evaluate the Export
et al. export of Marketing Science criteria for performance,
(2000) performance measuring the company,
assessment: results of export strategy
Review, activities as well
evaluation and as give some
development” implications for
the export
strategy

Madsen “Empirical Advances in internatio- Focus on the Export

(1987) export nal marketing activities of commitments,
performance exporters from export
studies: a the perspective of activities at
review of commitment to the level of
conceptualizati export companies,
ons and small and
findings” medium
enterprises

Shoham “Marketing - Journal of Global Identify strategies Determinants,

(1998) mix Marketing that lead to export export
standardization activity and performane ,
: Determinants assess the globalization
of export reliability and
performance.” effectiveness of
these measures
 91

Leonidou “Marketing Journal of Business Synthesis of Export

et al. strategy Research views on this performance,
(2002) determinants topic based on a export
of export meta-analysis of marketing
performance: a empirical studies strategy,
meta - of the export- meta-analysis
analysis” effectiveness
marketing
strategic
relationship
Jraisat “Drivers of International Explore the Information
(2010) information Marketing Review dynamics for sharing,
sharing and information export
export sharing between activities,
performance in two key members Jordan
the Jordanian of the agricultural
agri-food supply chain in
export supply Jordan and
chain” investigate the
link to export
performance

Source: Authors’ compilation

In Table 1, there are quite prominent studies on export performance. However, these
studies have not directly examined the intermediate and regulatory variables affecting export
performance or highlighted how they affect the determinants of export performance.

Table 2. An overview study of factors affecting export performance

Number of works
Author Factors affecting export performance
studied overview
Madsen (1987) Reviewed 17 studies External environmental factors, organizational
published between factors of the enterprise and strategic elements of
1964 and 1985. the enterprise.
Aaby and Reviewed 55 studies External environmental factors; enterprise capacity,
Slater (1989) published between group characteristics, marketing orientation,
1978 and 1988. corporate strategy.
Zou and Stan Reviewed 50 studies Marketing strategy, management views and
(1998) published between attitudes, management characteristics,
1987 and 1997. characteristics and competencies of the company,
 92

industry characteristics, foreign market

characteristics and domestic market characteristics.
Katsikeas et al. Reviewed 103 studies Management factors, organizational factors,
(2000) published in the 90s. environmental factors, target factors and marketing
strategy elements.
Leonidou et al. Reviewed 36 studies Management characteristics, organizational factors,
(2002) published between environmental factors, export objectives and
1960 and 2002. marketing strategy.
Sousa Reviewed 52 studies Marketing strategy, enterprise characteristics,
et al. (2008) published between management characteristics, foreign market
1998 and 2005. characteristics, domestic market characteristics.
Leonidou et al. Reviewed 821 studies Environment (domestic economic downturn,
(2010) published between regulatory environment, political risks of the host
1960 and 2007. country), Organization (Enterprise size, company
age/experience, product characteristics,
international market experience, functional
characteristics), management (external orientation,
objective characteristics, subjective characteristics,
stylistic decision-making)
Mysen (2013) Reviewed 52 studies Marketing strategy, characteristics and capabilities
published between of the enterprise, governance structure, relational
1995 and 2011. atmosphere, control mechanisms, market
characteristics.
Chen et al. Reviewed 124 studies Characteristics / competencies of the enterprise,
(2016) published between management characteristics, industry-level
2006 and 2014. characteristics, country-level characteristics
(foreign market characteristics and domestic market
characteristics) and marketing strategy.
Source: Authors’ compilation
In Table 2 are prominent studies that directly study the factors affecting export
performance. From these studies, we have a clearer view of the variables affecting export
performance and also create a theoretical framework around it.

5. Discussion and implications

Despite the considerable attention devoted to research in the export sector, the current
assessment shows that empirical research on the determinants of export performance is
characterized by a lack of consistency and diversity, limiting theoretical development and
improvement in management practice. In correlation with previous reviews (Zou and Stan, 1998,
Katsikeas et al., 2000, Leonidou et al., 2002, Sousa et al., 2008, Leonidou et al., 2010, Mysen et
al. 2013, and Chen et al., 2016), recent export performance literature show significant progress
 93

has been made in the digital transformation period, besides the discrete and contradictory factors
in empirical research.

5.1. Theoretical issues

A complete and in-depth theory is important and is always seeking to provide a more
comprehensive understanding of the secret to export success (Katsikeas, 2006). However, a
general theory that can comprehensively explain the coordination and importance of all the
premises in international business remains to be found (Singh, 2009).
Although widely used, RBV still has certain limitations. In particular, it is limited in its
ability to explain differences in the export performance of resource-shared firms (Kraaijenbrink
et al., 2010), competitive advantages maintaining in volatile markets (Villar et al., 2014) or the
mechanism of the non-resource transition (Kraaijenbrink et al., 2010). To address these
limitations, emerging theories or new perspectives in international business have the potential to
overcome and contribute to theoretical developments, such as the RBV extended dynamic
capacity theory.
In addition, a few studies on export performance considered export performance as a
precondition for strategic change and management behavior (Lages et al., 2008). This type of
strategic adaptation in response to past performance is difficult to achieve if RBV is used for
prediction (Tsinopoulos et al., 2014). In this case, OLT can be used as a potential method to
provide a theoretical basis for long-term studies on export performance.
However, despite the encouragement to combine theories, each has a different
focus, and the results obtained from integrating theories may be inconsistent or even
contradictory, especially for theories that have incompatible objects (Conner, 1991).
Therefore, special care should be taken when researchers intend to integrate two or more
theories into a conceptual framework.

5.2. Methodological issues

5.2.1. Fieldwork
Most of the studies were conducted in the US and developed countries, but more
attention have been paid to the fast-developing countries (e.g. South Africa, and Brazil) or
countries that play an increasingly important role in the global economy, such as the BRIC group
(Tan and Sousa, 2011). Additionally, more multinational approaches should be taken to obtain
comparable results where similarities and differences in the determinants of export performance
can be identified. Given the openness of the Vietnamese economy, related research topics require
special consideration, but the attention paid to this topic is insufficient.
For the type of industry, more research is still needed on non-manufacturing sectors to
fill the research gap and generalize the effects of industry on exports.

5.2.2. Data sources

More flexible, unique, and detailed primary data is obtained that may not be available
from secondary sources. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to get secondary data at the venture
level as they may be outdated and not fit a particular conceptual model. However, secondary data
 94

are often objective and come from large sample sizes, making them more suitable for time series
analysis or panel data.
Common methodological variance (CMV) is a major threat to survey data because it
limits the validity of research results on associations between variables. Several potential
remedies are used: partial correlation technique, single method scale approach, single method
factor approach and multiple factor approach.
Future researchers should use both primary and secondary data sources, but they
should pay special attention to the accuracy, quality, and representativeness of primary data, as
well as the analytic power and response of secondary data. Secondary data has a greater sample
size and is more objective, whereas primary data will be flexible and aid researchers in
achieving various study goals.

5.2.3. Statistical methods

Since exporting is a transnational activity, the determinants of export performance are
interrelated, interacting, and stimulating, all of which require advanced analytical statistical
methods. The majority of the research took into account linear relationships by using basic linear
regression. However, the growing unpredictability in export activity raises the possibility that the
linearity of the relationship between variables may not hold (Lisboa, A., Skarmeas, D., and Lages,
C., 2013). Future studies should concentrate on the nonlinear relationship, combining with the
use of moderator and mediator variables to identify higher-order and second-order relationships
between determinants and export performance.

5.3. Managerial implications

In the era of digital transformation, along with the development of technology, and
online trading platforms, experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic, online consumption habits take
the throne, bringing e-commerce into the mainstream and presenting different opportunities and
challenges for businesses.
Export managers should consider both the internal characteristics and the external
environment of the company. Specifically, enterprises should invest more in developing long-
term business relationships with customers, import intermediaries, and suppliers in the supply
chain; improve company management capacity; implement an appropriate export marketing
strategy, and diversify products to meet the demands of each export market. Meanwhile,
managers should take into account the institutional environment, cultural diversity, psychological
distance, and the dynamics of export markets to be successful in the new market.
Vietnam's increasing integration and strong import and export promotion is now
regarded as a "golden time" to undergo a digital transformation, gain a competitive advantage,
and actively engage in global value chain. Enterprises promote big data analysis ability to bring
all business operations, such as including placing orders, scheduling production, tracking progress
and maintaining quality to the digital environment. Due to the connectivity of information,
corporate leaders can quickly manage operations and make effective strategic decisions.
 95

5.4. Policy implications

In general, as firm exports benefit from high-quality institutions, improving the quality
of institutions should always be a primary goal of public policy makers, especially important for
emerging economies. Furthermore, government support for smaller exporters can help them
overcome resource gaps that can limit their expansion and export success. Such a customized
approach seems more sensible to policymakers wishing to facilitate exports (Wheeler et al., 2008).
To improve the effectiveness of export support programs and stimulate export activities,
policymakers should commit to improving overall institutional quality and adjusting government
regulations on corporate heterogeneity.

6. Conclusion
This article has gathered 108 articles from 35 journals published between 1998 -2022
for a synthesis of related literature. It can be seen that much effort has been made in identifying
the determinants of export performance and more consideration has been given to finding an
appropriate theoretical basis to explain the findings. Indeed, many theoretical bases have been
applied and new premises for export activities have also been identified. In particular, more and
more studies are looking at interactive and indirect relationships, as they are thought to be able to
promote more pragmatic and contingent structural relationships. On the other hand, researchers
have paid more attention to data quality and the relevance of big data capabilities in their studies.
Despite these advances, current research efforts and results remain fragmented, diverse,
and the reporting of descriptive statistics in future studies could be a step in the right direction to
facilitate the use of more sophisticated meta-analytic methods.

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MINH CHỨNG THƯ CHẤP THUẬN CỦA HỘI THẢO IFEAMA 2023
 101

FACTORS IMPACTING EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF

ENTERPRISES - A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Nguyen Xuan Hung*, Nguyen Hoang Duong, Tran Ngoc Duong, Mai Thi Xuan Lan,
Nguyen Duc Manh, Bui Thi Tuoi
School of Trade and International Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: hungnx@neu.edu.vn

Abstract
Export performance increasingly affirms an essential role for the development of
enterprises in business activities. The factors affecting export performance are the main concern
of scholars and professionals. Researchers have investigated many aspects of export
performance and the factors that influence export performance. This article provides a
systematic literature review of factors affecting firm export performance. Based on a systematic
review of research, the authors review the key themes discussed in the literature, identify and
resolve research inconsistencies and gaps, and develop a conceptual model of integrating and
synthesizing current knowledge on factors affecting export performance of enterprises. In
addition, the authors also identify three future research directions including: (1) Conducting
research combining diverse factors in various companies from different countries to assess the
impact of factors on the export performance of enterprises; (2) Using financial and non-
financial measures to assess the impact of factors on the export performance of enterprises and
(3) Using the marketing-mix as a mediator variable to assess indirect impact of factors on export
performance of enterprises.
Keyword: Export, factors, impact, performance
1. Introduction
With the rapid development of international business, export plays an essential role in
the survival and development of many companies (Chen et al., 2016). Therefore, in order to
remain competitive in today's international markets, it is important for firms in emerging
markets to improve their export performance (Adu-Gyamfi and Korneliussen, 2013). Despite
the increasing number of studies on the issue of export performance, there is still no universally
accepted and consistent definition (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994). Almost all previous studies have
confirmed that export performance should be considered an important factor in determining the
operational success of any enterprise (Nuseir, 2016).
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However, exporters always have to face stiff competition in all aspects: price, quality,
distribution channel, technology,... Especially, exporters are also under pressure from importing
countries' regulations including laws, and protection policies,... (Tri C.M., 2018). The study of
the factors affecting export performance of enterprises is a stepping stone for enterprises to self-
assess and examine business plans to achieve the desired goal in the future.
In the context of increasingly developing and expanding markets that are no longer
limited to a specific geographical area, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the
factors that influence enterprise export performance. more than ever before, because it will have
a direct impact on business performance. Meanwhile, Vietnam is in the process of accelerating
international economic integration, especially in the field of international trade by participating
in free trade agreements. Therefore, it becomes more urgent to conduct research on supply chain
and international supply chain cooperation to assist businesses in participating in international
supply chains. Until now, a number of related studies have been mentioned from various
perspectives. To further clarify the impact of international supply chain cooperation and its
relationship to enterprise export performance, a study to evaluate related studies is required. As
a result, the article will fill a gap in the scope of export performance by conducting a systematic
review of existing supply chain and export performance literature, then propose some directions
for future research.
The structure of the research paper consists of 5 parts: (i) Introduction, (ii) Research
method, (iii) Literature review, (iv) Directions for future research, (v) Conclusion.
2. Research method
With the goal of providing an overview of the studies that have been conducted and
published on the topic of export performance of enterprises, the authors conducted a
systematic literature review. In particular, this study uses both qualitative and quantitative
research methods to acquire a thorough understanding of enterprise export performance and
international supply chain cooperation, as well as methods and research theories that have
been used in earlier publications.
2.1 Search procedure
During the study, the authors employed a number of techniques to identify and classify
relevant articles. The team began by conducting manual searches and filtering of articles related
to international supply chain cooperation and export performance of the business. The authors
compiled a list of pertinent papers by manually examining keywords, article names, and
summaries to find related publications. Scopus, Elsevier Science Direct, and PubMed are the
three primary databases. In addition, the team further the search by reviewing the reference list
of related articles discovered in the previous step, also known as the Backward and Forward
Reference Search method (Johnson & Jaramillo, 2017).
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2.2 Inclusion criteria

All articles are then evaluated using the following standards:
First, international papers must be published in peer-reviewed journals to ensure the
quality and reliability of research results. For studies in Vietnam, the scope has been expanded,
including a number of articles from peer-reviewed journals because of their significant impact
in the field in Vietnam.
Second, this paper focuses on evaluating empirical studies, and theoretical studies have
been eliminated in order to prioritize subject flexibility while investigating in different aspects
and contexts, as well as highly ensuring the subject of research results.
2.3 Evaluation methods
After the above search and selection process, the relevant articles have been synthesized
and divided into four categories: Studies on international supply chains, studies on international
supply chain cooperation, studies on export performance of enterprises, and studies on the
impact of international supply chain cooperation on export performance of enterprises. In
addition, after collecting quantitative data, the team also employed auxiliary tools to precisely
assess and categorize the outcome. The authors then identified the issues, levels and scope
raised in related works, pointed out research gaps in previous research and proposed some
potential future directions in the particular context of Vietnam.
3. Literature review
Our findings address the following key issues: (1) The way export performance research
has been conducted, (2) The major themes within the export performance literature, and (3)
Research gap and the way to resolve inconsistencies from extant export performance research.
3.1 The way export performance research has been conducted
The majority of export performance studies to date have been published in a limited set
of journals. Our review of export performance literature uncovered interesting insights
regarding how research into the impact of factors on export performance has been carried out
and how this has changed over time.
First, the papers were mainly country/region-specific integrative insights of export
behaviour (84.5%), which were not yet linked between countries, continents or the world.
Anbanandam, R., Banwet, D.K., & Shankar, R. (2011) evaluated the export performance of the
garment retail industry in India; Vieira et al. (2009) conducted cooperative research in Brazilian
supermarket retail chains; Julian, C. J. (2003) focused on Thai companies, Bonaccorsi (1993)
studied Italian exporters’ business activities, Da Rocha and Christensen (1994) reported
Brazilian enterprises with finding export intermediaries.
Second, while the majority of papers used qualitative research methods (mostly interviews;
45.2%) or surveys (38.4%), the analysis indicated that export performance did not develop
according to the familiar pattern of original studies using qualitative research methods to explore
the phenomenon, followed by testing hypothetical quantitative research between key variables.
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Third, the studies mainly applied a quantitative approach by applying questionnaires.

Measurement items are sourced in the relevant literature, wherever feasible. New categories
have been proposed and adapted to the current context of the study. Beamish & Banks
(1987); Tallman & Shenkar (1994); Koivisto & Vesalainen (1994); Horta and Brito (2009);
Haddoud et al. (2018) both performed a pre-examination that was carried out involving
academics and export managers to ensure word suitability prior to the implementation of
the questionnaire. After receiving experts’ feedback and making relevant changes, the final
draft of the questionnaire was developed. Questionnaires are sent to import and export
managers in companies.
Fourth, the research of export performance is still under maturity (Sousa et al., 2008),
and still characterized by divergence and discordance (Katsikeas et al., 2000, Sousa et al., 2008,
Tan and Sousa, 2011). Although a range of theories are considered, each individual theory only
provides a fragmented view of export performance. As such, a systematic theoretical basis and
framework that could comprehensively explain all of the drivers of export performance remains
absent (Lages et al., 2008, Wheeler et al., 2008, Tan and Sousa, 2011). Furthermore, whilst a
wide range of determinants are explored, few of these are studied in depth. Indeed, most studies
investigate the direct links between the antecedents and export performance, but ignore the
interacted and nested relationship among those causes.
3.2 The major themes within the export performance literature
3.2.1 Research on export performance
Table 1 includes authors who focus on export performance of enterprises in business world.
Despite the increasing number of studies that have been addressing export performance,
there is no consistent definition (Cavusgil & Zou, 1994). It is generally accepted that this
construct is complex and the choice of its measurement indicators depends on contextual
factors, particularly concerning the research method adopted, the specificity of the business and
the target audience (Katsikeas et al., 2000). With the rapid growth of international business,
exporting plays a key role in many firms’ survival and growth (Chen et al., 2016). Exporting
activities enhance organizational capabilities, which, in turn, generate additional resources that
boost the firms’ performance (Filatotchev et al., 2009). In an extensive review of literature,
export performance was considered a significant and vital element in determining the success
of the operations of any business (Nuseir, 2016). In order to stay competitive in today’s global
marketplace, it is crucial for firms in emerging markets to improve their export performance
(Adu-Gyamfi & Korneliussen, 2013).
Study of Madsen (1987) was the first review study of export performance. Later, export
performance is defined as the outcome of a firm’s activities in the export market (Shoham,
1996; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Jalali, 2012; Chen et al., 2016), as the extent to which a firm’s
objectives, both strategic and financial, with respect to exporting a product to a market, are
achieved through the execution of the firm’s export marketing strategy (Cavusgil & Zou, 1994;
Lages et al., 2008), and as the degree to which the firm accomplishes its goals when selling an
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item to an international business sector (Navarro et al., 2010). Meanwhile, Jraisat (2010)
characterized by developing a new approach in export performance understanding. This
research attempts to link supply and demand sides based on the influence of information sharing
on export performance.
There are three ways of measuring export performance: financial or economic (Zou &
Stan, 1998; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Leonidou et al., 2002), nonfinancial or noneconomic (Zou
& Stan, 1998; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Leonidou et al., 2002), and generic (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
Among the measures of export performance, economic measures are the most frequently
utilized, being seen as export profitability, export sales growth, export sales, and export
intensity. Non-economic performance measures are less frequently employed, among which,
satisfaction with export performance, and export goal achievement are used relatively often to
assess performance. Meanwhile, generic measures are evaluated by perceptions or overall
export satisfaction (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
3.2.2 Factors impacting export performance
This cluster involves authors who have focused reviews on factors impacting export
performance (Table 2).
A large number of antecedents are found to have significant influence on export
performance. Sousa et al. (2008) identified two distinct aspects of impacting factors including
internal variables and external variables. Following the classification of the determinants, the
authors sort all the antecedent factors based on their definitions and measurements. Specifically,
internal variables consist of firm-level factors which refer to the export marketing strategy, firm
characteristics/capabilities and management characteristics. External factors, on the other hand,
are sorted into industry-level characteristics and country-level characteristics.
3.2.2.1 Firm-level factors
Among the reviewed papers, firm-level variables are the most studied impacting factor
of export performance. Firm-level factors are then divided into four subgroups: export
marketing strategies, firm characteristics, firm capabilities, and management characteristics.
a. Export Marketing strategy
The export marketing strategy - performance relationship has been widely studied.
Strategic marketing decisions are driven by a firm’s internal resources and capabilities, its
managers’ characteristics, and the external environment (Katsikeas et al., 2006). Katsikeas et
al. (2006) indicated that export success is determined by the contingency between export
strategies and the marketing environment context, and hence, there can be no generalized
optimal strategy. Beside the strategy itself, strategic implementation effectiveness and strategic
fit are also key determinants of export performance but are neglected by many studies
(Katsikeas et al., 2006, Morgan et al., 2012, Dow, 2006, Ramaseshan et al., 2013, Antonietti
and Marzucchi, 2014, Zeriti et al., 2014).
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b. Firm characteristics
The firm’s basic characteristics are widely considered. Specifically, export size and firm
export experience are the most commonly studied variables, and empirical evidence widely
supports the positive impact of these two variables on export performance. Bertrand (2010)
revealed that export experience augments the positive effect of outsourcing on export
performance. In a global market, export marketing strategic decisions are intertwined with firm
characteristics to respond to export performance (Lipuma et al., 2013).
c. Firm capabilities
Firm capabilities have been a central theme of international business research, which
are recognized as one of the pivotal elements in driving sustainable competitive advantage and
shaping export performance (Barney et al., 2001, Lages et al., 2009). Other novel strategic
orientations are studied and found to significantly influence a firm’s international behaviour
and its corresponding export performance (Hortinha et al., 2011). Thus, firm capabilities are a
main source of the firm’s performance advantage and central to the firm’s continued survival
(Knight and Cavusgil, 2004, Yalcinkaya et al., 2007).
d. Management characteristics
Management factors are also crucial to business success. Export managers make
decisions and strategies to enhance and expand the overseas market, which will inevitably
influence the firm’s export performance (Katsikeas et al., 2000). However, some studies
indicated the insignificant influence of managers’ experience on export perfor mance
(Lages et al., 2008).
3.2.2.2 Industry-level characteristics
Industrial factors are rarely studied in the period 2006-2014, the exception being
industrial characteristics, industry adaptation, industry concentration and technological related
variables. Technological developments will improve commitment within the whole industry
and, may eventually lead to increased export performance of individual firms. Future research
should consider the domestic industrial developments, as these may also be related to
improvements in firms’ international image and commitment.
3.2.2.3 Country-level characteristics
Differences between the domestic market and foreign market pose inevitable
uncertainties and opportunities for firms engaged in exporting activities (Sousa and Novello,
2014). According to the IBV, institutional factors play an important role in strategic decisions,
and these strategies in turn have further influence on export performance (Peng et al., 2008).
Chen et al. (2016) identified six domestic factors, including domestic demand, export
assistance, local market characteristics, infrastructure quality, legal quality and institutional
environment, all of which are found to impact export performance.
Among foreign market factors, competitive intensity attracts the most interest with
mixed empirical results. For instance, Katsikeas et al. (2006) revealed a positive relationship
between competitive intensity and marketing strategy standardization, whereas in contrast,
Sousa and Novello (2014) detected an insignificant association between competitive intensity
and price adaptation.
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Yet, there exists a widespread recognition of the importance of country environments –

economic, institutional and cultural environments (Dunning, 1988); factor conditions (Porter,
1990); national resource asymmetries (Fahy, 2001); country-of-origin effects (Balabanis and
Diamantopoulos, 2004) – on firms’ economic performance, including export performance (Das,
1994; Morgan and Katsikeas, 1998; Sullivan and Bauerschmidt, 1989; Tesfom and Lutz, 2006;
Westhead et al., 2001; Whitelock and Jobber, 1999; Zahra et al., 1997). Using an export
performance model developed among Austrian firms, these researchers attempted to explain
the drivers of export performance for US firms, but found a very different set of influential
factors. They concluded that export performance “is strongly influenced by background
variables from the local business environment” (Stottinger and Holzmuller, 2001).
3.2.2.4 Mediator variables
Mediating effects could explain the indirect relationship between determinants and
export performance, highlighting how and why such links exist (Baron and Kenny, 1986).
Although a considerable number of studies use marketing strategies as mediators in their
conceptual models, they do not directly acknowledge or test mediating effects in their studies
(Matanda and Freeman, 2009). This omission leads to incomplete theorization and empirical
bias in the results of the hypotheses testing.
3.2.2.5 Moderator variables
Moderator variables were largely ignored in the literature before 1998 (Sousa et al.
2008), yet by considering these, it is possible to place them into more developed conceptual
models to establish mechanisms considering conditions for maximal effectiveness of certain
determinants for superior export performance (Baron and Kenny, 1986). In fact, Sousa et al.
(2008) found that only three variables that were studied as moderators include firm size,
international experience and environment turbulence. Particularly, recent studies (Boso et al.,
2013) start to develop hypotheses only focusing on the moderating effect.
Table 1. Some research on export performance

Authors Article/ Book Journal/Publisher Objective Keyword

Katsikeas “Firm-level export Journal of the Assess and Export

et al. performance Academy of critique export performance,
(2000) assessment: Review, Marketing Science performance firms,
evaluation and measurements as strategy
development” well as make
several
implications for
export strategy
 108

Madsen “Empirical export Advances in Focuses on the Export

(1987) performance studies: international performance of commitment,
a review of marketing exporting firms firm-level
conceptualizations from the angle of export
and findings” commitment performance,
towards exporting small and
medium-sized
firms

Shoham “Marketing - mix Journal of Global Identify strategies Determinants,

(1996) standardization: Marketing that lead to export export
Determinants of performance and performance,
export evaluate the globalization
performance.” reliability and
validity of these
measures

Leonidou “Marketing strategy Journal of Business Synthesize extant Export

et al. determinants of Research knowledge on the performance,
(2002) export performance: subject based on export
a meta-analysis” a meta-analysis of marketing
empirical studies strategy, meta-
on the export analysis
marketing
strategy–
performance
relationship

Jraisat “Drivers of International Explore the Information

(2010) information sharing Marketing Review drivers of sharing, export
and export information performance,
performance in the sharing between Jordan
Jordanian agri-food two key members
export supply chain” of an agri-food
supply chain in
Jordan and
investigate the
link to export
performance
 109

Table 2. Literature reviews on factors impacting export performance

Studies Number studies for Factors impacting export

review performance

Madsen Review of 17 studies External environmental factors, organizational

(1987) published from 1964 to elements of the business, and strategic elements of
1985. the business.

Aaby and Review of 55 studies External environmental factors; enterprise

Slater published from 1978 to capacity, corporation characteristics, marketing
(1989) 1988. orientation, corporation strategy.

Zou and Review of 50 studies Marketing strategy, management attitudes and

Stan published from 1987 to perceptions, management characteristics, firm’s
(1998) 1997. characteristics and competencies, industry
characteristics, foreign market characteristics, and
domestic market characteristics.

Katsikeas Review of 103 studies Managerial factors, organizational factors,

et al. published in 1990s environmental factors, targeting factors, and
(2000) marketing strategy factors.

Leonidou Review 36 studies Management characteristics, organizational

et al. published from 1960 to factors, environmental factors, export targeting, and
(2002) 2002. marketing strategy

Sousa Review 52 articles Marketing strategy, firm characteristics,

et al. published between 1998 management characteristics, foreign market
(2008) and 2005 characteristics, domestic market characteristics.
 110

Leonidou Review 821 articles Environmental (domestic economic recession,

et al. published between 1960 regulatory environment, host country political risk),
(2010) and 2007 Organizational (Firm size, company
age/experience, product characteristics,
international market experience, functional
characteristics), managerial (foreign orientation,
objective characteristics, subjective characteristics,
decision-making styles)

Mysen Review 52 articles Marketing strategy, firm characteristic and

(2013) published between 1995– competencies, governance structure,
2011 relationship atmosphere, control mechanisms,
market characteristics.

Chen et al. Review 124 studies Firm characteristics/capabilities, management

(2016) published from 2006 to characteristics, industry level characteristics,
2014. country level characteristics (foreign market
characteristics and domestic market
characteristics), and marketing strategy.

3.3 Research gap and the way to resolve inconsistencies from extant export
performance research
3.3.1 Research gap
After researching and synthesizing the work of previous scholars, some research gaps
were discovered by the authors as follows:
First, the factors impacting export performance have been confirmed in many studies.
However, assessments of the impact on export performance are limited because performance is
shown in many aspects and is not easy to quantify.
Second, studies of export performance in the majority stop at assessing the impact on
the export performance of a certain industry or country. There has not been much research on
the factors affecting export performance undertaken for multinational approaches.
Third, although several broad taxonomies are developed, there is still no uniformly
implemented conceptualization and operationalization of export performance. The majority of
recent literature has only adopted fragmented and uncoordinated measures of export
performance. This circumstance impedes the advancement of export performance literature, as
it places difficulties in the way of comparing and contrasting the findings within this area.
Fourth, the majority of current studies concentrate on the influence of firm-level
resources, but neglect the significance of country-level characteristics. Therefore, it requires
further studies on the external environment to shed new light on the driving determinants of
 111

export performance from contextual aspects, thereby illuminating that both firm resources and
environmental factors are influential in this respect.
Fifth, most prior studies pay adequate attention to direct determinants, meanwhile
mediating effects explaining the indirect relationship between determinants and export
performance has not been really clarified.
Sixth, the research of export performance is still characterized by divergence and
discordance in terms of positive, negative or neutral relationship with export performance.
Moreover, most studies investigate the direct links between factors and export performance
without analyzing interacted and nested relationships among those causes.
From the above research overview, it can be seen that although a range of theories are
considered, each individual theory only provides a fragmented view of export performance. As
such, a systematic theoretical basis and framework that could comprehensively explain all of
the drivers of export performance remains absent. These limitations, constituting serious
obstacles to the development of export performance research, indicate the urgency to
consolidate the recent literature.
3.3.2 The way to resolve inconsistencies from extant export performance research
One of the main objectives of a systematic literature review is to "resolve definition
ambiguities and provide an aggregated, aggregated view of the current state of knowledge"
(Palmatier et al., 2018). Therefore, we found that export performance researchers often neglect
to clearly define what is involved in export performance and focus only on certain aspects of
the relationship between influencing factors and export performance. This has led to
inconsistencies between studies on the main component of export performance. Despite the
increasing amount of research on export performance, no definition has been widely accepted
and consistent (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994). The researchers agree that this issue is complex and
that the selection of indicators of export performance depends on contextual factors, especially
with regard to the research methodology applied, the specificity of the business and the target
audience (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
In order to resolve such inconsistencies in the existing literature and give an overall, but
complex definition of export performance, we move away from concepts that have been used
somewhat vaguely to describe export performance in previous research. Instead, we follow the
approach used by Adu-Gyamfi &korneliussen (2013), relying on key influence variables. The
authors rearrange previously used concepts along with other key influencing factors such as
competitiveness and Marketing-mix (Shoham, 1996; Katsikeas et al., 2000; Chen et al., 2016;
Homburg et al., 2008).
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4. Directions for future research

Combining these changes with findings from a systematic literature review, we
identified three directions for future research that will have a major impact on the team's
understanding of the factors impacting your export performance: (1) Conducting research
combining diverse factors in various companies from different countries to assess the impact
of factors on the export performance of enterprises; (2) Using financial and non-financial
measures to assess the impact of factors on the export performance of enterprises and (3) Using
the marketing-mix as a mediator variable to assess indirect impact of factors on export
performance of enterprises. Below, we briefly discuss each research direction and make initial
proposals that can serve as sources of ideas for future studies.
4.1 Conducting research combining diverse factors in various companies from
different countries to assess the impact of factors on the export performance of enterprises
Internal and external factors both have an impact on export performance. The corporate
resource-based perspective (RBV) and stochastic theory, sometimes known as industrial
organization theory (IO), are represented by this section (Zou et al., 1998). According to the
RBV theory, a company is a collection of resources that it owns and controls, including assets,
capabilities, processes, management characteristics, information, and knowledge. This theory
enables a company to develop and implement strategies to increase efficiency, and the primary
factors affecting export performance are the internal organization's resources (Barney, Wright,
& Ketchen, 2001; Draf, 1983; Wernerfelt, 1984). However, according to the IO theory, a
company's strategy is determined by external circumstances, which also affect economic
efficiency (Scherer & Ross, 1990).
Empirical studies based on RBV and IO theories are growing. However, each author
only studied certain factors on a case-by-case basis. The authors propose a study combining
many factors in a group of companies in different countries in many industries to find factors
that strongly impact the export performance of enterprises.
4.2 Using financial and non-financial measures to assess the impact of factors on the
export performance of enterprises
Financial measurements, non-financial measures, and generic or general measures are
the three different categories of export performance measures (Chen et al., 2016; Katsikeas et
al., 2000; Zou & Stan, 1998). While non-financial measures concentrate on aspects of the
market or product as well as other aspects (export experience, the contribution of exports to
economies of scale, the contribution of exports to the company's reputation, number of export
transactions, and expected export participation (Katsikeas et al., 2000). Financial measures
concentrate on sales, profitability, and market share (Katsikeas et al., 2000; Zou & Stan, 1998).
General metrics include the degree to which export managers are satisfied with overall
export performance, export accomplishments, and export objectives (Katsikeas et al., 2000).
Three things lead to their frequent use: First, company representatives could be hesitant to share
private information with outsiders, especially if it relates to a specific area of their organization.
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Second, the majority of exporters are private, small- to medium-sized businesses, some of
which do not have adequate export accounting systems for reporting. Third, managers are not
required to make export sales or other performance information available to the public
(Leonidou et al., 2002).
The authors focus on measuring the export performance of enterprises by financial and
non-financial measures to make data transparent and more accurate assessment of factors
affecting the export performance of enterprises
4.3 Using the marketing-mix as a mediator variable to assess indirect impact of factors
on export performance of enterprises
By reviewing previous studies, it was found that each study had a diversity of factors
and discovered new ones, but there was no uniformity and sometimes contradiction in terms of
positive, negative or neutral relationship with export performance. Moreover, most studies
investigate the direct link between factors and export performance without analyzing each
factor’s intermediate or reciprocal effects.
In the future, the authors propose a picture of internal factors (corporate characteristics,
international commitments and international experience) and external factors (environmental
characteristics) and focus on marketing-mix strategy (Julian & O'Cass, 2002a, 2002b) with the
response of the business in the product, pricing, distribution and promotion. The marketing-mix
is the mediator of the research model.
5. Conclusion
Export performance is becoming a major concern for both academics and executives.
Over time, research has generated many valuable insights into the theoretical basis of export
activities and the factors affecting the export performance of enterprises. Furthermore, studies
have demonstrated that firm-level factors, industry-level characteristics, country-level
characteristics, mediator and moderator variables are significant factors affecting export
performance despite the complexity of measuring export performance. With the number of
published studies on export performance, the results are limited to specific industries and regions.
In conclusion, the authors have defined the scope of export activities, integrated and synthesized
research work on the subject, and developed some promising directions for future research.
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MINH CHỨNG BÀI VIẾT THAM GIA HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC QUỐC TẾ CHUYỂN
ĐỔI SỐ TRONG CHUỖI CUNG ỨNG QUỐC TẾ
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FACTORS AFFECTING COOPERATION IN THE

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN OF VIETNAMESE
SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES

MINH CHỨNG XUẤT BẢN CUỐN SÁCH "FACTORS AFFECTING

COOPERATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN OF VIETNAMESE
SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES"
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MINH CHỨNG BÌA CUỐN SÁCH "FACTORS AFFECTING COOPERATION IN THE

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN OF VIETNAMESE SEAFOOD ENTERPRISES".