Hien Thu Tran

Bio: Hien Thu Tran is an academic researcher from University of Ottawa. The author has contributed to research in topics: Entrepreneurship & Diversification (marketing strategy). The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 23 publications receiving 427 citations. Previous affiliations of Hien Thu Tran include University of Bologna & Edge Hill University.

The interplay of human and social capital in shaping entrepreneurial performance: the case of Vietnam

Abstract: This study investigates the effects of human capital, social capital and their interaction on the performance of 1,398 Vietnamese new-born firms. Operating profit is used as the measure of success. Human capital is captured by individual-level professional education, start-up experience, and learning. Whereas the first two dimensions of human capital are measured with traditional indicators, we define learning as the ability to accumulate knowledge to conduct innovation activities (new product introduction, product innovation and process innovation). Social capital is measured as benefits obtained from personal strong-tie and weak-tie networks. Key findings are threefold: (i) human capital strongly predicts firm success, with learning exhibiting a statistically significant positive association with operating profit, (ii) benefits from weak ties outweigh those from strong ties, (iii) interaction of human capital and social capital displays a statistically significant positive effect on new-firm performance.

Capital constraints and the performance of entrepreneurial firms in Vietnam

Abstract: Entrepreneurship has been among the key driving forces of the emergence of a dynamic private sector during the recent decades in Vietnam. This article addresses for Vietnam the questions “how capital constraints affect the performance of family firms” and “how entrepreneurs’ human and social capital interact with capital constraints to leverage entrepreneurial income.” A panel of 1721 firms in 4 years is used. Results are consistent with the resource dependency approach, indicating an adverse effect of capital constraints on firm performance: firms suffering capital constraints perform substantially better, suggesting that they need more capital simply to finance newly recognized profit opportunities. Human capital plays a vital role in relaxing capital constraints and improves the entrepreneurial performance, whereas the effect of social capital stemming from strong ties and weak ties is limited: strong ties bring emotional support and weak ties give nonfinancial benefits from regular and useful business contacts. Advanced econometric analysis tools to take into account the endogeneity of capital constraints are used to establish relationships among relevant variables.

Growth of Incumbent Firms and Entrepreneurship in Vietnam

Abstract: This paper analyzes the relationship between the performance of incumbent firms and the net entry of new firms by combining various theoretical views of entrepreneurship. Different regression models to treat dynamics and endogeneity issues are applied to test the research hypothesis with regional micro-data for 61 Vietnamese provinces from 2000 to 2008. The main finding is that net entry is associated with the performance of incumbent firms and the overall performance of the economy. Incumbents’ growth and gross domestic product growth induce changes in the existing production system and stimulate the creation of an economic environment more favourable to new firm formation. Consistent with the hypotheses put forward within the “knowledge spillover,” the “error-correction,” and other approaches, incumbents may generate new entrepreneurial opportunities not only for themselves but also for the whole society

De Jure Determinants of New Firm Formation: How the Pillars of Constitutions Influence Entrepreneurship

Abstract: This paper provides empirical evidence supporting the view that constitutions are the primary and fundamental institutional determinant of entrepreneurship It shows that some of the provisions contained in national constitutions are positively and significantly associated with a standard measure of entrepreneurial dynamics, namely the rate of new business density Using for 115 countries a novel dataset containing the characteristics of the constitutions enacted in the world, applying an IV-GMM treatment to deal with the endogeneity of constitutional rules, and controlling for de facto variables, the paper finds that provisions about the right to conduct/establish a business, the right to strike, consumer protection, anti-corruption, and compulsory education promote higher rates of new firm formation Contrasting results are instead obtained for provisions concerning protection of intellectual property rights

The Economic Institutions of Capitalism

Abstract: The 2008 crash has left all the established economic doctrines - equilibrium models, real business cycles, disequilibria models - in disarray. Part of the problem is due to Smith’s "veil of ignorance": individuals unknowingly pursue society’s interest and, as a result, have no clue as to the macroeconomic effects of their actions: witness the Keynes and Leontief multipliers, the concept of value added, fiat money, Engel’s law and technical progress, to name but a few of the macrofoundations of microeconomics. A good viewpoint to take bearings anew lies in comparing the post-Great Depression institutions with those emerging from Thatcher and Reagan’s economic policies: deregulation, exogenous vs. endoge- nous money, shadow banking vs. Volcker’s Rule. Very simply, the banks, whose lending determined deposits after Roosevelt, and were a public service became private enterprises whose deposits determine lending. These underlay the great moderation preceding 2006, and the subsequent crash.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The Concept of Corporate Strategy

Abstract: The Concept of Corporate Strategy. Por Kenneth R. Andrews. Homewood, III.: R. D. Irwin, 1980 Revised Ed. xi, 180 p.; 24 cm. Incluye referencias e indice. ISBN 0-256-02371-9.