Các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến năng lực cạnh tranh của các doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ ngành nuôi trồng thủy sản ở khu vực miền bắc việt nam

luận văn, khóa luận, chuyên đề, đề tài, báo cáo,

Thai nguyen University Southern luzon STATE University Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of Philippines

PHAN THỊ MAI HƯƠNG

(English Name: Diana)

“FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED AQUACULTURE ENTERPRISES IN THE

NORTH OF VIETNAM”

DOCTORAL THESIS

Thai Nguyên 2013

Acknowledgments

I would like to express our most sincere thanks to the Management Board of the

Southern Luzon State University, Thai Nguyen University,, the teacher of the school has

helped me facilitate the learning process throughout

I would like to express sincere gratitude and profound Professor Dr Cecilia N

Gascon enthusiastic teacher who have dedicated guidance, encouragement, spend time and

exchange orientation for me during this research

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the board of Directors of Aquaculture

enterprises In HaiPhong, QuangNinh, NamDinh, ThaiBinh, NinhBinh, ThanhHoa

Province has helped me research material, through a questionnaire survey

I sincerely thank the Board of the University of Labor and Social affair (ULSA),

colleagues in ULSA, classmates DBA1 facilitated enthusiastic help and share my

experience to help complete the thesis

Finally, I would like to send the gift to the heart of my family has passed enthusiasm

and encouragement to complete my thesis

DEED OF DECLARATION

I, Phan Thi Mai Huong (English name: Diana), hereby submit my thesis for oral

examination, entitled “FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF

SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED AQUACULTURE ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTH

OF VIETNAM” truthfully declare that the said paper is a product of my original research

Abstract

The study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting competitiveness of SMEs in aquaculture of Northern Vietnam The research utilized both primary and secondary data The respondents in this study were the members of board of directors of 122 small and medium aquaculture enterprises of six coastal provinces in the North of Vietnam Data for this study was collected via email with director of aquaculture enterprises The study adapted from David Aker’s model (2007) for analyzing the factors impacting competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises in 6 coastal provinces of Northern Vietnam Eight criteria that this dissertation identifies as most important internal factors accounting for enterprises’ competitiveness include: finance capability, management capability, intangible assets, manufacturing equipment, marketing, production capability, human resource and R&D

The dissertation identified the indicator of competitiveness of small and medium sized aquaculture enterprises in Vietnam nowadays and in particular evaluated the factors affecting the competitiveness of small and medium aquaculture enterprises in the North of Vietnam

Aquaculture enterprises in Quang Ninh own the highest level of competitiveness with the score of 4.04 (maximum level is 5) In addition, the dissertation ranked the competitiveness of Northern Vietnam at the average level with the score of 3.40

In order to enhance competitiveness, small and medium aquaculture enterprises in northern areas should focus on implementing a number of measures: (1) improving production capacity; (2) innovating equipment and technology; (3) building brand; (4) improving the quality of the labor force in aquaculture sector, (5) pushing up the activities

of product research and development.

APPROVAL SHEET

This thesis, entitled “FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL

prepared and submitted by Phan Thi Mai Huong in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Business Administration has been examined and recommended for acceptance and approval for ORAL EXAMINATION

Professor Dr Cecilia N Gascon Adviser

Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of PASSED on …… 2013 Dr……… ……… Member

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER I……… 1

INTRODUCTION……… 1

1 Background of the study 1

2 Statement of the problem 3

3 Hypothesis 5

4 Objective of the study 5

5 Scope and limitations of the study 6

6 Definition of terms 6

CHAPTER II……… 9

LITERATURE REVIEW……… 9

1 Conceptual framework 9

1.1 Concept of competition 9

1.2 Porter’s 5 forces Model 10

1.3 Analyzing competitors & David Aaker’s model 12

2 Literature Review 14

CHAPTER III……… 20

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……… 20

1.Research design 20

2 Location of the study 22

3 Population, Sample Size and Sampling technique 22

4 Description of research points 24

5 Research Instrument 24

6 Statistical analysis 25

CHAPTER IV……… … 27

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……… 27

1 Evaluating the reliability of statistic data 27

3 Analysis the factors of the competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Aquaculture

Enterprises of the six provinces in the North of Vietnam 31

3.1 Financial capability 32

3.2 Management Capability 34

3.3 Intangible assets 36

3.4 Manufacturing equipment and technology capability 38

3.5 Marketing 40

3.6 Production capability 44

3.7 Human Resources 45

3.8 R&D 48

4 Comparison of competitiveness between provinces in Northern Vietnam in aquaculture sector 49

4.1 Financial capability of six coastal provinces in the North of Vietnam 49

4.2 Management Capability 51

4.3 Intangible assets 52

4.4 Manufacturing equipment and technology capability 53

4.5 Marketing 54

4.6 Production capability 56

4.7 Human resources 57

4.8 Research and Development 58

5 Evaluating the competitiveness level of the aquaculture sector in the north of Vietnam 61

CHAPTER V……… 86

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 86

1 Conclusions 86

2 Recommendations 86

APPENDIX 1 : SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE………97

APPENDIX 2: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF EACH PROVINCE 102

APPENDIX 3: ANOVA ANALYSIS……… 112

APPENDIX 4: POST HOC TESTS……… 117

APPENDIX 5: KSF competitor ranking 6 provinces of northern Vietnam in aquaculture sector……… 136

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: KSF Competition Ranking 13

Table 2: Research Respondents 23

Table 3: Cronback alpha of financial capability 27

Table 4: Cronback alpha of management capability 27

Table 5: Cronback alpha of intangible assets 28

Table 6: Cronback alpha of manufacturing equipment and technology capability 28

Table 7: Cronback alpha of marketing 29

Table 8: Cronback alpha of production capability 29

Table 9: Cronback alpha of human resources 30

Table 10: Cronback alpha of research and development 30

Table 11: Illustration method of calculating group variables via mean value 31

Table 12: Financial Capability Crosstabulation 32

Table 13: Management Capability of aquaculture enterprises in the North of Vietnam 34

Table 14: Number of aquaculture enterprises assessed management capability at high level of six provinces in the North of VietNam 36

Table 15: Intangible assets Crosstabulation 37

Table 16: Manufacturing equipment and technology capability Crosstabulation 39

Table 17: List of Basa price of six coastal provinces surveyed (per kg) 40

Table 18: Price of prawn of six coastal provinces surveyed (20 units / kg) 41

Table 19: Marketing Crosstabulation 43

Table 20: Production capability Crosstabulation 44

Table 21: Human Resources Crosstabulation 46

Table 22: R&D Crosstabulation 48

Table 23: Post Hoc Tests on financial capability 50

Table 24: Post Hoc Tests on management capability 51

Table 25: Post Hoc Tests on intangible assets 52

Table 26: Post Hoc Tests on Manufacturing equipment and technology capability 54

Table 27: Post Hoc Tests on marketing 55

Table 28: Post Hoc Tests on production capability 56

Table 29: Post Hoc Tests on Human Resources 57

Table 30: Post Hoc Tests on Research and Development 59

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Value Chain (Porter 1985) Error! Bookmark not defined Figure 2: Maps of Vietnam and its 63 provinces (name of coastal provinces are shown only) 22

Figure 3: Number of companies assessed financial capability of six provinces 32

Figure 4: Number of enterprises having high rate of intangible assets 37

Figure 5: Market share of six province in 2012 in domestic maket 42 Figure 6: Number of aquaculture enterprises is rated human resource in six provinces surveyed at

Abbreviation

RE

Sea product export

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1 Background of the study

Market economy and international integration are creating many opportunities and challenges for enterprises, especially the small and medium sized enterprises So how Vietnam’s Small and medium sized enterprises should operate to survive and develop in a competitive and integrative environment is now a major issue worth being paid great attention to

In recent years, the Vietnam's economy in general and aquaculture sector in particular

is in the process of economic integration in the Region and the World This is also a great opportunity for aquaculture enterprises in the North of Vietnam However, aquaculture enterprises in the North have met the big challenges such as stiff competition

Opportunities of SMEs:

First, Vietnam is increasingly involved deep integration into the economy of the region

and the world, opportunities for the aquatic products will increasingly be expanded The northern aquaculture enterprises will have the huge global market for export and opportunities to expand the market and attract more foreign investment They will receive conditional preferential tariffs when exporting fishery products to the WTO member countries, especially countries where seafood and capable of penetrating the mass consumption large, such as the EU, USA, Japan, China This is a great opportunity for aquaculture enterprises in northern areas could increase exports, to expand the market and high business efficiency

Second, in recent years aquaculture enterprises in the North have the opportunity to

acquire the advancement of science and technology in the world in aquaculture, processing and trading

Thirdly, this time, aquaculture enterprises in the northern region can more easily raise

their capital There have been a lot of commercial banks founded with the broader lending

Fourth, the WTO, the commodity market's seafood sector is expanding north, the

conditions for aquaculture enterprises to exploit huge potential market to penetrate with reasonable rates, service rates cheaper inputs However, it also means that competition is increasingly fierce, with the tightening conditions seafood export to foreign countries Many aquaculture enterprises are well aware of hygiene and food safety so they have invested in new construction or further upgraded, complete renovation by expanding, innovative modern equipment to meet the standards and requirements specifications, product diversification

Besides the opportunity, the aquaculture enterprises in the Northern region have to face challenges following:

First, competition in the market for seafood is fierce, while the competitiveness of

seafood in northern areas is low The ability to automate the production is not high, resulting in a cost some products of the North region is higher than the same type of commodity in other areas of the country Therefore products of aquaculture enterprises of the northern region to compete with other enterprises in the country: category, price and product quality

Second, most of the aquaculture enterprises in the northern region are small-scale

production, weak production capacity So many enterprises have fallen into weak position

to produce goods in large quantities and high quality

Third, facilities of many aquaculture enterprises in the northern region are old, outdated

technologies they lack of funds for the renovation of equipment manufacturing

Fourth, the quality of labor in the aquaculture enterprises in the northern region is low,

limiting the access to scientific and technical progress in advanced manufacturing The training of managers and technical workers pay attention nowadays but due to limit funds and experience, so the number of training classes are not many, did not meet the requirements in terms of quantity and quality, especially the lack of skilled entrepreneurs

Conclusion, the current aquaculture enterprises in northern region are facing many opportunities and also many difficulties and challenges However, it should be aware that the advantages and the comparative advantages of major enterprises belong to the objective

factors, while the challenges that they meet belongs to the subjective factors derived from the inside of enterprises

Therefore, to achieve high efficiency, they need to know to take advantage of every opportunity and comparative advantage of themselves to overcome challenges to achieve effective high production, high efficiency of integration

2 Statement of the problem

Aquaculture sector is strength of Vietnam and has now been identified as key economic sectors of the country by the achievements that this sector has achieved in the past and future prospects Currently, the Northern region of Vietnam has 122 aquaculture enterprises in six coastal provinces Every year, the manufacturing aquatic sector brought considerable income for the region and for the country

However, besides the results achieved are still many potential problems such as the shortage of skilled labor, less diverse products These problems are potential risks for the development of the aquaculture enterprises Therefore, the identification of factors affecting the competitive advantage of the aquaculture enterprises in the northern region is urgently needed to provide solutions improving the competitiveness of these enterprises

So far today, a number of researches on the competitiveness of enterprises, especially the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, and the activities of Sea Product Export (AQUACULTURE) Vietnam have been done, but no research has looked into the factors affecting the competitiveness of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in aquiculture

Therefore, the author has chosen thesis “Factors affecting the competitiveness of Small

and Medium Sized aquiculture Enterprises in the north of Vietnam” In this study, the

authors focus on identifying the factors that affect the competitiveness between the aquaculture enterprises in the northern region to propose recommendations to improve the capacity competition for them

The study is aimed at finding out the factors affecting the competitiveness of aquiculture Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMES) in the north of Vietnam From this some solutions to each factor will be given to improve the competitive advantages of

In order to achieve the aim of study, the researcher will have to answer the following research question:

 Which factor affects the competitiveness of the small and medium sized aquaculture enterprises in the North of Vietnam?

 How is competitive level of aquaculture enterprises in the North of Vietnam evaluated?

There are many factors that affect competition; they can be divided into two main groups of factors: external factors and internal factors

a- External factors include:

 In the same area to the north of Vietnam so the climatic conditions of the provinces surveyed are similar to each other

 Tax policy, interest rates, fiscal policies and regulations on administrative procedures specified performance across Vietnam

3 Hypothesis

While collecting and studying the factors impacting on the competetiveness between aquaculture enterprises in the Northern of Vietnam, author gives the following hypothesis: financial capability, human resources, manufacturing equipment and technology capability, production capability, management capability, marketing research and development, intangible assets shall influence on the competetiveness between aquaculture enterprises in the Northern of Vietnam

4 Objective of the study

The main objective of the study is to analyze the factors affecting the competitiveness

of the small and medium-sized enterprises in aquaculture in the Northern part of

Vietnam

Specifically, this study aims to:

1 Identify and analyze the relationship of factors affecting the competitiveness of aquaculture SMEs in the north of Vietnam

2 Identify and measure how these factors affect the performance of aquaculture SMEs

3 To formulate solutions to improve the competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises in the North of Vietnam

Significance of study

The results of this study are the picture of the factual situation of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in aquiculture in the north of Vietnam This study identified factors affecting the competitiveness of the small and medium sized enterprises in aquiculture, especially in the north of Vietnam The result of study showed some

enterprises to meet the circumstances and environment of stiff competitiveness in the Northern region of Viettnam

5 Scope and limitations of the study

The study was carried out in small and medium sized enterprises in aquiculture in six coastal provinces the north of Vietnam

The research focuses on presenting the factors affecting the competitiveness of enterprises in aquiculture in north of Vietnam and giving some solutions to improve the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises in aquiculture in the future

6 Definition of terms

To ensure common understanding among the readers, the following terms are defined conceptually and operationally:

Aquaculture

of aquatic organisms including mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated

of marine and freshwater aquatic organisms (plants and animals) under controlled conditions This definition encompasses a broad range of operations, cultivating a wide variety of organisms, using a wide variety of production systems and facilities

Competitiveness

 According to Porter (1985) the definition of a conceptual term such as competitiveness is never true or false in an absolute sense but its appropriateness can be judged for specific research or policy question A shared definition of competitiveness will thus also reflect a shared view of what it should be used to analyze He defines the competitiveness of a location as the productivity that company located there can achieve

He uses this definition of competitiveness to understand the drivers of sustainable economic prosperity at a given location

 Competitiveness is the capability of achieving success in a competition of the same products on the same consumption market

Financial cabilitty

its operations are funded

Human resources:

The set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector

or an economy The set of skills which an employee acquires on the job, through training and experience, and which increase that employee's value in the marketplace

Intangible assets:

a brand, franchise, trademark, or patent opposite of tangible asset

Volume of products that can be generated by a production plant or enterprise in a

given period by using current resources

Profit:

The positive gain from an investment or business operation after subtracting for

all expenses opposite of loss

R&D:

Discovering new knowledge about products, processes, and services, and then applying that knowledge to create new and improved products, processes, and services that fill market needs

Revenue:

For a company, this is the total amount of money received by the company for goods sold or services provided during a certain time period It also includes all net sales, exchange of assets; interest and any other increase in owner's equity and is calculated before any expenses are subtracted

Technology: Referring to industries that are experiencing, or recently have

experienced, technological progress

Small and medium sized enterprises in Vietnam

 Vietnam’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprises can be defined as legal enterprises (regardless types of economic components, location and standard of production, technology, processing and trading capacity) with a certain capital volume and labour force satisfying the governmental regulations applied to particular industry in particular period of the country’s economic development

 Definition of a small and medium scale enterprise follow current World Bank and Vietnamese Government definitions The World Bank SME Department operates with three groups of small and medium-sized enterprises: micro-, small-, and medium-scale firms Micro-enterprises have up to 10 employees, small-scale enterprises up to 50 employees, and medium-sized enterprises up to 300 employees These definitions are broadly accepted by the Vietnamese Government (see Government decree no 90/2001/CP-

ND on “Supporting for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises”)

In “The Capitalist”, K Marx analyzed carefully the issue of competition in close connection with the forming of average profit and production cost K Marx presented two types of competition: competition within an industry and among industries

- Competition within an industry is the competition among capitalists producing and trading in products or services of the same category with the target of achieving absolute advantages in selling goods for optimal profit Tools to achieve that goal is improving and applying advanced technology to increase work productivity and decrease individual value

to a lower level than that of the social value The result of this competition process leads to the forming of market value and promotes progress of science and technology

- Competition among industries is the competition between capitalists producing and trading in products or services of different category, aiming at finding the most profitable market Means for achieving this aim is to move capital from business sectors of low profit rate (P’) to the ones of higher profit level The result of this competition process leads to the levelling of profits and the setting of an average profit rate, which changes values of goods into costs of production

The Vietnamese Language Encyclopaedia conceptualizes competition as “a battle between individuals, collectivises of the same functions for the final goal of becoming the winner”

In the interest of competition, especially competition in business, it is necessary to mention the aspect of competitiveness

Competitiveness is the capability of achieving success in a competition of the same products on the same consumption market

There are many different points of view on this aspect Some people think that competitiveness only indicates the capability of effectively carrying out production and trade activities and raising goods and service provision to a higher standard in order to improve quality of people’s life Some others believe that competition and competitiveness only show significance in trade relationships and are indicated in the indexes of real exchange rate While some economists think that competitiveness is only suitably viewed

at a micro level – company, others believe it should be analyzed at a macro level - nation

However, a recent research shows that some international organizations, supported by many famous economists, have advanced several solutions to measuring competitive advantages of nations, corporations, and companies, so that economic targets can be built

to measure key factors that influence and determine competitiveness According to the World Economics Forum 2009 (WEF), there are eight key factors that foster competitiveness of a nation: Government (accounting for 17%), Finance (17%), degree of market extensibility (16%), Labour (16%), Technology (11%), Infrastructure (11%), Constitution (6%), and Management (6%)

The famous American economist Michael Porter, who supports the idea that competitiveness depends much on five forces that determine profitability of a company It

is the original competitive forces model, which impact on an organization’s behavior in a competitive market

The first (The Degree of Rivalry) comes from production scale and level of current competition between companies, which are specified in the following data: the presence of competitors in an industry; the quantity of products/services of a company; the level and features of competition (“devastating” or “polite”, good willed or unfair); the relation between the growth rate of an industry with demand of the market; fixed expenses, quantity

of products in storage, costs of differentiating and modifying products Companies are struggling to maintain their power The competition changes according to sector development, diversity and the existence of barriers to enter In addition it is an analysis of the number of competitors, products, brands, strengths and weaknesses, strategies, market shares

The second (Supplier Power) comes from suppliers providing input source for the companies of a sector This force depends on the strength of suppliers such as concentration, scarcity of supplies and the importance of input factors Powerful suppliers can impose their conditions in terms of price, quality and quantity On the other hand if there are a lot of suppliers their influence is weaker One has to analyse the number of realized orders, the cost of changing the supplier, the presence of raw materials

The third (The Threat of Entry) comes from the participation of potential competitors, which could create a new productivity and supply source for a sector It is in a company’s interest to create barriers to prevent its competitors to enter to market They are either new companies, or companies which intend to diversify This barrier can be legal (patent, regulations…), or industrial (products or single brands, …), … The arrival of new entrants also depends on the size of the market (economy of scale), the reputation of a company already installed, the cost of entry, access to raw materials, technical standards, cultural barriers

The fourth (Buyer Power) comes from customers, who demand to buy things at a low price and use better services, and from the customers who regularly order goods in large quantity If the products or services cannot meet the customers’ need, pressure will rise dramatically If the bargaining power of customers is high, they influence the profitability

of the market by imposing their requirements in terms of price, service, quality,… Choosing clients is crucial because a firm should avoid to be in a situation of dependence The level of concentration of customers gives them more or less power Generally their bargaining power tends to be inversely proportional to that of the suppliers

The fifth (The Threat of Substitutes) comes from the ability of other sectors to replace

is for the industry to make profit These substitute products can be dangerous and the company should anticipate to cope with this threat

When analysing these five forces, M Porter clarifies the advantages and disadvantages

of an enterprise in competition Apart from these five different pressures, there is a common one for all This is also called the general environment factor, including natural condition, population, economy, politics, laws, social culture, and technology This factor

is rare and, if any, will be hardly to control, but it can directly influence companies

Rivalry among firms is the central force determining a business’s competitive position

It is therefore necessary to analyse competitors in a similar way to how enterprises would

do with their own businesses The elements of a competitor analysis are:

• Current strategy or positioning;

• Strengths;

• Weaknesses;

• Opportunities;

• Threats;

• Possible changes in strategy;

• Reaction to changes in your business’s strategy;

• Financial strength;

• Operational strength

David Aker proposed a model to rank a business against its competitors based on key success factors (KSF) Key success factors are assets or skills that enable success in the marketplace, whether they provide sources of sustainable competitive advantage or create parity with competitors They may provide a differentiable advantage or be necessary to achieving parity with competitors KSFs may be technological, financial, legal-contractual, behavioral, or cultural Increasingly, they are human resources related and reside in how the work force is recruited, developed, managed, and rewarded KSFs provide a useful

framework in which to assess organizational strengths and weaknesses Analysis of key success factors (KSFs) can yield exceptional insights and lead to development of more effective market-focused business strategy

Some KSFs are basic: they are strategic necessities or “market qualifiers”—resources that, at a minimum, any company must have to compete in a given market The relative difference provided by a scalable market qualifier can be a source of competitive advantage Other KSFs provide strategic strengths—factors that give you the potential for creating a strong and, perhaps, sustainable market advantage These “order winners” are not necessarily required by the marketplace but they can be exploited in a way that enables one business to differentiate itself from its competitors

David Aker suggested that no more than ten KSFs should be used for which adequate information is available Once the KSFs are established they must be ranked An importance weight should be assigned to each KSF with the sum of the weights adding up

to 1 The weighting is judgmental and so requires a good understanding of the industry Next, a strength rating is assigned to each KSF, ranging from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong) Again, this is a subjective process, but some proxies can be used if adequate numerical information is available For example, the number of outlets a competitor has can be used

as a proxy of relative strength in distribution Lastly, the importance weight is multiplied

by the strength rating to produce a score for each KSF for each competitor

Table 1: KSF Competition Ranking

Factors Importance

weight

Strength Rating

Firm Strength

Strength Rating

Firm Strength

Strength Rating

Firm Strength

Strength Rating

Firm Strength

Strength Rating

Firm Strength

Market Share 0.25 5 1.25 4 1 4 1 3 0.75 4 1 Distribution 0.2 4 0.8 3 0.6 4 0.8 2 0.4 4 0.8 Financial

Resource

0.18 5 0.9 4 0.72 4 0.72 2 0.36 4 0.72 Product

Quality

0.13 5 0.65 5 0.65 5 0.65 5 0.65 5 0.65 Brand Image 0.1 4 0.4 3 0.3 5 0.5 3 0.3 4 0.4 Product

Variety

0.07 5 0.35 4 0.28 4 0.28 2 0.14 3 0.21 R&D 0.05 3 0.15 5 0.25 4 0.2 3 0.15 3 0.15 Patents 0.02 3 0.06 3 0.06 4 0.08 2 0.04 3 0.06 Overall 1 4.56 3.86 4.23 2.79 3.99

the importance weighting for the different KSFs totals 1, the maximum possible KSF score

is 5 In the example, your business (Company A) can improve its competitive position dramatically if R&D was improved Nearest rival (Company C) is weaker in almost all aspects except the second most important KSF, R&D and Patents Management effort should therefore focus on this issue

In this example, the enterprise could improve its competitive position dramatically if distribution was improved The nearest rival is weaker in almost all aspects except the second most important KSF, distribution Management effort should therefore focus on this issue

Key success factors analysis typically creates a broad framework that encompasses not only production practices but other capabilities like distribution and product realization which may be equally important to market place success More importantly, key success factors analyses keep managers’ attention focused outward rather than inward by anchoring the analysis of competencies in the requirements of the market-place Too often managers get caught up in identifying what is ‘core’ to the success of their businesses and overlook the fact that the starting point for such a quest is the needs or wants of the customer

The thesis adapted from David Aker’s model (2007) for analyzing the factors impacting competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises in 6 coastal provinces of Northen Vietnam Eight criteria that this thesis identifies as most important internal factors accounting for enterprises’ competitiveness include: finance capability, management capability, intangible assets, manufacturing equipment, marketing, production capability, human resource and R&D

Over the past decade, many researchers have studied on competitive advantages They identified some indicators such as lower spending, lower price, better quality, better marketing job, higher levels of related services… affecting competitiveness between enterprises or firms in one sector

Hovanyi (2000) and Lev (2004) indicated some following factors directly influenced competitiveness of enterprise: capital, technological development trends, the global market

structure possession of intangible assets such as skilled and experienced workforce, patents, know-how, software, strong customer relationships, brands, unique organizational design models and processes Not least, they also include preparedness of the management: the managers are required more and more to identify the environmental changes in time, and to have the ability to respond rapidly to them

Md Aminul Islam, Ezazmian and Muhammad Hasmat Ali (2008) in their study of competitive advantages of aquaculture SMEs in Bangladesh found that products and services, technology, management know-how and, external environment are the most significant factors determining competitive advantages of those SMEs

Nurul Indarti and Marja Langenberg (2005) identified key components to be important

in analyzing competitive advantages of SMEs in Indian which includes human resources; financial capacity; technology development Wijewardena and Cooray (1996) explored the importance of a set of internal factors in competitiveness of SMEs They include financial performance, marketing strategy, cost of product, products, human resource

Mi Seon Park, “Strategy for strengthening the competitiveness of Korean aquaculture” (2011) identified four strategic projects which are able to impact on competitiveness of Korean aquaculture They are development of the environmentally sound and high quality extruded pellet; development and practical use of fish disease vaccine; genetic improvement of growth and disease resistance; development of management system for automatic fish culture

José Carlos de Lima Júnior has carried out the study “A plan to improve the competitiveness of aquaculture cluster in Bahia- Brazil” (2010) His research presents the application of a method that elaborates a plan to improve the clusters’ competitiveness, using the case study method

At Economics (International) Division of Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (February, 2002) - “Development of competitiveness indicators for food chain industries” several indicators have been identified Particular emphasis has been placed on measurement of productivity - the efficiency with which resources are utilized

• Total factor productivity (TFP) – combines the influence of both labor, capital and, if available, other inputs on output In principle, this measure is the most comprehensive indicator of productivity in that it takes account of the efficiency of production process

• Labor productivity – output or value added per unit of labor This is a partial measure

of productivity and therefore inferior in principle to TFP However, it is the most commonly used measure This is because labor is often the most important input, labor productivity is comparatively straight-forward to compute and reasonably up-to-date statistics are generally available Note though that labor productivity levels will be affected

by the extent to which labor services are employed directly by the organization whose efficiency is being measured or bought-in The measure also has the potential to mislead as higher labor productivity reflects the amount of capital and other resources per worker, as well as the efficiency with which labor is used in production

• Productivity of capital- output or value added per unit of capital This is also a partial measure of productivity but is computed and reported much less frequently than the labor measure Two important reasons explain the comparatively infrequent deployment of capital productivity First, capital as a factor of production is only (very roughly) two thirds

as important as labor in the food processing industries, though the gap will be narrowing over time as capital investment displaces labor Second, it is more difficult to measure the input of capital than labor Nonetheless capital productivity is valuable as an indicator of how efficiently capital is being utilized in the production process It provides a rough and ready proxy for the comparative rates of return on capital in alternative uses

• Real price movements measure how prices within the food chain industries have moved over time in comparison with overall consumer prices It is a powerful proxy indicator of the extent to which the entire food chain is achieving and passing on consumers gains in efficiency This comprehensive coverage of the food chain contrasts with productivity indicators The latter tend to be patchy in measuring the performance in the food service industries An important strength of the real price indicator is that it is available monthly The weakness of this indicator is that it only proxies efficiency change and may be influenced by other factors

• Research and Development Expenditures - this is usually recognized as a key factor in determining future productivity performance

• Labour Force Skills is the quality of the labour force will be an important determinant

of productivity

Some authors view competitiveness with the competency approach They emphasize the role of factors internal to the firms such as firm strategy, structures, competencies, capabilities to innovate, and other tangible and intangible resources for their competitive success (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989; Doz and Prahalad, 1987; Hamel and Prahalad, 1989, 1990) This view is particularly among the resource-based approach towards competitiveness (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Grant, 1991; Barney 2001, 1991; Peteraf, 1993; Ulrich, 1993) Ability to develop and deploy capabilities and talents far more effectively than competitors can help in achieving world-class competitiveness (Smith, 1995)

For providing customers with greater value and satisfaction than their competitors, firms must be operationally efficient, cost effective, and quality conscious (Johnson, 1992; Hammer and Champy, 1993) Also related to this condition are a number of studies focusing on particular aspects like marketing (Corbett and Wassenhove, 1993), information technology (Ross et al, 1996), quality of products (Swann and Tahhavi, 1994), and innovative capability of firms (Grupp et al, 1997)

In today’s turbulent business environment, dynamic capabilities, flexibility, agility, speed, and adaptability are becoming more important sources of competitiveness (Barney, 2001; Sushil, 2000) O’Farell et al (1992, 1989, 1988) have conducted a number of studies

on the relationship between sources of competitiveness and firm performance, with focus

on price, quality, design, marketing, flexibility, and management Recognizing the dynamic role processes play in enhancing competitiveness, the role of processes in firm-level competitiveness need to be examined

Nguyen Ke Tuan, in “The competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises in Nine Dragon river delta of Vietnam”, 2003, highlighted a number of groups of factors influencing

• Subjective factors: They include human factor, financial capability, the technological level

• Objective factors: Business environment, economic factors have always affected business activities of enterprises in general as well as the competitiveness of enterprises the particular product Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates in the capital markets The political factor is the legal basis of factors other provisions of the economic environment Legal and political stability create a policy mechanism in business activities

in each specific field to get a competitive advantage in the trend of globalization of the world

Nguyen Tuan Kiet and Zenaida M Sumalde., in “Comparative and Competitive Advantage of the Shrimp Industry in Mekong River Delta, Vietnam” (2006) recommend the following to further enhance the comparative and competitive advantage of the shrimp-growing industry in Mekong River Delta, Vietnam we need:

• Manage the exchange rate at suitable levels that would minimize its negative effects on comparative and competitive advantage of the shrimp industry

• Improve the productivity of the shrimp producers by offering more training on shrimp farming

Pham Chau, in “Orientation and solutions to developing competitiveness of aquaculture Khanh Hoa,” 2007 emphasized the factors that affect competitiveness as follows: The first

is the ability of business managers; Second, elements of business resources now including human resources, capital scientific and technological level Third, in addition to human resources is directly related to the competitiveness of enterprises Forth, a more resources

to the competitiveness of enterprises is the level of technology And the last factor is productivity

The mentioned studies above concerned some factors affecting competetiveness of SMEs in the world in general and in some parts of Vietnam in particular However, none of them have got deeply involved in the factors of competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises

in the Northern region of Vietnam Therefore, in this thesis, the author focuses on the factors affecting the competitiveness between aquaculture enterprises in the North of

Vietnam From this, it is possible to evaluate the degree of competitiveness of these enterprises in order to provide solutions to enhance the competitive advantage of aquaculture enterprises in northern region

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research design, the population, sample size and sampling technique, the description of respondents, the research instrument, the data gathering procedures and statistical treatment of data used by the researcher

1 Research design

Based on the research objectives of the thesis, the author do research as following

steps:

Step 1: Clarify the issues to be studied, which is: "Factors affecting the competitiveness

of Small and Medium Sized aquiculture Enterprises in the north of Vietnam” to collect

data

Step 2: Study theory of competitiveness and the indicators affecting the

competetiveness of small and mediurm sized aquaculture enterprises to draw the theoretical

basis for the thesis

Step 3: A qualitative study was carried out based on the inheriting and selectively

applying of theoretical model to identify factors and different impacting levels of these

factors on the competitiveness of enterprises The purpose of this study was to find out the

real situation of the competitiveness beween aquaculture enterprises in the North of

Vietnam as well as competitiveness level of this area This helps to evaluate competitive

level of each factor impacting on the competetiveness of aquaculture enterprises in the

North of Vietnam Obtained results are presented in Chapter 4

Step 4: The synthesis, analysis, comparison are used to identify the indecators

impacting on the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises in aquaculture

industry especially in the North of Vietnam including QuangNinh, HaiPhong, NamDinh,

ThaiBinh, NinhBinh, and Thanhhoa provices This step also eveluate the competetiveness

between aquaculture enterprises in these provinves in recent years; and to clarify the strong

indicators that impact on the compatetiveness of aquaculture enterprises then to provide

solutions for increasing the advantage factors for aquaculture enterprises in the north of

Vietnam in the coming years

Step 5: Quantitative research using multivariate regression models to measure the

impact of factors affecting the competitiveness of SMSEs in aquaculture of the northen

Vietnam Data were analyzed by using statistical software SPSS

In the northern area of Vietnam there are six provinces which have coastline to develop aquaculture sector They are QuangNinh, HaiPhong, NamDinh, ThaiBinh, NinhBinh and ThanhHoa

In order to come up with this analysis, a survey covering 122 specific enterprises of six provinces in the north of Vietnam is implemented The survey (details shown in appendix) covers 8 key indicators, demonstrating competitive environments Results of this survey will help identify the factors affecting the competitiveness SMEs aquaculture enterprises in North of Vietnam

Source of competitive information and data

Both primary and secondary data are used in this study Primary data were gathered from a survey of 122 aquaculture enterprises in six provinces of the North of Vietnam Secondary data are sourced from various government agencies, a number of publications, and industry associations

This is a descriptive type of research that makes use of a survey questionnaire to determine the factors that affect the competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises From the identified factors, solutions to enhance competitiveness of small and medium enterprises will be recommended

2 Location of the study

The study covered aquaculture enterprises in six provinces of the North of Vietnam

Figure 1: Maps of Vietnam and its 63 provinces (name of coastal provinces are shown only)

3 Population, Sample Size and Sampling technique

Population

Vietnam has a long coastline with 3350 km There are 6 coastal provinces in the north

of Vietnam There are 6 provinces in the northern region of Vietnam with 122 small and medium aquaculture enterprises

The research population comprises of 122 small and medium aquaculture enterprises of six provinces in the north of Vietnam Respondents include the members of board of directors at small and medium aquaculture enterprises of six provinces

Table 2: Research Respondents

Author has taken investigation through questionnaire for all aquaculture enterprises of the six coastal provinces in North of Vietnam The questionnaire was sent via email

Small and medium sized enterpries in aquiculture in northen Vietnam have operated in

less than 10 billion VND (500 million USD) with annual labor force of less than 300 people

4 Description of research points

The situationof the competetiveness between aquaculture enterprises inNorthen region

in general, the situation of competetiveness between 6 provinces in particular, were analyzed through statisticaldata

Measurement of the impact of eight factors on competetiveness between aquaculture

enterprise and provinces in the North of Vietnam based on data collected from survey in

the North region, focussed in 06 coastal provinces: QuangNinh, HaiPHong, NamDinh,

ThaiBinh, NinhBinh and ThanhHoa Relying on results analysed from real situation,

survey, main conclusions and proposals enhancing competetiveness between aquaculture

enterprises in North of Vietnam was proposed for coming years

A five-point Likert scale was used for the scoring indicators of 5 indicators It is

including 5 scales: extremely low, low, neutral, high, extremely high

In order to analysis, the results obtained from the questionnaire were entered into SPSS

spreadsheet

5 Research Instrument

The researcher will use a questionnaire and document as the main instruments for data gathering The questionnaires shall contain items to be asked to respondents with multiple choice questions

Some items on the questionnaire were based on published patterns to assure best outcomes of the data gathering process, and the validity of the research instrument and modified to include items that specifically fit the enterprises

The descriptive choice will have its corresponding interpretation after the choices were tabulated, presented and analyzed in the thesis

In order to evaluate the reliability of scale, the thesis uses coefficient of Cronbach’alpha The Cronbach’s Alpha is used to test the reliability of variables before using statistic software SPSS Coefficient correction of variables is at standard of above 0.3 and the Cronback’s Alpha value is higher than 0.6 (Nunnally & Burnstein 1994)

In order to research the evaluation of the competitiveness between aquacultures in Northern Vietnam, the thesis uses likert scale with 5 levels

Data gathering procedures

The study used both primary and secondary data to identify the factor affecting competitiveness and access the level of competitiveness of aquaculture enterprises

Primary Data Collection Method

Primary data was collected through a survey with 122 aquaculture enterprises in the north of Vietnam The survey was done in 5 weeks

Secondary Data Collection Method

Secondary data: the author collected data from the managing state agencies related

to aquaculture sector: Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers,

Directorate of Fisheries, annual reports of surveyed provinces

6 Statistical analysis

The current status of competetiveness of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in aquiculturein the North of Vietnam was analyzed throughindicators: Financial Capability; Human Resources; Manufacturing equipment and technology capability; Production capability; Management Capability; Marketing; R&D and Intangible assets

Themethods used to analyze were as follows:

1 Averagevalue and comparativevalue method

2 Frequency scale for 08 factors through indicators: financial capability, human

competetiveness of aquacuture enterprises in the North of Vietnam It use Cronback'alpha

method to evaluate the reliability of the scale of the information collected;

3 One way ANOVA was used to analyze differences of competetive advantages

between 06 provinces in northen region The thesis also used in depth- analysis ANOVA (

Post-hoc Test ) to find out the difference between a group with other groups in the case of

the variable have three or more three groups

CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1 Evaluating the reliability of statistic data

+ Financial Capability

Table 3: Cronback alpha of financial capability

Scale Mean if Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

The Cronbach’alpha of "Financial capability" variable is 0.744 and the Total

correlation is higher 0.3 Therefore all above variables are acceptably used to analyze in

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Cronbach's Alpha 0.762

2.1 Evaluate capability

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Cronbach's Alpha 0.667

3.1 Evaluate brand name

3.2 Evaluate popularity of

The Cronbach’alpha of "Intangible assets " variable is 0.762 and the Total correlation

is higher 0.3 Therefore all above variables are acceptably used to analyze in next steps

+ Manufacturing equipment and technology capability

Table 6: Cronback alpha of manufacturing equipment and technology capability

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Cronbach's Alpha 0.713

6.1 Evaluate production