Analysis of technological innovation as a success factor of sustainable competitiveness: Evidence from Vietnam agro-industrial exporters
Author: Nguyen, Thi Minh Chi
Under the direction of : Nadine Tournois
Côte d’Azur University
Texte français
Keywords: Management sciences, Vietnam, Competitiveness, Co-innovation value chain, Diffusion, Agro-industry, Technology, Export, Agricultural industries - Vietnam, innovation, Efficiency.
Abstract
During the covid-19, the agro-industrial sector continues to prove a significant role in the contribution of Vietnamese economic power. In past decade, international competiveness responding to market trends has brought an intensive wave of investment, technical upgrade, and industrialization. It, then, is expected to increase income and employment in the domestic economy by promoting export and utilizating potential advantages and opportunities. However, Vietnamese commodities have joined the global value chain but only stopped at providing inputs in the form of raw agricultural products, while the added value for them is mainly due to processing, packaging and commercial operations. Firm-level technovation as a nuclear energy of economic growth require a sustained progressive endeavour. Under an open and rich-tech ecosystem, pioneering diversification, upgraded manufacturing and effective complements/services generate co-innovation spillovers amd increase domestic value added. Most firms are becoming increasingly successful and competitive in comparison with their rivals because of their forward-thinking systematic innovation. The agro-technovation process is positioned as a central role that helps to improve the performance of Vietnamese agro-manufacturers. It is essential to be aware of the technovation-competition relationship which helps agro-processing exporter improve their business and respond quickly to market changes.We developed a framework that described how agro-enterprises adopt technological sources successfully into the technovation management process (TMP) by applying the diffusion theory. A qualitative case-study method was conformed to capture the overviews of senior executives and their staff at six typical agro-manufacturing exporters. Under a within- and across-case ananlysis, we examined whether there are two groups (competitive and non-competitive) which can be characterized by technovation performance. Moreover, by assigning six cases to one of four concordant positions, the matrix of agro-technovation performance-competitiveness (APC) as an analytical tool strengthening our classification of competitive and non-competitive groups. Furthermore, application of this matrix help excecutives allocate resources and capital to select and build their own business strategy.In next step, our research also reveals that this sucessful technovation process was initiated simultaneously by the intra-push factor (strategic planning and new HRM practices) and extra-pull factor (intangible assets). We figured that within the internal technovation process, there is occurring a technovation transformation of three flows : organizational knowledge, and organizational behavior and organizational culture in competitive-group cases. Based on a in-depth analysis, we investigated that comprehensive management process which modern technology invested and R&D division established, shaping the co-inovation value chain (CVC). Finally, a desired CVC could be observed with all of the five aspects of visible technovation-outputs explored such a new business model, new value for customers, new customer base, new effective value chain or new products/services. However, for a competitive agro-business, its five visible outputs become resiliently and flexibly once five invisible stabilized pillars (coordination, collaboration, convergence, complementarity and co-creation) had been established before. Through their CVC management practices, agro-manufactures enable transform their limited technological resources efficiently to achieve the greater competive advantage.
