The WTO, marketing and innovativeness capabilities of Vietnamese firms

Purpose: This study aims to explore the impact of Vietnamese firms' expectations of opportunities provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO) - expected WTO opportunities - on their marketing and innovativeness capabilities, and subsequently, on business performance. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 323 Vietnamese firms in Ho Chi Minh City, a model incorporating expected WTO opportunities, marketing and innovativeness capabilities, and business performance by means of structural equation modeling was tested. Findings: It was found that expected WTO opportunities had positive impacts on both marketing and innovativeness capabilities. Further, marketing and innovativeness capabilities underlie business performance of Vietnamese firms. Research limitations/implications: A key limitation of this study is the examination of the impact of expected WTO on only two firm capabilities: marketing and innovativeness. There might be several other firm capabilities that may be affected by expected WTO such as entrepreneurial orientation and learning orientation. Practical implications: The results of this study suggest that firms should be prepared to take advantage of the WTO: to evaluate its opportunities, as well as threats, in order to design and implement appropriate strategies for doing business in a new and challenging environment. Originality/value: This is the first study of this type on Vietnam's entry into the WTO as an important event for Vietnamese firms. The findings of this study suggest expected WTO opportunities play an important role in strengthening marketing and innovativeness capabilities, and subsequently, on business performance