ii Acknowledgements

This thesis is the result of a process during which I have acquired a great deal of knowledge and many skills that are invaluable for my research career. The thesis would not have been possible without the support and assistance of the following people. My utmost gratitude goes to the members in my supervisory panel, who have offered supportive and constructive supervision throughout my candidature. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Chair of my supervisory panel, Associate Professor Craig Ellis, for his excellent guidance and precious suggestions on my thesis. I would also like to express my utmost gratitude to my co-supervisor, Associate Professor Kevin Daly, for his valuable suggestions and support. I am deeply grateful to Ms Maike Sundmacher, my co-supervisor, for her continuous support and encouragement throughout my DBA candidature. I would also like to thank sincerely the staff in the School of Business, University of Western Sydney for their support during my DBA journey. My thanks are due to Dr Anil Mishra for initial discussions of my research, Dr Maria Estela Varua for her assistance in fundamental knowledge on econometric analysis, and Associate Professor Terry Sloan for his useful guidance on carrying out research. I would like to express my gratitude to the Managerial Board of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (UEH) and the World Bank for financially supporting for my research. My sincere thanks are also due to the management and staff in the Doctor of Business Administration Program (UEH) as well as my colleagues in the Banking Faculty (UEH) for their support throughout my research. Last, but not least, I would like to deeply thank my parents, husband, little son and family members for their continuous support and encouragement during my DBA journey