The textile and apparel industries play an important role in Vietnam’s economy in general and the manufacturing sector in particular. As a matter of fact, Vietnam ranks as one of the leading suppliers of textile and apparel for major economies in the world, including the European Union. This paper attempts to examine the potential impacts of the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement on the export of Vietnam’s apparel at three levels: 2, 4, 6–digit HS respectively, assuming full liberalization from Vietnam to European Union by 2026. An analysis is undertaken using WITS-SMART model to identify the variation of Vietnam’s apparel export as well as to predict some most affected products if European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement is in full application. As a result, Vietnam’s apparel exporting to European Union will increase significantly by 42% compared to the base year (2016) and is expected to reach US$4.220 billion in the next 8 years. Due to trade diversion dominates over trade creation effect, Vietnam’s apparels will get more gains than non - European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement members; however, this result is not because of an effective allocation of resources. Therefore, policy makers should implement some remedies to improve the competitivey of Vietnam’s apparels, to reduce the production price to bring advantages for both Vietnam and Europe.

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This study develops and empirically validates a Participation–Learning–Innovation–Performance chain by integrating employees’ budgetary participation, learning goal orientation, innovative behaviors, and job performance. In particular, this study evaluates the mediating effect of employees’ learning goal orientation on the relationship between their budgetary participation and innovative behaviors, and then examines the performance effect of these innovative behaviors on subsequent job performance. The hypotheses were empirically tested using a sample of 337 mid- and low-level managers from business organizations in Vietnam. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was performed to test the hypotheses. The findings indicate that: (1) Employees’ learning goal orientation acts as a transmitting device that connects their budgetary participation and innovative behaviors, and (2) these behaviors in turn lead to enhanced job performance. From these findings, this study proposes theoretical and managerial implications regarding designing a favorable budgetary environment for positive employees’ performance outcomes.

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Purpose Although publicly listed firms in Sri Lanka have been increasingly adapting sustainability reporting into their annual reporting practices, a limited number of firms prepare sustainability reports by integrating sustainable development goals (SDGs) into reporting mechanisms. This study attempts to develop an index to monitor firms' sustainability reporting practices based on Global Reporting Institute (GRI) guidelines integrating SDGs. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a sustainability score index using the 17 SDGs utilising the results of content analysis of corporate annual reports of a selected sample of 100 firms listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Principal component analysis was employed to examine the reliability of data in the developed index. Findings Findings show that the developed scoring index is efficient for evaluating the contents of the sustainability reports of Sri Lankan firms. Sustainability reporting practises with regard to the SDGs were observed to have a turbulent period from 2015 to 2019 and the SDGs 12 and 15 were identified to be mostly reported in Sri Lankan corporate sustainability reports. Research limitations/implications The results of the study add to knowledge on the monitoring of sustainability reporting practises with reference to SDGs. The study outcomes are useful for the investors, stakeholders, and statutory bodies to measure the sustainable performance of business firms and assess the firm’s commitment towards the global sustainability agenda. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that constructs a sustainability reporting score index integrating SDGs.

Purpose COVID-19 has immensely disrupted business dynamism, providing catalyst innovation opportunities and transposing society's perception of disruptive technology (DT). This research increases the understanding of the impact of the pandemic in influencing the way organizations perceive DT and whether any mitigating factors were considered when deciding to adopt new technology during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was adopted in this research, consisting of 14 semi-structured interviews with eight senior managers and six employees, representing both the private and public sectors in New Zealand. All participants had in-depth knowledge of organizational DT adoption during the pandemic. Two separate sets of semi-structured interviews were used to enable comparison between senior managers' and employees' experiences of organizational adoption of DT post-emergence of COVID-19. Due to the nature of this research being conducted on organizational adoption of DT during the pandemic, time constraints and sample size were two of the key limitations of this research. Specifically, potential participants widely cited unavailability due to additional pressure from COVID-19. Given the limited research in this area, this study is explorative by nature and adds significant insights to the literature. Findings The findings suggest that COVID-19 has contributed towards an increased acceptance of, reliance on and adoption of DT across both organizational and social landscapes. The authors found that one of the reasons COVID-19 expedites the adoption of DT correlates with the notion of technology dependency, with organizations citing DT as a viable part of a business continuity plan (BCP) to counter the unpredictability of ongoing disruptive events associated with COVID-19 or any similar disruption which may be on the horizon. These findings are highly relevant as they suggest that the labor market in New Zealand is flexible so organizations and employees can adapt to DT and COVID-19. Originality/value This research adds much-needed insight into the emerging field of research that examines COVID-19's impact on the adoption of DT from both management and employee perspectives.

Purpose This study aims to examine the factors affecting accounting students’ adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach This study employs an empirical analysis based on hand-collected data from 275 accounting students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The study model was performed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling methodology, facilitated by SmartPLS 4.0. Findings The study results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use (PEOU), AI literacy, social influence (SI), facilitating conditions and technology readiness are positively associated with AI adoption by accounting students. The findings suggest the important role of SI in shaping the relationship between PEOU and AI adoption. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with a small sample size, which may reduce the generalisability of findings to other cities in Vietnam or other countries due to different regulations. Future research could examine comparative and cross-country analyses within similar institutional settings. Practical implications The study findings suggest that universities should consider offering more AI-related subjects to improve students’ AI proficiency and capacity. Originality/value This study examines the determinants of AI adoption by accounting students in Vietnam, addressing a previously unexplored area in the literature.