Purpose The paper examines the increase in annual income of the new middle-class (The NMC) of Delhi-NCR and its impact on their investment habits, consumption habits and lifestyle. The paper aims to look into the transformation of the new middle-class into the NMC in emerging economies and its potential to the companies and investors. Design/methodology/approach This study draws insight from 558 new middle-class consumers in Delhi-NCR. ANOVA, post hoc tests , and hierarchical multiple linear regression model are applied to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The NMC living in India's megacities imitates the lifestyle of their counterparts living in the West. To maintain their status and present themselves different from those living in middle or lower-middle-class categories, they spend audaciously, even though the income is low. When they enter the new middle class, their consumption, saving and lifestyle diversify positively. Research limitations/implications This study has limitations. First, the authors do not apply any behavioral theory or marketing model such as the theory of reasoned action (TRA), Engel-kollat-Blackwell (EKB) model or theory of normative model of target markets. Second, the research is limited to the NMC of only one emerging economy, i.e., India. Third, the research sample is limited to only one megacity of India, i.e., Delhi. Finally, this research used only one factor, i.e., AI, to study the consumption pattern. Practical implications The results suggest that considering the buying habits and lifestyle of Indian the NMC, consumers would prove helpful to the companies in product decision-making. Furthermore, understanding change in investment habits across different income levels would be advantageous to financial institutions, investment planners and marketers while designing their products to attract investment. Originality/value The research holds significance from the point of view of understanding Indian consumers encompassing the the NMC and predicting their implications on consumer goods-producing industries, which shall, in turn, facilitate producers and government in formulating policies and strategies.

Purpose This paper analyses Hanoi consumers' evaluation of food risk and response to the perceived risk. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed the mixed method approach that integrates segmentation analysis on the survey data and information from group discussions. Findings Based on consumers' risk rating of six food groups and level of food safety worry, the authors identified four distinct consumer segments: low, moderate, high and very-high-risk perception. The authors found the existence of widespread food safety concerns among Hanoi consumers. Living in an urban region was associated with a higher level of food risk perception. Moderate, high and very-high-risk perception segments exhibited a very low level of institutional trust and subjective control over hazards. Response to the perceived risk differed across segments. “Very high-risk perception” was associated with the most risk-averse behaviour, putting more effort into seeking food safety information and engaging more in supermarket purchase. Consumers with a low and moderate perceived food risk participate more in self-supply of food to reduce their food safety concern. Practical implications The paper provides empirical evidence on consumers' evaluation of food risk and their risk-reducing strategies to support the risk communication in Vietnam. Social implications Enhancing institutional trust and risk communication including hazard education can improve consumer confidence in food. Originality/value This is the first segmentation study on consumer food risk perception in Vietnam.

Purpose – The innovation of cryptography technique and blockchain has made cryptocurrency an alternative medium of exchange due to its safety, transparency and cost effectiveness. But its main feature cannot be separated from the users who use cryptocurrency for their illegal transactions. There are several arguments related to the legality of cryptocurrency. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nature of cryptocurrency based on characteristics of money, legal perspective, economic perspective and Sharia perspective. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the methodology used is descriptive with a qualitative approach. The object of this research is cryptocurrency. The data are secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers review, working paper and Sharia consultant reports addressing the legality of cryptocurrency. The literature review analysis includes the following steps: material collection, descriptive analysis, discussion with people in Sharia competency and intuitive-subjective material evaluation. Findings – Regarding the characteristic of money, cryptocurrency is acceptable. But in terms of the legal perspectives, cryptocurrency does not meet the criteria as currency. From the economic perspective, cryptocurrency does not fully meet the characteristic currency due to high price volatility, and from the Sharia perspective, cryptocurrency can be considered property (mal) but not as a monetary value (thamanniyah). Research limitations/implications – The research findings are based on the journal articles, working paper and Sharia consultant report, and it may lack Sharia’s opinion. Any further discussion related to Sharia perspectives will be a great input to enrich the study. Practical implications – This study also includes the implications related to the opportunities and the risks of cryptocurrency that can be discussed for the development of the cryptocurrency in the future. Social implications – This study includes the implication cryptocurrency is using as nature of money and not as speculative instrument. Originality/value – This study argued the legality of cryptocurrency in four perspectives such as the nature of money, legal, economy and Sharia perspective.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and analyze impacts of the monetary policy (MP) – money aggregate and interest rate – on the exchange rate in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data over the period of 2008–2018 and applies the vector autoregression model, namely recursive restriction and sign restriction approaches. Findings – The main empirical findings are as follows: a contraction of the money aggregate significantly leads to the real effective exchange rate (REER) depreciating and then appreciating; a tightening of the interest rate immediately causes the REER appreciating and then depreciating; and both the money aggregate and the interest rate strongly determine fluctuations of the REER. Originality/value – The quantitative results imply that the MP affects the REER considerably.

The government struggles to fight escalating food safety issues in Vietnam. However, government measures yielded little evidence of improvement to domestic food safety. For that reason, consumers lower their trust in the government. The current market context, and low trust towards the government left consumers to count on their own judgement for the sake of their own food safety. This study applied choice experiment method based on Lancastrian consumer theory and random utility theory to elicit consumers’ preferences on traceable safe foods and the perception regarding food safety. The impact of food safety related attributes was identified in the order of decreasing magnitude: freshness, label, traceability, certification, and price. Results suggested that Vietnamese consumers adhered food quality to food appearance (i.e. freshness) and made judgement with such perception. This paper also highlighted a noticeable reverse impact of the level of food certification on consumer preferences toward safe choices, which contributed to the current food safety situation in Vietnam. The reason was expected to be trust issues in the government, the impact of food safety context, and consumers’ false perception of food safety. To enhance trust, food traceability appears to be an indispensable and potential instrument. Besides, traceability information should be addressed via food label precisely to augment visual inspection as well as to increase its effectiveness. Additionally, consumers are willing to pay a price premium for traceable products, thus inducing suppliers to participate in food traceability. Nevertheless, the government must play a more proactive role in market supervision and education to facilitate the development of food traceability.

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