Purpose This study aims to unlock the path of growth for sustainable economic development and accomplish the government's vision 2030 by ameliorating the productivity of the manufacturing sector in Laos. Design/methodology/approach This study applied cross-sectional data of 2,009 firms from the national firm survey, namely the Economic Census Survey (ECS), in 2012/13 in addition to employing the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to assess the production frontier and factors behind the technical inefficiency to arrive at policy recommendations. Findings The study found that the efficiency level varied across subindustries with an average of 72.51% in full potential production. Out of the five classified groups, Sub4 (chemical and plastic) was found to be the most efficient manufacturer, while the rest in order are Sub1 (food and beverage), Sub5 (furniture and others), Sub2 (garment and textile), and Sub3 (paper and printing), providing the evidence to improve the technical efficiency. This study discovered that the firm's size, accounting system and credit access are crucial to enhancing the production efficiency of all sampling firms. However, these factors might be subject to specific industries. Practical implications For the implication to the business community and policymakers, the findings of this study could be a reference in terms of which areas they should concentrate on to improve the technical efficiency as a part of productivity in the manufacturing industry. For instance, it suggests that firms could improve their production efficiency by introducing the accounting system, laborers' skills (education of managers) and engaging in international trade activities. Additionally, it asks policymakers to help private firms by improving the infrastructure, credit access, training and trade facilitation. Originality/value It is believed that, as the major contribution in Lao literature, this study is the first research applying the largest data from the national survey – the Lao ECS – examining the technical efficiency in the manufacturing sector in the country, and overcoming the gap of the previous research which recruited few policy variables and applied a small sample size in one specific industry. Therefore, the findings of this study impart more insights into the analysis, providing more effective and credible recommendations to policymakers and firms to improve their technical efficiency and, consequently, their competitiveness.

Purpose This study investigates the characteristics of business and management consulting firms (firm size, international affiliation and scope of operation) affecting the adoption rate (i.e. recency of adopting big data analytics (BDA) as a new idea) and usage level of BDA. Ten critical areas of BDA application to business and management consulting were investigated, (1) Human Resource Management; (2) Risk Management; (3) Financial Advisory Services; (4) Innovation and Strategy; (5) Brand Building and Product Positioning; (6) Market Research/Diagnostic Studies; (7) Scenario-Based Planning/Business Simulation; (8) Information Technology; (9) Internal Control/Internal Audit; and (10) Taxation and Tax Management. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was obtained through a structured questionnaire from one hundred and eighteen (118) consultants in Nigeria from diverse consulting firm settings in terms of size, international affiliation and scope of operation (Big 4/non-Big 4 firms). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), multivariate discriminant analysis and multivariable logistic regression. Findings Whereas organizational characteristics such as firm size, international affiliation and scope of operation significantly determine the adoption rate of BDA, two attributes (international affiliation and scope of operation) significantly explain BDA usage level. Internationally affiliated consulting firms are more likely to record higher usage level of BDA than local firms. Also, the usage level of BDA by the Big 4 accounting/consulting firms is expected to be higher in comparison to non-Big 4 firms. Practical implications Contrary to common knowledge that firm size is positively associated with the adoption of an innovation, the study found no evidence to support this claim in respect of the diffusion of BDA. Overall, it appears that the scope of operation is the strongest organizational factor affecting the diffusion of BDA among consulting firms. Originality/value The study contributes to knowledge by exposing the factors promoting the uptake of BDA in a developing country. The originality of the current study stems from the consideration that it is the first, to the researchers' knowledge, to investigate the application of BDA by consulting firms in the Nigerian context. The study adds to literature on management accounting in the digital economy.

"Purpose – This paper develops a new model of policy development for the creative industries in a transitional economy setting. These sectors could potentially make a significant contribution to the continuing growth of the Vietnamese economy; however, they are currently held back by a lack of policies designed to support them Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses data collected from a mixed-methods study of the creative and cultural sectors in Vietnam. The paper combines quantitative results from a mapping project with ethnographic observations and several qualitative interviews to identify the policy needs of the sector. Findings – The paper develops the INCITE model of policy development composed of four parts: education and human resources, infrastructure, intellectual property rights and freedom of speech. Originality/value – The paper contributes to our understanding of the kinds of policies needed to support the creative industries by exploring their development in an economy transitioning from a state planned economy to a market-driven one."

This paper examines the relation among corporate governance practices, pyramid ownership structure, and firm value by using a sample of Vietnamese listed firms. Using a sample of 103 non-financial firms listed on HOSE for the period from 2012 to 2014, and employing two-stage least square regression (2SLS) to deal with potential endogeneity, we find that some indicators, commonly adopted as a key components of corporate governance, such as size or independence of board of directors, are imperfect proxies for corporate governance practices. Our results indicate that it is better to employ a corporate governance index (CGI), including 117 criteria developed by Connelly, Limpaphayom, and Nagarajan (2012) since it allows for more comprehensive estimation of corporate governance. More interestingly, our results show that the pyramid ownership plays an important role in the effect of corporate governance on firm value. The results are consistent regardless of whether companies have high or low family ownership.

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